I think someone should check to see if there are bullseyes on the overpasses and Massey Tunnel here in Delta.
Just a few weeks after the 112th overpass was struck with an over height load and work to repair the Hwy. 17A overpass on Hwy. 99, which was hit in July, was just two days into its start, a truck clipped the inside of the Massey Tunnel on Wednesday night, Jan. 10.
This has turned into a tragic comedy - yet no one is laughing.
Thanks to a video from a motorist, Richmond RCMP started an investigation into the Massey crash and identified the company as TSD Holdings Ltd., which had its fleet of 20 trucks grounded last Friday (Jan. 12) by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Bright Sky Disposal Ltd., the company responsible for the July crash on Hwy. 17A overpass, has been fined $2,000 according to a report we published last week.
The company involved in the 112th overpass strike, Chohan Freight Forwarders Ltd., has its operating licence suspended by MOTI, although, there were reports that their Edmonton division was still operating, and their trucks were spotted recently in parts of B.C.
Add all of this up and you have a trucking industry in total chaos and politicians at every level scrambling to come up with solutions as the motoring public continues to grow angrier by the minute.
Letters have been flying off the desks of local and provincial politicians, the United Truckers Association has called to a wide-ranging safety review – even the federal government is starting to weigh in.
As of the end of 2023, there had been 17 overpass strikes in the past year and 31 since December 2021. These numbers are unacceptable.
One thing is perfectly clear – the system is broken.
Fines are not tough enough. Drivers need way more training and education and the trucking companies themselves need to be held accountable for allowing these clearly inexperienced drivers out onto our roads.
