EDITORIAL – Answer to death toll on Yellowhead remains the same
(Image: CFJC)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
A PAIR OF ACCIDENTS on the Yellowhead Highway last week had the mayors of Barriere and Clearwater sounding off again about the need for major upgrades to the stretch between Kamloops and Jasper.
They certainly should be concerned — everybody is — about the death toll on that highway. But let’s keep the issues straight.
One of the fatal accidents was a rollover south of Barriere in which a vehicle went into a ditch. We don’t yet know what caused it — could have been a medical issue with the driver, could have been a distraction, could have been speed. Police investigators often don’t follow up publicly with their findings on those kinds of details and, in fact, it’s sometimes impossible to know.
The other accident is clearer. A car attempted to pass a transport truck and collided head-on with a van coming from the opposite direction. The three people in the sedan were killed.
None of this makes the accidents any less tragic, not at all, but it would seem to run counter to the usual arguments that if billions were put into improvements to the Yellowhead, the death toll would stop.
Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
A general opinion amongst of our elderly twice weekly morning coffee clutch, all over 70, is a pilot car for the big rigs,between Heffly Creek and Little Fort and heavy fines for speeders. Also a long overdue agreement between BC and Alberta re the paying of out of province fines. I personally would like to see a return of photo radar, also 2 plates on Alberta vehicles.
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The sad state of road safety in B.C. is directly attributable to a great deal of carelessness displayed by a surprisingly large segment of the population. Some of the elements of said population also happens to be lawyers, politicians, police and others in positions of authority. The lack of personal accountability coupled with the cult of the “self” is pushing our society more and more towards greater mayhem.
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It’s true that driver error or recklessness is the cause of many accidents on that road. However, I think the highway could do with more passing lanes, as part of the problem is slow truck traffic for miles makes some drivers impatient and then they take risks. Also, a slow truck should not be allowed to pass a slower one on the shorter passing lanes, holding up all the traffic behind them and not clearing the passing lane until the road goes back to single lane each way. Very irritating. Just a thought.
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