A better investment than mileage markers or electronic signs
To the Expositor:
On Thursday, March 20, 2014 a transport truck crossed the centre line, 80 km south of Sudbury on Highway 69, and sideswiped a bus carrying a boy’s hockey team. Of 26 people only the driver was injured from this accident. She swerved to avoid the truck but contact was still made and she steered the bus safely to the side of the road. The problem was that the truck crossed over the centre line and was in the wrong lane.
During this past winter there have been other accidents and fatalities on our highways caused by vehicles crossing the centre line.
Studies in other provinces, and in the United States, where centre line rumble strips (CLRS) have been installed show that accidents like these (head on collisions) have been greatly reduced with the installation of CLRS.
CLRS are one cm by 30 cm wide depressions cut into the centre of roadway that alerts the driver that the vehicle is on the centre line between the oncoming lanes. They are similar to the shoulder rumble strips, which alert the driver that they are approaching the shoulder of the road. The cost to install CLRS is about $1,000 per kilometre.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has drawings for CLRS since July 2004. In 2007 the MTO installed CLRS on 14 km of Highway 102 near Thunder Bay for research.
Minister of Transportation, Glen Murray wrote in April 2013 that; “Since 2010, we have installed over 50 kilometers of centre line rumble strips on various highways in Northern Ontario.” He also states: “Centre line rumble strips are one of many improvements that will continue to be installed where they are effective.” Installing only 50 kilometers of CLRS in two or three years is not being proactive in making our highways safer.
The MTO states that CLRS are effective, but why are we not seeing them on more of our highways, especially our two-lane Trans Canada Highways.
We now have mileage markers along Highway 17 west of Sudbury that tell us how far you are from the Manitoba border—every kilometre. How do they save lives or prevent accidents? They don’t.
How do the huge electronic signs above or roads prevent accidents? They don’t.
How will CLRS save lives? If your vehicle starts to cross over into the other lane, the noise from your tires will alert you to the problem. They can and will prevent accidents.
Considering what has been spent on mileage markers and electronic signs and the lack of CLRS on our highways, our tax dollars have again been mismanaged and public safety has been ignored.
CLRS are a low cost improvement to our highways that will make them safer.
Call your MPP or email me at c.l.rumblestrips@gmail.com stating that “you want all our highways to have CLRS installed to make travel safer” and I will forward them to Minister Glen Murray.
Bill Olfert
Espanola
c.l.rumblestrips@gmail.com
