Editor: I was the unfortunate recipient of the first accident at 6:45 a.m. that caused chaos on Highway 17A last Wednesday, March 12.
Like most Ladner drivers, I was in the right-hand lane heading north to go around the now-single lane to get to the tunnel when one person went ahead in the left lane to the new white dividers on the overpass and cut in.
This action forced a long line of vehicles behind to suddenly have to stop on the highway. Unfortunately the large delivery truck behind me was not able to stop in time.
The large truck went through my entire back end and pushed me into the car in front of me. I lost my car, have missed work and am working on recovering from the impact.
Our three mornings, our three vehicles and our three lives were adversely affected because of one person's decision.
I also learned that our accident caused another accident near Ladner Trunk Road causing further delays and affecting more people's lives. Though the South Fraser Perimeter Road has made the commute to Surrey and Langley far quicker, the changes made to the tunnel approach obviously has some kinks to work out.
I am no planner and make no suggestions how to fix this problem but I am a commuter and am making a plea to everyone to consider your actions when trying to budge ahead of the resulting congestion.
These actions not only add to the problem by causing the flow of traffic to stop, these actions can (and DID) result in more serious situations for the people forced to compensate for these dangerous decisions.
I hope the council and the province can find a solution soon but in the meantime, please practice some patience and realize your attempt to cut ahead to save a minute can change the lives of all those people behind you.
Kevin Jones
