No Fatalities In Cube Van Semi Crash Near McLeod Lake
Thursday, January 31, 2013 @ 10:18 AM
Mackenzie, BC- RCMP continue to investigate an early morning Motor Vehicle Collision involving a Semi Truck and Cube Van on Highway 97 near Whiskers Bay Resort.
Mackenzie Fire and Rescue, North District Regional Traffic Services and Mackenzie RCMP were called to the motor Vehicle collision at 7:45 am where a cube van lost control as it tried to pass the Semi Truck on icy roads.
“The driver of the van was transported to the Mackenzie Hospital with non life threatening injuries while the driver of the Semi Truck was
uninjured” Stated Cst. Lesley Smith, North District Media Relations Officer “Thankfully both drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the incident which prevented serious injuries or worse, a fatality ”.
Highway 97 was temporarily blocked for approximately 30 minutes while Emergency crews assisted with the incident.
The roadway was then reopened to single lane traffic only.
RCMP are asking all drivers to exercise extra caution when traveling on our roads as the road conditions are extremely icy due to the recent rain and freezing temperatures
Comments
Someone should invent a product that can be spread on the hwy surface to prevent this from happening.
Someone should invent a brain for the cube van driver. If a semi is driving slowly because it’s icy out, then maybe he/she should have been too. Seriously, who would try to pass on roads that like we had this a.m.?!
You mean some sort of gritty material?
bornandbred is right – we cannot expect continuous sand from one end of the country to the other. If its icy then drive to the flippin conditions. If that makes Mackenzie a 4 hour trip then suck it up or stay home – simple
I was not there …. so conjecture on your part.
I think one of the main problems when passing a semi, whether winter or summer, is the reduction of clear visibility as one passes due to the water, dirt, snow, kicked up by the semi the closer one gets to it. It is especially true for comprmise of horizon view for confirmation that the outside lane is still clear.
The more semis are on the road, the worse the fact of mixed users becomes. The maneuverability of semis versus passenger vehicles is considerable and the two do not mix as well as many might think. There has been an over 50% increase in commercial trucking traffic in BC over the past ten years.
Accidents are probably a byproduct of that. That increase is an increase in cost of the total transportation system and is primarily generated by industry.
Who is actually paying for that increase?
“we cannot expect continuous sand from one end of the country to the other”
One either does it or one does not …. if one does it, one takes responsibility …. that is the way it works in the liability world.
So due diligence takes the view to determine what is reasonable to do. It often seems what is reasonable to do here is different what is reasonable to do there.
So the questions any reasonable person would want answered …
1. what is the standard?
2. how does it compare to other standards in similar situations – worst, best, median.
3. have the standards been met in the case under discussion.
Then the follow up studies dealing with accident rates, types and severity based on the standards and any shift in those when comparing standards to incidents.
So, you see interceptor, there are systems in place. Some are good, some not so good.
Last failsafe is personal comfort with an activity. We can all drive assuming that we have no traction at all ….. but not all of us will …. so that very situation of most of us driving as if we have no traction will likely increase the rate of incidents.
I think there should be a LOT more taught to vehicle drivers about driving around big trucks.
There are all kinds of hazards there that most people don’t even realise. Truck drivers have to do all their own driving plus half of everbody else’s to try to keep THEM safe.
Its absolutely astounding what some vehicle drivers do around trucks.
I see where you are going Gus – but I have never seen sand on a straight stretch. Intersections, dangerous corners etc for sure – but just a straight stretch? No. And where would someone pass a semi – I am assuming a straight stretch ;)
gus, conjecture? Really, I am pretty sure it was a fact that the roads were covered in ice this morning. I think it is safe to conclude that.
Icy roads + impatience = bad things happening. Drive to the conditions.
“Who is actually paying for that increase?”
How about the trucks themselves? Huge insurance costs as well as huge tax’s paid on fuel, not to mention permit costs, income tax paid for drivers, business tax’s, and soon paying PST once again.
Most of us pay income taxes .. and many non-truckere pay business taxes …. remember, business taxes are paid on net income not gross income. A business with a 750,000 turnover could easily have a net income higher than a business making ten times as much.
So sorry, make sure than when you put taxes into a pile that go to paying for roads, you do not put the same taxes in twice or even three times.
Only governments are allowed to announce several projects from the same $10million fund several times over …. :-)
“I have never seen sand on a straight stretch.”
I actually have. Some near Quesnel as well as Williams Lake. I have been driving between here and the lower mainland twice a month both in winter and summer recently and it is an eye opener after many years of not driving that stretch.
I have observed the following and they are not purported as anyone elseâs observations:
1.DriveBC is quite unreliable with their observations. Far too many âwildlife on roadâ and âwatch out for fallen rockâ.
Any experienced driver knows the spots where that has a higher probability than others, plus there are plenty of permanent caution signs to that effect.
2. Words like âSlippery Sectionsâ applied to hundreds of km of road are totally useless in my mind.
3. then there is “Slushy with Slippery Sectionsâ same thing … too general
4. âLane Closure – Vehicle Recoveryâ that at least warns me of a delay but no time which they sometimes put in …. so likely a short delay of less than 5 minutes.
For me, the best indicators are the cameras. I do not drive in the dark in winter conditions, so I have to look at the webcams the day before … they could be clearer, but better than nothing.
Finally, the number of trucks has increased as far as I can tell and the driving habits of some of the truckers seem to be more aggressive.
When I step into the car I am working at being a driver and focus on that task. I drive with both hands just above the mid level of the steering wheel and I not only look at road and traffic conditions, but also the shoulders and beyond to be aware of escape routes in case of emergency. I have tested my car and know how it handles in extreme situatons.
OK gus, why dont you get your calculator out and figure out how much extra tax revenue all these extra trucks are creating. Just the tax on fuel adds up to a considerable amount each day. Looking at a recent bill it works out to about 30 cents per liter in extra tax’s, factor in an easy 400 to 500 liter’s per day for these trucks and right there you have $120 to $150 dollars per day.
2nd point, you ask who is paying for the extra increase’s due to the increase in heavy trucks. That is the whole point that obviously flew over your head. If you increase the amount of traffic, you increase the amount of wages and you increase the amount of business which results in a net increase of tax’s for the government. That cant be that hard for you to figure out?
As to your point that most of us pay tax’s, sure state the obvious, but do must of us have the increase in volume that the trucking industry have right now? Obviously not, that figure is much more stagnant. The increase in trucking is creating an increase in revenue.
gus, good comment about being in your car and focusing on being the driver. That’s what good driving takes.Focus. I remember a fireman saying “never, ever take your eyes off oncoming traffic.” I also like your tips about being aware of escape route at all times. I remember my driving instructor telling me to “never stay beside any other vehicle for a long time.” I can’t believe the number of people who will drive right beside me or worse, in my blind spot.
Born and Gus, good comments, wish everybody read them.
“Someone should invent a product that can be spread on the hwy surface to prevent this from happening.”
Where have you been it’s called common sense. I know it is not to common anymore but it is still there. Just sprinkle a little in your coffee in the morning and away you go. This is not rocket science.
On the west Hi-way today there was no fewer than 5 vehicles in the rhubarb between town and Isle Pierre. A few were very serious and could have quite easy been fatalities.
No amount of complaining will get folks to slow down and drive properly so here is a warning.You loose control while passing me and you are going to get closer to your god in a real hurry. I won’t go in the ditch to avoid hitting you. You made your choice when you decided to pass at way over to posted speed limit. So slow down drive properly and live a little longer or pass at retarded speeds and pay the piper.
“If you increase the amount of traffic, you increase the amount of wages and you increase the amount of business which results in a net increase of tax’s for the government. That cant be that hard for you to figure out?”
Nothing is extra. We have a finite number of people in this country which increases at say 1.5% per year. We have employment numbers which increase over time that closely approximate the population growth.
What we have is a redistribution of labour based on the type of things we do. We are losing industries which actually create wealth and gaining industries which are redistributing that wealth created.
One of the industries which is gaining is transportation. That is great, but it is not additional to the entire economy, it is simply redistribution of the economic pie. There are jobs lost in one sector and gained in another.
Just think of how much more logs cost to a very large sawmill which is fixed in one place and the radius of timber access keeps growing every year … thus we have fewer people per 1,000 logs working to produce lumber from the logs, and more people tranporting the logs further and further every year.
So, can you figure that out AAV …
We have very few people working in the socio-econoimic sphere, thus very little data on what the actual costs are for one process versus another. That is still eluding us to this day even with computers to help us in that process.
“Someone should invent a product that can be spread on the hwy surface to prevent this from happening.”
Where have you been it’s called common sense. I know it is not to common anymore but it is still there. Just sprinkle a little in your coffee in the morning and away you go. This is not rocket science.
On the west Hi-way today there was no fewer than 5 vehicles in the rhubarb between town and Isle Pierre. A few were very serious and could have quite easy been fatalities.
No amount of complaining will get folks to slow down and drive properly so here is a warning.You loose control while passing me and you are going to get closer to your god in a real hurry. I won’t go in the ditch to avoid hitting you. You made your choice when you decided to pass at way over to posted speed limit. So slow down drive properly and live a little longer or pass at retarded speeds and pay the piper.
gus,
no sense arguing, you cant see the forest for the tree’s.
You asked a simple question, who is paying for the extra commercial traffic. The answer? The commercial traffic itself. Nowhere in your thesis do you disprove this. Instead of wasting time on “the socio-econoimic sphere” why not try a simple, black and white answer?
Can it be more simple?
No need to write out 5 or 6 paragraphs detailing birth rate and and average retirement years, thats simply your way of deflecting the point.
I seen this accident right after it happened today. I don’t think it can be blamed on icy roads because it was more like heavy blowing loose snow… traction felt good. One couldn’t see anything behind, and the trail of blowing snow was so thick its hard to think anyone would even try to get close to a commercial highway truck much less try to pass it or anyone else for that matter. Zero visibility is never a good time to try and put faith into a pass on something there is no way you can see.
The cube van was one of those small type no bigger than your average car with a flat front and hit the back of the flat deck on the lumber b-train. He’s really lucky to be alive today.
Believe me old white man, when determining which activity is subsidized and which is paying, it take a bit more than your simplistic approach.
I have been involved with life cycle costing in one way or another for much of my life in order to determine what is the best buy today for something that has a long lifetime, the paybacks involved and the risks taken when making choices.
I was almost 9 years old when a semi came across the median on a 4 lane divided highway which had no protective barriers in the median. The trucker hit the car in front of us. The car driver got out in a stupor and fell to the ground right near me with what I thought was a gaping head wound. He died on the scene.
The reason the truckr came across the median? He fell asleep.
It is one of the reasons why most divided highways have some sort of protective barrier in the median, if the median is not wide enough.
That costs a lot more to build than the older ways. So what price would you like to put on a life? If you think that the only reason 97 is being widened is because of the increasing traffic, you are mistaken. The kind of traffic and the reginal weather conditions for part of the year have a lot to do with such decisions.
Look beyond the obvious.
Eagleone, the visibility factor is a huge one when passing commercial trucks in the winter. I think too many take chances in such situations. I have not got the faintest clue why. Some people simply have a death wish.
A few totally meaningless USA statistics.
1. Large trucks make up just 4 percent of all registered vehicles and 7 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, but are involved in 11 percent of all crash fatalities
2. The annual death toll from truck-related crashes is the equivalent of twenty-six major airplane crashes every year
3. The large number of truck-related deaths and injuries carries an enormous personal and financial price tag. The costs of large truck crashes in a year exceed $19 billion.
4. One legal 80,000 pound GVW tractor-trailer truck does as much damage to road pavement as 9,600 cars. And that damage is responsible for all those wonderful ruts which provide us with lots of hydroplaning fun. :-)
http://www.saferoads.org/issues/fs-trucks.htm
Gus,
one stat you dont have, how many of those accidents were the trucks fault. Its good to know you are biased in these conversations, although it was already obvious to most of us.
Just because a truck is involved does not automatically mean they caused it. Any time a truck is involved in a traffic incident there is a much higher chance of a fatality, that is common sense and a matter of physics.
It is also obvious that if your driving a passenger vehicle and paying chicken with a truck, your going to lose 10 times out of 10.
Gus don’t forget the most important stat… 95% of all fatalities involving a semi unit are the result of a passenger vehicle rear ending a transport truck. The man in this accident nearly contributed to that stat.
Another reason why fast changing lights like the one at 22nd avenue are problematic IMO.
Eagleone: They are only too fast if you’re driving too fast.
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