It seems very clear that there seems to be only one political party that wishes to take the “bull by its horns” and put an end to the constant occurrences regarding accidents/incidents of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) on two of our major highways — 11/17.
Recommendations from the NDP party have been addressed such as:
- Have the MTO perform in-depth testing for new CMV drivers.
- Increased staffing for MTO personnel.
- Mandatory use of snow tires on CMVs, improved winter driving skills.
- Four-lane highways, more rest stops and paving/widening of shoulders.
- Increased use of rail transportation. It was stated in the media that:
- 60 per cent of highway incidents (on Northwestern Ontario highways in 2024) were caused by CMVs, of which there were 21 fatal collisions with an increase of 30 per cent!
- Accidents consisted of following too closely and improper lane changing.
With these facts, it makes the average motorist uneasy when driving these highways — at least it does me!
As for the above recommendations, please allow me to share my thoughts:
- Agree
- Agree
- Agree somewhat — snow tires on CMVs (will the drivers use them), testing for winter driving. Who will follow through on these items?
- Four-laning/double highway (obviously not effective, a transport accident on Feb. 11 closed both westbound lanes for several hours — and no entry to Thunder Bay). More rest stops. Are they really going to be used (most are usually empty when passing by)? Widening/paving of shoulders — opportunity for a CMV operator to pass on the right-hand side of the roadway!
- Totally agree, but who will be operating these trains?
- /7. Speak for themselves.
As mentioned, there is one party fighting for safer roads, it sure would be comforting knowing that the other parties are showing aggression on this matter as well.
Gary Kader,
Timmins
