A 4th person dies from the Accident east of T/O on Friday....

[thumper18474]

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/toronto/story/1.3257090

A 10 year old succumbed to his injuries from the 20 car crash westbound on the 401 on Friday..He is the brother of the 12 year old who also died in the accident.

I couldnt even begin to imagine what the parents will be going thru.
My heart goes out to them...

Edit....
2 of the deceased are only now being removed from the vehicles..this afternoon

 

[trtinajax]

I certainly hope that the police lay serious charges against the transport driver that caused this carnage. If the details I have heard are true, then there should also be consideration given to charges against the workers responsible for the stupidity involved in the lane closures that stopped the flow of traffic,

 

[mjg1]

I see a lot truck rollovers from drivers of E.I. backgrounds, I don't know if this driver is one or not. 99% when a truck just plows into stopped traffic, it's driver just not paying attention. Sometimes it's a medical event or he just fell asleep.

Too often in construction zones, traffic just comes to a complete stop, for no reason! Some vehicles slow down too much or just crawl through it. Causing slow trucks to back-up everything and it's just grows from there. That's why as a truck driver, you have to pay extra attention for stopped traffic ahead.

 

[GameBoy27]

I certainly hope that the police lay serious charges against the transport driver that caused this carnage. If the details I have heard are true, then there should also be consideration given to charges against the workers responsible for the stupidity involved in the lane closures that stopped the flow of traffic,

I heard they were looking at the construction signage. The crash however happened at approximately 10:30 PM. If the construction signage was indeed a factor, how was it nobody else crashed before then?

Traffic often comes to a grinding halt along the 401, for something as simple as a car on the shoulder. That's why vehicles are equipped with brake lights.

How was it that the only vehicle that failed to stop was the transport truck. The vehicle with the best view of the conditions ahead. By all accounts, the driver failed to slow down at all.

In other words, the guy was either distracted, asleep or had a medical condition. Signage my ass!

 

[bolt.upright]

There have been quite a few collisions in the area since the construction started. The highway, normally straight, now has a couple of curves to accommodate the builders. I'm not sure what they could be doing differently, but this is definitely not the only accident that has happened, only the most serious.

 

[thumper18474]

Preliminary findings from the reconstruction team was the T/T driver fell asleep..based on speed and no tire marks from braking...among other things..also factor in that there may have been a closure being set up..so the closure crew may have been setting out Pre warnings...which because of tight shoulders may have had a lane blocked causing the bottleneck affect...

 

[Serpent]

And imagine how dangerous the 401 will become when it's winter and it starts to snow!!

 

[SkyRider]

And imagine how dangerous the 401 will become when it's winter and it starts to snow!!

Add to this mix are wheels that come flying off trucks.

 

[GameBoy27]

Preliminary findings from the reconstruction team was the T/T driver fell asleep..based on speed and no tire marks from braking...

That was my guess. As a side note, I make a conscious effort to never drive with a transport or large truck behind be whenever possible.

And imagine how dangerous the 401 will become when it's winter and it starts to snow!!

I was just going to say that.

I always love a good winter vs. all-season tire debate. Love listening to people explain how you don't need winter tires if you're a "good driver". :frusty:

Add to this mix are wheels that come flying off trucks.

Still a concern but used to happen much more frequently.

 

[Serpent]

Something is wrong with 401 Eastbound and trucks crashing (esp in winter). I'm not sure if it is drivers, the weather or the highway itself??

http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/Canada/2014/01/29/21432711.html

http://news.nationalpost.com/toront...ith-up-to-15-centimetres-of-snow-hitting-city

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxmz01YAriU

 

[thumper18474]

Certain areas are more prone to bad conditions than others
In the east...Napanee. .area...open fields..straight highway drivers at the mercy of the prevailing winds
in the west...West on London. .Dorchester..I think..same issue
wide open areas...long stretches of highway that are flat
MTO. ..has contemplated planting trees along sides as a kind of wind break ...but then you create a wind tunnel affect and drifting occurs
No easy answer..
unfortunately these areas have been deemed .."Kill Zones"..and when we get calls for that area...we hope for the best but plan for the worst...
we have areas in the GTA also...named as such

 

[GameBoy27]

Something is wrong with 401 Eastbound and trucks crashing (esp in winter). I'm not sure if it is drivers, the weather or the highway itself??

http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/Canada/2014/01/29/21432711.html

http://news.nationalpost.com/toront...ith-up-to-15-centimetres-of-snow-hitting-city

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxmz01YAriU

Unpredictable conditions, snow squalls, poor visibility, improper tires, excessive speed and driver error are all factors. I'm not blaming truckers but considering it can take TT trucks up to 5 times the stopping distance of a car on dry asphalt.

I shudder when I see them travelling at the speeds they do on snow covered highways. All it takes is for one car to spin and come to a stop, blocking a lane and you have a major pileup. The trucks simply can't stop in time.

 

[LuckyPants]

That was my guess. As a side note, I make a conscious effort to never drive with a transport or large truck behind be whenever possible.
.

In this case, the ones that got it worse were not the ones just in front of the truck. A friend was in this mess. The truck hit the car behind my friend, which in turn hit my friend's vehicle in the back. I saw a photo of he vehicle behind my friend's: it's unrecognizable. My friend's car is a writeoff but friend was not injured. lucky! Somehow my friend was pushed just enough to the side that the truck went by in the left lane. My friend indicated the cars ahead in the left lane got it worse as the truck plowed them right over.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

They should reduce speed in that 4 km stretch to 80 for 12 or 18 months or as long as it takes to finish the work because it looks like a very long term construction project that will take a long time to finish.

There are a lot of big traffic clog ups out of nowhere in that area because of all the periodic lane closures they do.
Reduction in speed limit is a pain in the neck but something needs to be done to reduce the chaotic turbulence caused by by the traffic bottlenecks in that area.

 

[SkyRider]

The father of the two dead boys is a Mexican military officer. Another father left childless due to the carnage on our highways.

 

[legmann]

Both siblings dead, and the parents still in serious condition and unaware that their sons are gone. So incredibly sad.

 

[Ref]

The speed limit is reduced through the construction area to 80 kmh (EB & WB), there are no shoulders through the construction, the sides of the road are lined with concrete walls, the detour route is curvy and uneven.
The detour probably could have been laid out better with wider lanes but I guess the province decide to save some $. Too bad nobody has gone after the transportation minister to get some answers.
The construction is supposed to completed by year end.

I drive through there every day. The lanes have been moved somewhat, but the path is similar to what is was before. In the left hand lanes the concrete barriers are quite close. You can tell it is a construction zone when you drive into it. In the dark, they sometimes use big lights to do work which causes slow downs.

When driving on the 401 you always have to be prepared for sudden slow downs or even stoppages right out of the blue. In construction areas you have to pay extra special attention.

It still surprises me the number of people who tailgate through this area. Strange thing is, about a half-click before where that accident occurred are the last three chevrons painted on the old section of the highway. A once visible reminder to leave some space between you and the vehicle in front of you.

Hopefully they nail that asshole truck driver's ass to the wall over this one.

 

[whitewaterguy]

And imagine how dangerous the 401 will become when it's winter and it starts to snow!!

If you check mto's annual traffic fatalities and personal injury stats for vehicular traffic, broken down by month, summer months are always more deadly..February, January and December, surprisingly low

I'd like to find mto data reflecting fatalities and accidents occurring in construction areas. our office lost a coworker who was nailed by a transport near Kingston in a lane merging construction zone slow down about 3 years ago

 

[GPIDEAL]

I heard they were looking at the construction signage. The crash however happened at approximately 10:30 PM. If the construction signage was indeed a factor, how was it nobody else crashed before then?

Traffic often comes to a grinding halt along the 401, for something as simple as a car on the shoulder. That's why vehicles are equipped with brake lights.

How was it that the only vehicle that failed to stop was the transport truck. The vehicle with the best view of the conditions ahead. By all accounts, the driver failed to slow down at all.

In other words, the guy was either distracted, asleep or had a medical condition. Signage my ass!

Sad story.

As for signage, I've called 311 to alter the signage where it caused traffic or a bottle neck, and was a safety risk - AND THEY EVENTUALLY DID CHANGE IT FOR THE BETTER.

 

[SkyRider]

, summer months are always more deadly..February, January and December, surprisingly low

Maybe more vehicles on the road during the Summer months? Same with drownings, more in the Summer than in Winter.