This is a common occurence at every traffic light along Central. Whatever happened to to the traffic cameras? When the light turns green I look both ways before proceeding through the intesection. It has saved my a** more than once.
A real professional driver!

When the chip truck driver doesn’t show up where he/she is supposed to be ,it will be obvious who is responsible. Probably hiding until he/she sobers up or the drugs wear off.

Did the story change? The first time I read it this morning I was left with the impression that the Cameron St bridge was being detoured, until I read further on and saw where the accident took place. Now the story seems clear that the traffic was being sent around via Cameron St bridge.
Anyways, I made a comment here less than 2 weeks ago about watching semis up and down central and on the Hart, how they try to time a light so they don’t have to stop and my last comment was, one day it is going to happen when one of these “professional” drivers timing is off and there is going to be carnage. Well, possibly that day has come today. They don’t like to stop at lights if they don’t have to, so when they see the amber on the opposing lane, they try to time it so they are entering the light just as it turns green, not giving anyone who may be going through a little late (I know that is wrong too) an opportunity to get through the intersection. Was this drivers timing off when trying to anticipate the light? Just waiting for all the truck drivers to come on here and start saying things like “Those trucks are so big, they probably didn’t even realize they hit anyone, no way it would be a hit and run”. The seemingly increase in big rig related accidents this year doesn’t surprise me, given the rate at which these driver training outfits in town, pump these guys out.

Oh, I’m pretty sure they already got the person. The trucking company is likely already notified, driver where about can be tracked relatively easily these days.

It is still a hit and run. That is a much worse offence than a drug issue.

I drive this road every day to and from work. ..it is amazing how many you see speeding. .texting. ..etc. ..in general they are really good but in every walk of life and job you have the asshole. ..don’t clump them all in the same group. …like none of us had made a bad driving error in our lives. ..this guy needs to be found and dealt with. ..

Some of these trucks barrel up and down the Hart highway in the passing lane at speeds way above the posted limit, weaving in and out and throwing mud and gravel all over the road! Even when one is in the RH lane driving at the posted speed limit one often gets mercilessly tailgated within a few feet of the rear bumper. The legal name for this menacing behaviour is coercion, an attempt to bully the vehicle ahead into speeding.

On Central many blow through solid red lights all the time. I got a ticket for driving through an amber light there! How come one doesn’t see these trucks pulled over by the RCMP getting a ticket for going through red lights???

Many of the “professional” drivers (not all, just some) seem to believe in “right of weight” driving on that stretch of road and since they can see a long way, great time to be on the cell phone also. Any day, watch how the semis move from the John Hart Bridge to 16 and 97 and you will see what I mean. It’s a scary stretch of highway when those big rigs think they own it and everyone else will stay out of their way. This accident was just a matter of time.

I’m going out on limb and say its not a chiptruck. Any thing with more than 6 wheels and a trailer is a chiptruck to most people.

old soon, you have a good point.

Check the Pulp Mills to see who delivered chips 1 hour prior to the accident.

I video recorded a Volvo loader running red light at full speed at hwy 97 and 22nd, sent video to company that owned loader, company management were defensive about event when it clearly shows loader entered intersection after light had turned red. Very disappointed with people and lack of driving care and responsibility….so this was bound to happen as I travel hwy 97 daily through those intersection and see this red light running daily by all types of vehicles….people need to change before another person gets killed!

I see these “professional drivers” run the lights at 22nd and central a few times a month.. Then again I see people driving reg vehicles doing it as well. The lights the change when someone pulls up to them are the worst ones for being run on a red. As usual, it’s everyone out there you have to watch out for. The only driver you know what they are doing is you.

I am sure they will find this driver, kind of hard to hide the damage. He should be on the umemployment line soon.

pgdoug – send your video and story to the WCB….

I saw a chip truck pulled over by an RCMP vehicle in the BCR industrial site this morning and the driver was not in his truck. This was just before 8am. This might not be related though?

For a professional driver what is the motivator to speed, tail gate, run red lights, be hard on the throttle and stick all day and night? Well, its how many are paid. Some are paid by the road mile (X number of cents/mile),some are paid for a shift ( eg: 3 round trips to V-Hoof)etc. Few are paid by the hour ( employer figures the driver will doddle to gain as many hours as possible) alternatively if the same money is paid the driver ,in many cases will get the shift /trip over with as fast as possible, hence the bad driving habits.
The employer has a responsibility for safe conditions, this includes safe equipment, good training and selection and a pay structure that motivates the driver to operate responsibly.

The chip truck pulled over by the RCMP this morning on the BCR had damages to an axle. One of its wheels was bent out making the trailer unuseable. I will suggest that this was indeed the chip truck involved.

It is like have a line up of 6 cars hook together and you hit the rear one. Not enough time to stop I guess.

Sound like all the logging trucks coming out of upper Fraser road in the AM driving down the middle of the road.

I don’t claim to know what happened here, but I know one thing. There are more unprofessional drivers causing the majority of traffic crashes on our streets than there are professional drivers causing crashes on our streets. Time to look in the mirror people.

Fair enough Dragonmaster – but when professional drivers hit someone, – they kill and maim them, regular drivers the impact is so much less – so professional drivers should be held to a much higher standard, and frankly, from what I’ve seen on chief lake rd, they are more interested in making sure they beat the other guy to the loader, than driving through an area with children waiting for school buses, school buses on the road, an abundance of wildlife that can jump out at any second. They regularly cross center lines on curves because they’re going to fast, and forcing the on-coming car to go to the shoulder. I’d say 1 in 20 drives like an idiot now, and about 5 in 20 is pushing it. Those aren’t great odds if you’re in a Volkswagen Jetta when the truck strays across the center line.

My wife, who in a former life, was a professional driver, says there once was unwritten code of conduct with truckers, but she sees little evidence of it in many of them now.

right Dragonmaster, they say that 40% of drivers will not pass a drivers test 10 years after they have had their license and 23% of the cars on the road around you are not legal on the road (for whatever reason) so yes, regular drivers do cause many accidents, however, “professional” drivers are held to a higher standard, as they are supposedly higher trained than Joe average driver. But to say it is up to the employer to provide safe conditions (Furbink above ) is ridiculous. The driver must pre-trip their vehicle to make sure it is safe each day and they are the only ones behind the wheel, so it is a choice made by the driver to drive unsafe, and up to them to decide if extra cash in their pocket is worth more than the people in the other cars around them. It used to be standard when going over Roger’s Pass in tough conditions (I lived in Revelstoke and worked in Golden)to get behind a semi and follow them over the bad spots, not so now. That was in the 80’s and 90’s and now you need to stay as far away from the “proffessionals” as possible. I doubt that the pay structure was much better then, so I’m thinking it’s the drivers. No matter what the vehicle type, other than mechanical or medical, it is the driver who makes the choice to drive unsafe, no defending them.

Holy cow folks, one hit and run by a chip truck and by the posts, they’re all bad drivers! How many of you cut off big rigs when you’re driving, pass when unsafe, forcing big rigs to slam on the binders?
What I have seen are a lot of professional drivers driving chip trucks and big rigs, I don’t see a lot of accidents involving them, wher3e they are “at fault”.
Yes there are the real stupid ones talking on cell phones when they’re driving but very few. What I do see on the Bypass(Hwy97 in town) are a lot of smaller vehicles doing very stupid things and because there’s more of them, we notice them more.
Imagine this driver is unemployed now, has had an interview with a traffic member, issued an appearance notice for court, and who knows, perhaps a simple ticket for running a red light, or criminal negligence, dangerous driving etc. After interviewing witnesses who knows.
Wish we had an update on the person taken to hospital, and hope that person is healing ok. I hope there is an update in media concerning the driver of this truck and what happened. For all we know it could have been a medical issue…………

Is there anything better when two losers in their chip trucks take up both lanes on Central, while they chat with each other? Nobody can pass, vision blocked, all because two toolbags have to recreate some moment from Smokey and the Bandit, and hog the highway.

I suggest we have have working red light cameras at every intersection ,,screw the cost .

PG101, why are they losers? Unless there is a reasonable excuse to pass someone, loaded chip trucks on the bypass stay in the right lane because they are pretty slow when loaded. Chip trucks have every right to use both lanes just as you do. Empties are actually pretty quick at reaching the posted speed limit and don’t seem to hold up traffic as far as I have ever been able to see. So maybe take a breath and remember who it is that delivers chips to our local mills that produce the pulp that makes the paper that you wipe your butt with, before flapping your lips!