Editor:
With the warm and sunny spring and summer days just around the corner, I am reminded of sitting in traffic trying to get through the George Massey Tunnel.
Have you ever wondered why there seem to be so many tunnel accidents and multiple rear-end collisions on those beautiful sunny Saturday or Sunday afternoons yet traffic moves just fine during the worst winter weather?
You are driving along, you've got your sunglasses on, maybe going a bit above the speed limit seeing that everyone else is doing 100 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
The roads are dry and with those ABS brakes, your vehicle literally will stop on a dime if need be under these road conditions.
All of a sudden as you enter the tunnel there appears a vehicle in front of you; appearing seemingly out of nowhere as you transition from the glare of the bright sunlight into the dark abyss of the tunnel entrance. Even worse, the car in front of you has its brake lights on and its tires are smoking as it tries to avoid hitting the car in front of it. Sure makes for a quick wake-up call.
At this point you probably wished you had taken those sunglasses off back when the sign told you to do so. Maybe you should have turned your lights on too so the car behind you had a better chance at spotting you as you entered the tunnel. Slowing down a little would also have helped, even if it meant being one of those annoying slowpoke drivers everyone hates on a nice sunny days.
All of a sudden those black skid marks on the pavement at the entrance to the tunnel become a solemn reminder of the dangers at hand.
Sebastian Hamberger
