2241 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

that's a tough one.  as it drives across the lanes - after all the skidding is over - it does not seem to be taking any action to slow or correct direction.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 December 2019 - 01:22 PM.

[Mike K.]

#1 appears to speed along the ramp, then experiences what could be a weather-related loss of control. Were the tires bald, so is this a mechanical issue?

 

The driver then loses complete control and travels into the path of vehicle #2, whose driver took no action until one second before collision. Was driver #2 inattentive? Speeding? Both? Confused?

[Victoria Watcher]

yes also driver #2 did not do much.

[sebberry]

Exceeding speed limit?

Driver inattentive?

Driving too fast for conditions?

Weather?

Road condition?

Driver error/confusion?

 

https://www.liveleak...GJjA_1577200439

 

Driver 2 certainly hit the brake right before impact, and I would say within the typical amount of reaction time.  We tend to think of reaction time as 'it only takes me half a second to react to the traffic light I'm staring at changing' but in reality, it's the things you're not at all expecting that you have to first realize is happening, then figure out how to avoid, if you can.  I don't think the driver of the blue SUV was doing anything wrong. .  Keep in mind his view of the merge was obstructed by the car running the camera.

 

As for the truck?  He accelerated on a wet road, in a RWD truck.  Driver's ed these days doesn't teach you how to manage skids or put new drivers anywhere close to losing control.  Just the sensation of losing steering control in a controlled environment is enough to scare anyone into being more cautious.  

[Mike K.]

Car #2’s driver appears completely oblivious. The car is parallel with the vehicle recording at around the 8 second mark and the collision occurs at 12.

[exc911ence]

I'd say that lack of driving skill is the main factor for most of what you see in that video.

 

As cars have become safer and easier to handle, driver skills have atrophied to match the reduced workload. That's all well and good until it all goes out the window and the vehicle is no longer in control of itself... 

[Victoria Watcher]

Traffic is at a standstill in both lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway near Goldstream Provincial Park.

Emergency crews are attending an incident in the southbound lane of Highway 1. Reports say vehicles in both lanes are not moving.

A tweet from Drive BC says an assessment of the incident is in progress and that motorists should expect delays.

 

https://www.vicnews....rovincial-park/

[On the Level]

^ The reason stated for not getting an alternate route through the Malihat is that there are too few accidents.  Does the current accident get included in the count or since it is before the summit does it qualify as a mulligan?  

[Mike K.]

The incident is clear now, but there will be some residual congestion.

[Mike K.]

🚔Impaired driving investigation underway after vehicle rolls over on Malahat🚔

On December 27th 2019, at 11:09 am the West Shore RCMP responded to a report of a single vehicle rollover on the shoulder of the Trans Canada Highway (southbound lane), just south of Goldstream Provincial Park. Frontline officers located a 2014 Jeep Wrangler that had gone off road at this location, hitting the rock wall and rolling onto the driver’s side.

The driver was the only occupant of the vehicle and was unharmed in this collision. An impaired driving investigation ensued as the driver was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision. As a result the driver was issued and immediate roadside prohibition from driving and their vehicle was towed.

Both north and southbound lanes were shut down for approximately 40 minutes while emergency crews attended the scene and the vehicle was cleared from the shoulder. Thankfully no one was injured in this collision.

[Bernard]

I was glad I was running late coming south on the 27th and managed to avoid the wait

[Redd42]

After driving the Sea to Sky highway today, twice, up in the afternoon and down just now in the dark, in the rain, with the line markings pretty well invisible, few reflectors at the side of the road, and no middle barrier, I will laugh any time someone complains about the Malahat.

[sebberry]

After driving the Sea to Sky highway today, twice, up in the afternoon and down just now in the dark, in the rain, with the line markings pretty well invisible, few reflectors at the side of the road, and no middle barrier, I will laugh any time someone complains about the Malahat.

 

i thought the BC Gov had a project testing out new lane markings.

[Redd42]

If they did, they didn't pass the test. The section I drove today was Squamish to Whistler.

[Redd42]

Just a week ago I did a similar drive on the Malahat, up to Ladysmith in the afternoon and back to Victoria after dark. No where near as knuckle (and other things) clenching. 

[Bernard]

After driving the Sea to Sky highway today, twice, up in the afternoon and down just now in the dark, in the rain, with the line markings pretty well invisible, few reflectors at the side of the road, and no middle barrier, I will laugh any time someone complains about the Malahat.

And the Horseshoe Bay to Squamish section is much, much better than it used to be.  I drove it a lot from the late 70s to 2004 and it needed serious work.  Thankfully bridge washouts are no longer the sort of issue they once were such as M Creek in 1981 

 

M Creek disaster

 

In the early hours of 28 October 1981,[4] following heavy rains, a debris torrent swept away the small timber bridge on British Columbia Highway 99. Nine people lost their lives in the darkness and confusion, going off the highway into the creek's deep canyon, some despite being warned by one driver who had seen the first two cars go in ahead of him. as cars approaching the washout in the rain and dark did not know the bridge was out. The incident led to the highway's sobriquet, conferred by the Vancouver Province, the "Highway of Death" (aka "Killer Highway"). Of the nine victims, one whose body had been recovered from Howe Sound had not gone off the M Creek bridge, but that of Strachan Creek, which was among the many others destroyed by debris torrents that night.

 

The debris torrent was estimated at 20,000 cubic metres, composed of logs and rock, which emerged from the creek's canyon just above the highway bridge, knocking out the creek's central trestle-span.

 

The term M Creek disaster became used to refer to all the washouts and flooding from that same evening. Thousands of tourists were stranded at Whistler until the highway was reopened. and led to community discussions and agitation to open a "back door" for Whistler, as many tourists had been stranded by the washouts, with deliberations over the various alternate routes east and south from there ending with the selection of the Duffey Lake Road as the formal extension of Highway 99, which had hitherto ended at Pemberton. 

 

Aftermath

 

The same period of rains incurred multiple washouts on the highway between Lions Bay and Pemberton, including several within the Resort Municipality of Whistler, plus the erosion of sand footings for the Culliton Creek bridge in the Cheakamus Canyon/Brohm Ridge stretch of the highway between Brackendale and the abandoned Garibaldi townsite at Rubble Creek. The disaster led to the commissioning of a study on the extent of torrent hazards on the highway, published in 1983 by Thurber Consultants, examining 23 creeks between Horseshoe Bay and Britannia Beach, and on their debris fans on the shoreline, some of which were developed and at risk.

 

A coroner's jury recommended a series of measures to deal with highway safety, including warning lights at bridges where washouts may occur (this was never acted on), and 11 bridges along the route were replaced with structures with no support spans that might wash out in further debris torrents. Three concrete "debris torrent basins" were constructed on the upper reaches of Charles, Harvey and Magnesia Creeks to avert similar disasters emerging from those basins.[10] 

 

The location today was extensively rebuilt since the disaster, with the creek now bridged by freeway and a concrete structure, as with other hazards along the highway over the years since. 

 

.   

[Nparker]

Just what was needed to make today's traffic situation even worse.

The southbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway near Goldstream Provincial Park were closed Wednesday afternoon due to reports of a jackknifed semi truck...Just after 3 p.m. Emcon Services Inc. tweeted that the transport had been cleared and that crews were moving the concrete barrier back into place.

https://www.vicnews....alahat-traffic/

 

[Mike K.]

TCH is closed north of Duncan for 9km between Mays and Henry Roads due to flooding.

[Mike K.]

🔺BREAKING - Cowichan Valley declares state of emergency🔺

Duncan, BC – The Cowichan Valley Regional District has declared a state of local emergency for the region, as widespread flooding forces resident evacuations and cuts off key transportation corridors.

At approximately 10 p.m. on January 31, flooding in areas of Crofton, a community in the Municipality of North Cowichan, resulted in the evacuation of approximately 23 people. A BC Transit bus was used to bring 18 residents to the Duncan area to stay with friends and family, and the rest were accommodated in Crofton. Evacuations continued into the early morning and at 3 a.m. the Cowichan Community Centre was opened as a group lodging and reception centre. The centre is currently hosting approximately 28 evacuated residents from North Cowichan and the Halalt First Nation.

At this time the Trans-Canada Highway is closed one kilometer south of the Chemainus River Bridge in both directions, as water crossing the highway has made it impassable. Flooding has also closed Westholme Road and Chemainus Road, and there is currently no alternative route for north and south bound traffic.

Significant flooding is also occurring on Tzouhalem Road at the corner of Lakes Road. Operations staff from North Cowichan are currently installing a flood wall at the bottom of the Lakes Road hill, which may also restrict traffic flows.

Residents are asked to monitor the Drive BC website for up to date road conditions and closures, and be prepared to leave their homes if their neighbourhood is affected by flooding.

A situational update on this emergency will occur at approximately 9 a.m.

[Victoria Watcher]

damn  that tzoulhalem area always gets it.