LOCKPORT — As I raked up my leaves this past weekend and planted my garlic, I finally realized that fall is officially here. As I get older, the obvious sometimes comes as a revelation to me.

The fall season also brings some unique driving hazards that many people do not recognize as dangerous. Every year in Lockport, residents will rake their leaves to the curb to be picked up by Mike Hoffman and his hardworking people at the Lockport Highway Department. Unfortunately while these piles of leaves await pick up, they narrow the roadways, forcing traffic into the middle of the street. This obviously increases the risk of car accidents, especially on some of our narrower city streets. There are no specific rules of the road that deal with leaf

obstruction.

This is the time when common courtesy must be observed with our fellow drivers. If oncoming traffic prevents your access to the highway, pull over and allow the other vehicle to pass before continuing your drive. I have observed many vehicles plow through huge piles of leaves because they do not wish to stop for oncoming traffic. The risk of driving through these large piles of leaves is that you will not see the children that are playing in those leaves.

I know when my kids were younger, they loved jumping and hiding in piles of leaves for fun. Another risk of driving through the leaves is that homeowners sometimes place larger objects into the leaf piles such as garbage cans and bags, large plant pots, and other items. These things can easily be covered by the leaves and cause significant damage to your vehicle. Also, parking on a large pile of leaves is not recommended. This may be difficult to avoid due to the parking challenges of any city. However, by parking on leaves, you run the risk that your car may start the leaves on fire, causing significant damage to your car. The exhaust system and the catalytic converter located on the underside of your car can get extremely hot, which can easily start a fire in a fresh pile of dry leaves. Over the years we have investigated numerous car fires caused by parking on leaves. I may be discussing the obvious but as I stated earlier, sometimes the obvious can easily be overlooked!

Over the past month, area police agencies have received a number of reports of property thefts from parked vehicles. Over the past few years, we have highlighted this crime repeatedly in the US&J; due to the real and potential cost of becoming of victim. Popular items to steal from your car include loose change, laptop computers, GPS units, and iPod music players. These items are valuable, easy to sell, and generally untraceable. Wallets and purses are also a valuable commodity easily stolen from unlocked cars. The theft of a wallet, purse, or laptop also creates a significant risk of identity theft. Identity theft can disrupt your credit, close access to your bank accounts, and cause you problems for years. Many organized identity theft groups will buy identification items taken from stolen wallets and purses and keep them for months or years before using your personal information to steal your identity. What makes this crime so frustrating for police is that it can easily be avoided by simply removing valuable items from your car and locking the doors while your vehicle is unattended. Generally, criminals will not break a car window to gain entry unless they actually observe a valuable item left in plain view in your car.

Finally, Thanksgiving is fast approaching. The Thanksgiving weekend brings families together and our children home from school. It is always wonderful to get together with family and friends to enjoy their company. The Thanksgiving weekend is also one of the most popular nights for people to visit our local taverns and restaurants. Consequently, your police department will be providing extra police patrols for that weekend to deter those who may be tempted to drive after too much celebration. Please don’t drink and drive. Use a designated driver or one of our local cab companies. Your caution will prevent a happy holiday from turning tragic.

Chief Larry Eggert oversees the Lockport Police Department. His column runs the first Sunday of every month.