Semi T-bones junior hockey team. 14 dead.

I agree, years ago, you were expected to have your vehicle under control, miss a stop sign? Preposterous. Today, these "safety measures" are required because of the distractions, and more than likely, the driver was on the phone, I mean, what else is there to look at and not looking ahead. (could have nodded off, I suppose, but because I hate cell phones, I'll blame them) Just amazes me, roads get better, vehicles get safer, and something like a major distraction like a phone is even in existence.

 

I find driving in the prairies much more challenging than in BC. At least there's hills and corners everywhere in BC. Out in the flatlands its easy to go into highway hypnosis.

 

I'll add a aerial picture of that intersection. The bus was heading north on 35 while the semi truck was heading west on 335.

 

I sometimes wonder if some of these 'safety measures' are a good thing. With the vehicles being so comfortable, quiet inside and easy to drive it's easy for one to get too 'comfortable' driving.

Add in things like lane departure warning and collision avoidance to dumb down the driving experience and the one holding the wheel is just along for the ride.

 

I used to have "micro sleeps" but never hit anything, not even the ditch, although I would drift in my lane. In fact, I avoided several wildlife, so I had a theory that my eyes were still open and images were still registering. This was confirmed by a friend that was a passenger in his car I was driving as we were passing by Chilliwack one time. He said I looked like I was wide awake, but clearly I wasn't.

I was much more awake after his screaming.

 

Automobile safety standards advancements are fine, but I think highway design and safety standards improvement have saved more lives than anything.

rumble strips
impact reduction devices at bridge sides and pillars
more railings at critical areas such as bends and adjacent to steep terrain
intersection overhead lighting
improved reflective paints
improved paint lines standards
more visible signs
vehicle detection monitored stop lights in some critical places
light change advance notice signage in some critical places
reflective road side markers
wider roads (in many rural areas)
wider shoulders
faster off ramps
longer acceleration lanes
median barriers
more controlled access roads


and on and on and on

 

A couple times I've made an unplanned stop and later come upon an accident that happened right about the time I would have been at that exact location.

 

A row of white crosses can be seen near the crash site of the intersection.

Those who sit on the Rural Municipality of Connaught recalled that about 20 years ago, there was a collision at the same intersection involving an Albertan family of six, who failed to stop at the stop sign, and collided with a grain truck, leading to their deaths.

Reeve Art Lalonde said since that accident, flashing lights have been added to the stop sign, but he and Coun. Brad Schiltroth, who represents the area, said they both believe there's more that could be done.

"People drive through that intersection all the time and there's no reason for it. There's flashing lights, there's two big stop signs," said Schiltroth, noting that little traffic averted most accidents — until now.

Friday night's collision and death toll had both discussing the need to look at more safety measures, such as introducing rumble strips on the highway.
RCMP say multiple factors under consideration in Broncos' team bus crash | CBC News

 

CBC has a movie scheduled to air Saturday called The Sweet Hereafter.

It's about a lawyer who seeks input from parents who lost children in a Canadian bus crash that claimed 14 lives.

CBC pulls bus crash movie from Saturday's schedule

The Sweet Hereafter (film) - Wikipedia​

 

Ive always kinda felt the same way. I dont think anyone ever imagined that more safety features would lead to more darwins pushing the boundaries of stupidity. Many times I would prefer self driving robot cars to human drivers. And I kind of hate the automatic truck transmission for the same reason. Not to say there arent plenty of darwins driving manuals still, but I feel autos make it that much easier for lame truck drivers to drive distracted.

The reality is people are going to make bad decisions no matter how many stop signs are thrown at their face.

And to add, humans will always mess up sometimes. Maybe the driver had something on his mind and was in La La Land for one second too many ....