Safety on northwestern Ontario highways remains an issue after deadly accidents

Major accidents and collisions continue to plague northwestern Ontario highways.

This past December, Ontario Provincial Police responded to at least 10 major incidents and five people have died, according to Traffic Staff Sgt. Tim Penfold.

Just this past weekend, a serious collision closed Highway 102 after a single commercial vehicle rollover, and last week, there was another serious collision on Highway 11 near Atikokan. 

Penfold says that while collisions themselves have decreased this year compared to last year, there have been more fatal accidents on the highway during that period.

"We're really concerned for the victims, families. Thirty-four people died on northwestern Ontario roads last year, and that's a minimum of 34 families that have been torn apart for really no reason whatsoever."

He said that with almost all of the collisions they investigate, the most common causes tend to be: impaired driving, distracted driving, seat-belt use and speeding/aggressive driving.

"We're doing everything we can basically to educate the public that driving isn't a right. You can't be impaired when you hop behind the wheel of a car. You have to wear your seat-belt. Leave your cellphone alone, and [put it on] do not disturb mode and concentrate on driving."

Travis McDougall, a truck driver and co-founder of Truckers for Safer Highways, has driven northwestern Ontario roads plenty of times — so much that if he's able to plan ahead, he makes sure to put in a couple of days extra in case he has to wait on the highway.

"I absolutely count on [delays] because it's going to happen, It's not if [it's] when. And like this trip, I just got lucky that I missed two of them," said McDougall.

While McDougall missed two closures on his recent trip, he wasn't so lucky on other occasions. Before Christmas, he was stuck in a highway closure by Shuniah for 12 hours, he said. 

McDougall said drivers are pushed hard by some companies, and it's a problem because they're responsible for other drivers' safety as well as their own.

"And then when it comes to new drivers, new drivers are being taught how to pass the road test and not necessarily everything they need to know to be a good driver on our roads," said McDougall.

"Guys are getting their licence in the GTA and they're not prepared for what they're going to face, in their career, let alone in northern Ontario regions. And they're not prepared for what they're going to face when they get sent across the prairies of the mountains."  

McDougall said he'd like to see more enforcement from the Ministry of Transportation, noting he saw an increased presence at the beginning of the winter season, but is not seeing the same presence recently.

Lise Vaugeois, NDP MP for Thunder Bay Superior North, has been hearing from people who use the highways and said she's heard similar concerns. 

"[They] feel that the roads have become less safe over the last number of years," Vaugeois said. "A lot of people are actually quite frightened about using the highways at this point.

"We aren't even really into winter driving yet. The highways for the most part have been dry. So it is a major concern that we're already seeing fatalities. We don't want to see them anytime, but the driving conditions themselves have not necessarily been the problem."

Like McDougall, Vaugeois said training for new drivers is an issue and she's been bringing it up at Queen's Park since being elected.

She said she's seriously concerned with how drivers are being trained and the impacts being seen on northwestern Ontario roads, and there is no monitoring being done on the roads of the training.

Vaugeois mentioned there are only eight inspectors in Ontario to cover over 500 schools of all disciplines, with more than 200 of those being driving schools, and the inspectors don't necessarily have the expertise to go beyond the paperwork. 

"The training is not taking place. In addition to that, many experienced drivers are suggesting that the training is too short, the drivers need more time behind the wheel, that perhaps there should be a graduated system with people authorized who are very experienced to be mentors."

She also agrees there needs to be more monitoring and enforcement on the highways, and while there may not be an overnight solution, immediate action on monitoring drivers training, cracking down on schools and getting inspection stations up and running for trucks can help.

"Obviously that takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money. But when you consider that Highways 11 and 17 are the TransCanada Highway and those highways are continuously being closed because of accidents, and when they are closed, goods cannot get across the country," said Vaugeois

"We've tried many ways of approaching the government about this. Letters, Truckers for Safer Highways have submitted briefs with very specific suggestions and we don't see anything happening."