Editor:
It was recently reported that a dump truck driver was speeding, passing cars on a double solid line, and struck a pick-up truck travelling in the opposite direction. The crash immediately killed the driver of the pick-up truck.
The accident occurred on Jan. 18 on 16 Avenue.
The driver, a 62-year-old male, walked away from the horrific accident. I wonder if he would have been as brave and foolhardy if he was driving a Smart car rather than a dump truck.
The man should be charged with negligent driving causing death. A horrific accident was going to take place; it was only a question of when. It might have been a school bus full of children.
The penalties for this driving should be at the upper limit. Firstly, because someone was killed, and secondly, because he is a professional truck driver driving a piece of heavy machinery.
The man should never drive in this country again. He should also spend time in jai – at least a five-year sentence. He drove in a grossly foolhardy and dangerous manner. He had no respect at all for other human beings on the roadway.
What can the average citizen do? Let’s get the bad truck drivers off the road.
Whenever you see truck drivers driving dangerously, call 911 and report them to the police.
Their foolhardy driving is putting innocent citizens at risk for death and serious injury and should be reported immediately.
If you get the licence plate number of the trailer and/or the truck and the name of the company; the employers will be able to determine who the driver was.
If the driver is frequently receiving complaints about his driving, I am confident that responsible employers will do the right thing and fire the bad drivers.
They should be fired before they do innocent citizens harm. They then can pursue careers where their disrespect for human life will not constitute a disadvantage.
Jim Tucker, Surrey
Editor:
There needs to be more, and very strict, enforcement on all roads in B.C., not just 16 Avenue. Long gone are the days of the professional truck driver. They have been replaced in recent years with a bunch of morons who think they own the road.
I see it on Highway 1 every day while driving to and from work. They show reckless disregard for the safety of others on the road. These yahoos in their semi trucks drive as if they are in sports cars, weaving in and out of both lanes, passing other trucks on hills and driving in the left lane for kilometres on end (the slow traffic is to keep right).
I’ve seen them in the Fraser Canyon and on the Coquihalla, driving slowly up the hills only to speed down the other side as if to try and make up time. They do not move over to the right to allow other traffic to pass.
I guess that’s what comes with an attitude that “we move the goods you buy, so we own the road. Safety be damned.”
It is about time the police started issuing fines to these potential killers. There should be no tolerance for any driving infractions. Zero.
If they are speeding at anything 15 km/h or more over the speed limit, they should be parked for three days. And there must be heavy fines for additional infractions.
We need to have the public stand up and say “no more.” Let’s get these yahoos under control.
R. Jones, Aldergrove
Editor:
This is in response to the R. Jones, of Aldergrove, letter, “Get trucks back under control.” First off, my husband is a truck driver and he is a professional driver as are many of the people I have met through him. I don’t appreciate anyone classifying them all as “a bunch of morons.”
I have been in the truck many times while my husband driving long haul with 40 tonnes behind him, and had people get tired of him trying to grab gears to pick up speed so they whip around him and then slam on the brakes. I’ve even seen people try to go around him on the right. Genius!
Granted, there are some that shouldn’t be driving, such as the fly by night companies that get heavily fined for infractions so they shut down only to re-open under a different name. Those are the ones to go after.
Most reputable companies now have GPS and “E logs” so the company knows what’s going on. Your idea of laws are ridiculous. Before you’re so eager to take food out of a driver’s family’s mouths, fine absolutely anyone going over 15km/h heavily. Any vehicle can kill if handled improperly.
I can’t tell you how many times my truck driver husband has stopped to help someone who had to get past him in a hurry and ended up wiping out a mile up the road while cars just kept driving by .So before all the blame is laid where it doesn’t belong, try to remember when you go flying past a truck driver that they have a family that wants and needs them home safe and he, as a professional truck driver, has been looking out for you.
Corrina Patenaude, Aldergrove
