Two head-on collisions occurred on the Friday before the second weekend in July, one on Highway 27 near Williams Lake and the other on Highway 1 in Chilliwack. Both crashes involved a car and a larger vehicle-a pick-up truck towing a fifth-wheel trailer in the first case, and an SUV in the second. In both crashes, the car was reportedly the vehicle that crossed the centre line.
The driver of the car involved in the first crash was a 22-year-old female traveling with a 15-year-old male to the wedding of their siblings in Kamloops. Both were killed. The 76-year-old passenger in the pick-up truck also died. The 82-year-old driver sustained lower body injuries.
The female driver of the car involved in the second crash was airlifted to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and her two passengers, her children, sustained minor injuries. The female driver of the SUV and her passenger also sustained minor injuries. An infant in a child seat in the SUV was the only occupant unharmed. In total, in these two separate head-on crashes, three people died and five were injured.
The early media reports mentioned none of the expected comments hinting at causation-just head-on collisions on clear roads in the daytime. Follow-up reports with more details have added only that the investigations are ongoing.
Now major expressways usually have divided "opposite direction" highways or, at least, multi-lane roadways with permanent structures separating the opposing lanes. Increasingly, head-on collisions happen where the roadway is a secondary highway.
Here's a sampling of what some excellent "driving tips" books have to say on the subject of head-on collisions:
In "Driving Tips from Grampa" by Gerry Stewart: "if a vehicle is approaching you on the wrong side of the road, you should be alarmed and begin taking action immediately, whether it's just to start slowing at first or, if he's close, pull over to the right and get off the road altogether. Things happen at a lightening [sic] pace when your vehicles are rushing together at high speeds."
In Paul Ripley's "Expert Driving": "greater awareness also gives you more time. This is because you not only see things earlier but also begin to anticipate what is going to happen from the clues you see. As a potentially dangerous situation develops, you will already be slowing down and taking avoiding action. For example, you will know that a car overtaking towards you is running out of time for returning to his own side possibly before he even knows it himself; whereas less-aware drivers would not recognize the potential danger, perhaps even until it was almost on top of them."
There's not much more that can be said. The wrong move at the wrong time produces a tragedy in a split second. All the safety features in the world (except, apparently, a properly positioned infant seat) cannot protect against the crushing forces unleashed when cars traveling at high highway speeds collide head-on. Summer is the time for reflecting on this fact.
Cedric Hughes of Hughes and Company Law Corporation, with contributions from Leslie McGuffin, LL.B., writes a weekly column on traffic advice for The VOICE. "The Road Rules" strives to provide helpful information about driving in British Columbia. We welcome your comments on our published articles and your suggestions for topics you would like us to address. Please email: jkhong@hughesco.com. Phone: (604) 602-1828. Punjabi and Hindi: (604) 897-0207. Email: cedric_hughes@hughesco.com. (www.roadrules.ca)
Cedric Hughes of Hughes and Company Law Corporation, with contributions from Leslie McGuffin, LL.B., writes a weekly column on traffic advice for The VOICE. "The Road Rules" strives to provide helpful information about driving in British Columbia. We welcome your comments on our published articles and your suggestions for topics you would like us to address. Please email: eginter@hughesco.com. Phone: (604) 602-1818. Punjabi and Hindi: (604) 897-0207.
Email: cedric_hughes@hughesco.com
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