Humboldt Broncos

[Roadghost]

In this case there is no proof there was any distracted driving unless police can prove from cell phone records the driver was on the phone. The claim from one of the parents who was first on the scene was that the truck driver claimed the sun was in his eyes when he ran through the stop sign. With cloudy skies, the story was a little unbelievable. This guy is a professional driver. He should be held to a higher standard than other drivers. Distracted driving or not, he ran a stop sign causing a deadly collision. I'm hearing he only had one month of truck driving experience. In a province where getting a license to drive a 65,000lb monster on the public highway is a going joke. You don't even have to take a course. In my opinion it was the province who gave this fool a heavy truck license and it is the province that should be held liable. They've been told over and over and over there is a licensing problem but still they refuse to toughen up training standards for what should be a registered trade. All to keep transport rates low. It is criminal.

 

[GreyGhost]

My wife and her quilting buddies hoped to meet 10% of the 500 quilts requested. All their own effort and supplies, and some generous local business support with materials and machines, and massive support from Mackie transportation, has resulted in 72 quilts headed west. Lovely effort.

Thumbs up. 72 quilts that quickly is a lot of hours of love.

If I was involved in the crash (or aftermath), I'm not sure if having a physical reminder around the house would be beneficial, but it is great that something is available for those that would find comfort.

 

[klr_guy]

Thumbs up. 72 quilts that quickly is a lot of hours of love.

If I was involved in the crash (or aftermath), I'm not sure if having a physical reminder around the house would be beneficial, but it is great that something is available for those that would find comfort.

Thanks, and I agree. That was the ask, so they delivered.

 

[J_F]

awful story

but encouraged to see the thread has stayed apolitical

 

[nobbie48]

In this case there is no proof there was any distracted driving unless police can prove from cell phone records the driver was on the phone. The claim from one of the parents who was first on the scene was that the truck driver claimed the sun was in his eyes when he ran through the stop sign. With cloudy skies, the story was a little unbelievable. This guy is a professional driver. He should be held to a higher standard than other drivers. Distracted driving or not, he ran a stop sign causing a deadly collision. I'm hearing he only had one month of truck driving experience. In a province where getting a license to drive a 65,000lb monster on the public highway is a going joke. You don't even have to take a course. In my opinion it was the province who gave this fool a heavy truck license and it is the province that should be held liable. They've been told over and over and over there is a licensing problem but still they refuse to toughen up training standards for what should be a registered trade. All to keep transport rates low. It is criminal.

When I turned 16 here in Ontario I got a chauffeurs licence in a Rambler station wagon. I could then legally drive anything but a school bus. The system got upgraded 40 years ago +/- and an employer could sign off that their drivers were "A" whether they had ever driven an "A" vehicle or not. It took a few years for the ministry to go over the list and eventually we have what we have now.

A youtube video of an interview with a trucker's association head pointed out that in the USA wages are, on a cost of living basis, half of what they were 30 years ago.

US numbers quoted were a typical income of $40K, paid only for miles traveled, no pay for wait times or resets, days and weeks away from home living in a bunk. That doesn't attract the cream of the crop.

Keep in mind that $40K is big money for an unskilled worker in some states and some classes here. A driving course could mean a big income increase.

 

[nobbie48]

Thumbs up. 72 quilts that quickly is a lot of hours of love.

If I was involved in the crash (or aftermath), I'm not sure if having a physical reminder around the house would be beneficial, but it is great that something is available for those that would find comfort.

An interesting thought and I don't know what I'd do. Some throw out all reminders and other create a shrine.

 

[sburns]

Keep in mind that $40K is big money for an unskilled worker in some states and some classes here. A driving course could mean a big income increase.

Driving is not a skill?

 

[crankcall]

Driving is not a skill?

Well yes and no, I'd think yes, but I'm constantly proven wrong by guys/gals that speed, change lanes with no signal, get caught over loaded, have defective equipment, don't check tie downs . The industry is changing and not for the better IMHO.

 

[nobbie48]

Driving is not a skill?

Apparently not if you drive for Swift. There are people that are licensed to drive and there are people that know how to drive.

By unskilled I refer to a warehouse or assembly line worker in a non union sweat shop advancing themselves to a more skilled position such as trucking. A CDL can be had a lot faster than a trade certificate.

 

[GreyGhost]

16 counts of dangerous driving causing death, 13 counts of dangerous driving causing injury. 29 year old driver from Calgary was arrested this morning.

The police avoided any specifics of what happened in the crash or why dangerous driving was chosen as the appropriate charge.

From looking at the crash pictures it is quite apparent that the truck ran the stop sign, I wonder if that plus the uproar was enough to pull dangerous driving charges or if there were additional contributing factors (eg speed, distraction, hours of service violations etc).

 

[Wingboy]

And it will be tough for the survivors and families of those that perished.Hope the guy pleads guilty to save everyone the anguish of a lengthly trial. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/07/06/calgary-man-charged-fatal-humboldt-broncos-bus-crash/

 

[GreyGhost]

Hope the guy pleads guilty to save everyone the anguish of a lengthly trial.

That would be a hard sell. The crown would have trouble making a deal that the driver would want to accept as any weakness will be a media and political nightmare. The driver is potentially looking at 14 years * 16 + 10 years * 13 = 354 years. Would you plead guilty knowing it would put you in jail for the rest of your life for what may have been a moment of inattention?

My guess is the trial goes ahead, the driver argues the sun obscured his vision of the stop sign and the grove of trees obscured his view of cross traffic. If speed, logbook and distraction were not factors he may beat it with that defense. Obviously the more factors that were at play the more likely he is to deal (again, assuming that the prosecution is willing to give anything to make a deal favorable).

Could they have laid backup charges? Eg. Careless driving charges in addition as the bar to convict would be much lower. Just dangerous seems like an all or nothing gamble by the prosecution.

 

[Roadghost]

16 counts of dangerous driving causing death, 13 counts of dangerous driving causing injury. 29 year old driver from Calgary was arrested this morning.

The police avoided any specifics of what happened in the crash or why dangerous driving was chosen as the appropriate charge.

From looking at the crash pictures it is quite apparent that the truck ran the stop sign, I wonder if that plus the uproar was enough to pull dangerous driving charges or if there were additional contributing factors (eg speed, distraction, hours of service violations etc).

It's going nowhere. I bet this guy gets no more than a year in jail, if that.

 

[Mad Mike]

That would be a hard sell. The crown would have trouble making a deal that the driver would want to accept as any weakness will be a media and political nightmare. The driver is potentially looking at 14 years * 16 + 10 years * 13 = 354 years. Would you plead guilty knowing it would put you in jail for the rest of your life for what may have been a moment of inattention?

My guess is the trial goes ahead, the driver argues the sun obscured his vision of the stop sign and the grove of trees obscured his view of cross traffic. If speed, logbook and distraction were not factors he may beat it with that defense. Obviously the more factors that were at play the more likely he is to deal (again, assuming that the prosecution is willing to give anything to make a deal favorable).

Could they have laid backup charges? Eg. Careless driving charges in addition as the bar to convict would be much lower. Just dangerous seems like an all or nothing gamble by the prosecution.

I think it's pretty much over for the truck driver. Dangerous driving truck driver named Jaskirit Singh gets tried in Mississippi of the north for killing 15 prairie sons - can you guess the outcome?

If you're still unsure, Goggle prairie justice in Saskatchewan.

 

[nobbie48]

That would be a hard sell. The crown would have trouble making a deal that the driver would want to accept as any weakness will be a media and political nightmare. The driver is potentially looking at 14 years * 16 + 10 years * 13 = 354 years. Would you plead guilty knowing it would put you in jail for the rest of your life for what may have been a moment of inattention?

My guess is the trial goes ahead, the driver argues the sun obscured his vision of the stop sign and the grove of trees obscured his view of cross traffic. If speed, logbook and distraction were not factors he may beat it with that defense. Obviously the more factors that were at play the more likely he is to deal (again, assuming that the prosecution is willing to give anything to make a deal favorable).

Could they have laid backup charges? Eg. Careless driving charges in addition as the bar to convict would be much lower. Just dangerous seems like an all or nothing gamble by the prosecution.

In most cases here sentences are served concurrently so a mass killer doesn't do much more time than a solo killer. With paroles etc a few years behind bars and he's out. The USA is more into consecutive terms, How does one serve 14 life terms +.

I don't see the relevance of the grove of trees for the trucker. You stop at stop signs.

If his council raised the point the tree argument could imply that when the view is clear he barrels through stop signs if there's no traffic.

The bus driver was bushwhacked because he had the right of way and MAY have been able to take evasive action had the trees not been there. In some cases lines of sight are required but how may trees do we chop down?

Where's Marco Muzzo now? His name was on everyone's lips not that long ago.

Does anyone remember the name of the drunk driver that took out the Burlington Skyway? Where's he today?

What's Karla Holmoka's name today? How did she get a job in a day care?

In short, life goes on for the living. Jaskirit Singh will be just another name to be forgotten.

 

[bigpoppa]

They seem to give out truck licenses like candy these days, gone are the days when they were driven by professionals with a lifetimes worth of experience and good judgement behind them.

I see so many of these around the GTA now days, maybe its the companies pushing them to make better time/more deliveries, maybe its just the drivers

Hate to say it but there seems to be a correlation between an uptick in bad drivers and all these immigrants who got off the plane yesterday and are all driving trucks because they think its good/easy money..

A lot of them drove cars or trucks back home and the driving mentality is VERY different back there than it is here

 

[Roadghost]

They seem to give out truck licenses like candy these days, gone are the days when they were driven by professionals with a lifetimes worth of experience and good judgement behind them.

I see so many of these around the GTA now days, maybe its the companies pushing them to make better time/more deliveries, maybe its just the drivers

Hate to say it but there seems to be a correlation between an uptick in bad drivers and all these immigrants who got off the plane yesterday and are all driving trucks because they think its good/easy money..

A lot of them drove cars or trucks back home and the driving mentality is VERY different back there than it is here

That's not your imagination. HR Canada pays for free trucking licenses (your tax dollars at work) for the unemployed. In Alberta, where this killer got his license, you don't need a course, if you pass the test you're licensed. It's complete insanity. In Ontario you can take a one week course with a fly-by-night outfit and get your license the following week. Again, insanity. The government refuses to make it a registered trade because big business complains it will drive up transport rates. Meanwhile, people continue to die.

 

[crankcall]

you can apparently get licensed in a week and yet there is a shortage of trucks and drivers, and certain frt lanes are like the Sahara. Try getting a truck into Maryland or DC. Nobody wants to go unless there is a premium because the back haul could be days or 1000kms away.

Its no dream job, which is why it only seems to attract a certain guy or gal to the vocation. The days of movies about truckers and CB radios and hot cars was 30? yrs ago.

 

[Riceburner]

They seem to give out truck licenses like candy these days, gone are the days when they were driven by professionals with a lifetimes worth of experience and good judgement behind them.

I see so many of these around the GTA now days, maybe its the companies pushing them to make better time/more deliveries, maybe its just the drivers

Hate to say it but there seems to be a correlation between an uptick in bad drivers and all these immigrants who got off the plane yesterday and are all driving trucks because they think its good/easy money..

A lot of them drove cars or trucks back home and the driving mentality is VERY different back there than it is here

What does this tragedy have to do with immigration? It's a licenced driver that chose to blow thru a stop sign (allegedly/possibly). He was trained here and licenced here. Therefore knew the rules of the road here.
The last idiot driver I encountered was yesterday. Right lane merges into the left. I'm in the left lane blocking position. I know the right is ending so, to be nice I move to the left track of the left lane to give cars in the right lane room to merge in. Car beside me decides it's not enough and he should be in front of me and basically shares my lane, honking at me. Front of the car is beside me on the right a foot or at most 2. I'm only a few feet behind the car in front. Leaves me no where to go except into oncoming lanes. Does this for a block till the road opens up and there is a right turn lane. Idiot guns it, into the right turn lane, crosses solid white lines to jump back to the left cutting off the car that was in front of me. Ends up at a complete stop at the lights. I take the right turn land am off on my merry way. He was a white male in the 40s or so. To reference previous post...Holmoka and Bernado are white all-Canadian.

 

[J_F]

while not directly related to this story, which is an awful one
immigration certainly plays a role in reduced road safety

now before anyone accuses me of being a racist, again
it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with where you grew up

growing up in Canada, you are in the family car from about the age of 2 days onward
you are in the family car constantly, observing, as you get older start asking questions
when you turn 16 you start driving, after having been in the family car every day, on Canadian roads

many people that come here as adults did not have that background
due to economic factors - nothing to do with race, they did not have a family car
or if they did, many come from places with little to no traffic rules, I've lived in a few of these places

so while a person may be able to take the training and pass the test
there is something major lacking that someone who grew up ion Canada has built in
regardless of what race they are