A tragic accident

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A tragic accident

Post by Horus »

Sad to see on the breaking news that a large number of a Canadian hockey team have been killed in a crash, very tragic. :(
"At least 14 people are reported to have died after a truck collided with a bus carrying a junior hockey team in western Canada.
Another 14 are said to be injured. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it happened late on Friday afternoon.
The bus was carrying the Humboldt Broncos, who play in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, to the town of Nipawin for a playoff game."


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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Grandad »

Yes H, a sad loss of so many young lives. :(
:gg:
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Mad Dilys »

How terrible for the families of those that lost their lives. Unfortunately I'm sure there will be many of the survivors who will feel guilty at their own survival, because that's what happens in the after effects of a tragedy unfortunately.

May those who died rest in peace and may those who survive recover fully in mind and body.

I was feeling especially thankful for what I have in life this morning, but when I read the opening post it moved me to tears. I don't know how to express my gratitude for my life and my loved ones.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Horus »

Sometimes in the midst of our own personal tragedies we forget just how fortunate we are in other ways.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Geez - I've been out all day. Drove north to Qualicum to meet up with my gf and her husband so I could hear about their cruise on Princess all around South America. Haven't heard one word about this accident. Will have to get the TV News going. Sounds more than a tragic loss of life.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Just turned on the News and OMG :( :( :( how sad and tragic. Fifteen dead and more injured.

Depending on where this happened the terrain could be nothing. There isn't much between Humbolt and Nipawin. Nothing in that it is most likely just open country not close to anything so help wouldn't be easily accessible or arriving in a timely manner.

(Actually just saw it on TV that the highway was just way out in the open)

The other thing that I do know about Saskatchewan is that it is totally flat so almost all roads go in totally straight lines which makes for FAST driving. You can get speeds of up to 120km+ so if both truck and bus where just travelling along they could have collided at extremely high rates of speed and without the kids being buckled in via seat belts they'd be bouncing about the interior of that bus.

Personally I do NOT like school buses. All the seats are metal banded and open. I truly wish they had seat belts in them (and I get that kids are getting up and down and on and off) but they're not at all IMO for long distance travel.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

You can't see much of the countryside but the collision would have been severe and now that I'm seeing a photo it doesn't look like a school bus (which was my own assumption as that is how lots of people are moved around here)

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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Grandad »

What a horrible picture :( The truck was obviously one of those monsters.
Just a horrible horrible accident. I just hope it was very quick for the poor kids who died.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Kiya »

Very very sad, thinking of all who are left behind :(
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

@Grandad - sadly "up north" on those roads there is NOTHING for literally miles so I'd imagine it took quite some time for help to arrive meaning I'm sure there was loss of life because medical intervention didn't arrive sooner. Terribly tragic.

I also know and it is somewhat of a joke but here if you see a car with Alberta, Saskatchewan plates on it there is a good possibility that driver has never experienced our roads. There because the land is absolutely flat all roads are completely straight. Here when roads were built it seems they followed a deer around through the trees as we don't go two steps in a straight line and it is a bit difficult for drivers to get the hang of our roads (particularly when some of them are not even banked correctly).

Given that the roads are straight, given that truck drivers often live here and go there to do the long haul trucking that is required and given the roads are totally straight I can only imagine the speeds were excessive, the driver could have been 'on the road' for excessively long hours and/or given the boredom of constant straight roads with little to see or view out of boredom he just wasn't paying attention or fell asleep.

Totally tragic.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

A secondary tragedy has struck in that one of the deceased was mis-identified in a tragic mix up with another player. Apologies are profuse, no explanation of how this happened but I can see how with humans being humans and reacting in a tragedy this could happen but it has to doubly compound the loss for one family who thought their loved one was 'ok' (maybe injured) only to find out he had really passed.

Not that this solves or fixes anything but somebody in their town did start a "Go Fund Me" page and so far over $5 million has been raised. Support is generously coming from the Hockey world.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Death toll is now at 16 as the Team Therapist passes.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Mad Dilys »

I don't have adequate words, except may they rest in peace and the bereaved find some comfort, maybe in the fact that they had their loved ones at all, even for a brief time might be a blessing.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

This is a cut and paste of a semi-serious website:

Truck driver in Humboldt incident bought his license?!
Sukhmander Singh is the sole owner of trucking company, according to Alberta government corporate records.
As we PREDICTED yesterday but took down the post because of some outrage. This is an old article but case in point. The company scamming our country by selling licenses and importing unskilled and needless 'relatives' and displacing the Canadian worker. This is in the same province that just provided exclusion to helmets to turban. This is negligence and criminal charges should be pursued to the fullest extent possible.
Where is the World Sikh Organization in all of this? They LOVE to lobby for 'rights' but never around for responsibility.
Talk to the RCMP in B.C. about how some Sikh truck drivers cut holes in their vehicle seats as toilets to avoid taking mandatory breaks when operating large vehicles thus risking public safety from fatigue driving.


The issue here is that Sikhs are definitely allowed/given/afforded special considerations under our present Prime Minister. They do NOT need to wear helmets when riding motorcycles, they CAN carry their ceremonial daggers on our airlines and on and on. Given our now Anti-Islamic and Anti-Hate Speech Laws nobody can say anything about anything here good, bad or otherwise or you're apt to be facing charges. Somehow (and I don't have specifics) our country is tied closely to extremist Sikh organizations back in India and this only came to the fore front recently when our PM went to India and played daily dress up much to the embarrassment of all Canada.

Definitely hope this is not the case re: Humboldt.

Today to show support for all the victims ALL Canadians are wearing Hocke Jerseys.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

This is the actual NEWS release (didn't see it when I cut and pasted the above)

CALGARY, Alta. – Calgary police have shut down a city driving school they say has issued hundreds of bogus Class 1 licences to drivers from across the country.

The charges against Delta Driving School were the result of an investigation dubbed “Operation Humbug” launched in July 2004. However, Det. Gord Robertson of the Calgary Police Service, told Truck News the investigation stemmed from intelligence gathered as far back as 2002. The trucking industry itself has been credited with providing valuable information which helped lead to the arrests.

“We got a ton of information,” said Det. Robertson.

The detective said it all started with analytical information generated from people within government who were directly involved in issuing Class 1 licences.

The investigation gained steam thanks to tips provided to Crime Stoppers and continued to snowball when confidential informants came forward. Graduates of the school also helped out with the investigation, along with a former employee of Delta Driving School. Police were able to confirm their suspicions and swoop in on the training facility after two undercover officers attended the school themselves, Det. Robertson said.
Charged with forgery of documents and breach of public office are: Delta head instructor, Jaswant Singh, and Dr. Gurdip Bhullar (accused of providing drivers with fake medical examinations). But the charges won’t end there, Det. Robertson said.

He said Alberta Registries investigators will be revoking the licence of at least one driver examiner. And as Truck News went to press, police expected to lay charges against the owner of the school, two business managers and possibly other driver examiners as well (all driver examiners in the province of Alberta are independent contractors).

“This will be a wide case net when it’s done,” the detective said.

The alleged scam worked this way: Delta advertised extensively in ethnic newspapers across Canada.
“Their method of operation was to advertise in ethnic newspapers – they were specifically drawing an East Indian and Middle Eastern type clientele,” Det. Robertson told Truck News.

Students then attended classes at Delta Driving School in Calgary, where they were allegedly fast-tracked through the licensing process. Along the way, Robertson suggests they were encouraged to cheat, and for written tests some were reportedly even given pencils with an answer key etched into the side.

In many cases medical examinations were completed without so much as a blood pressure test, said Det. Robertson. And the mandatory air brake training was all but non-existent, he added.
Students then forked over $1,500 to $2,500 in cash – above and beyond the costs normally associated with obtaining a Class 1 licence, according to the detective.

Most of the students were from outside Alberta, according to police.

“All of our information indicates the majority of the students came from out of the province – primarily B.C. and Ontario – and they were coming out here to swap their out-of-province Class 5 to an Alberta Class 5, upgrade it to a Class 1 in a short period of time and return to their province of origin to flip it back,” explained Det. Robertson.

A reciprocity agreement between the provinces allows drivers to convert their licence from one province to another with no questions asked. While you must have an Alberta address to obtain a driver’s licence in the province, people associated with Delta “own a number of residences in Calgary and (allegedly) provided fabricated lease agreements,” said the detective.

Hundreds of drivers may have obtained their licences in this manner, many of whom were employed by the same carriers, according to police. But oddly enough, many of these drivers may never have gotten behind the wheel and shifted their first gear.

“All the information we’ve gathered indicates the…majority of untrained and unskilled Class 1 drivers probably aren’t getting behind the wheel,” the detective said. “Our understanding is that there are at least two companies in the Lower Mainland (of B.C.) that are knowingly hiring Class 1 holders they know can’t drive to do log-splitting on the long hauls.”

He adds a valid Class 1 licence holder will typically drive the truck while three or four drivers who have obtained their licence illegitimately go along for the ride in the sleeper berth and fill out the logs in such a manner that suggests they’re sharing the driving duty.

“Take your choice,” Det. Robertson said. “What you have is one extremely fatigued driver that can drive, or someone behind the wheel that can’t. What’s worse?”

Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation has been involved in the investigation from the get-go, and has been actively tracking down individuals who obtained their Class 1 licence from the accused school.
“Our Special Investigations Unit initiated (the investigation) and the Calgary Police then joined in and assisted us,” said the department’s director of communications, Bart Johnson. Since the arrests were made, Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation has contacted drivers who obtained their licences through the alleged licensing mill and those drivers are now required to take a re-test.

“We’ve been able to determine who got training and who received their licences through Delta and as a result we’ve been able to track those people down both in this province and those who may have been from out of province to begin with and we’re calling for retests with those people,” Johnson told Truck News.

The re-tests are mandatory and if drivers don’t take the test within 15 days, their licence will be revoked, Johnson said. When Truck News went to press, only two of 26 drivers residing in Alberta had agreed to a re-test. One of the two failed.

The results weren’t so encouraging in B.C., where more than 100 drivers who went through Delta Driving School were re-tested in the days following the bust.

“All the drivers failed the re-test,” said Moira Wellwood, spokeswoman for the Insurance Corp. of B.C.
Although drivers who knowingly obtained their Class 1 licences through Delta illegally have committed a crime, Det. Robertson said it’s unlikely any of them will be charged.

“Although the student is likely knowingly perpetrating a fraud, we would have a difficult time gaining the evidence to meet the threshold for a criminal charge,” the detective said. “There’s an offence being committed there, but it’s pretty difficult to prove with the students.”

Alberta has been accused in the past of being too easy on prospective Class 1 licence holders. Until 2003, student drivers weren’t even required to couple and uncouple a trailer or perform a full pre-trip inspection during the driving test. But industry insiders were reluctant to lay blame for the alleged scam against the province and its procedures.

“What can you do?” asked Mayne Root, director of compliance and regulatory affairs with the Alberta Motor Transport Association. “Every time there’s a system in place, there’s someone out there trying to circumvent it. If we could have anything, I wish that they would hire more of the guys that deal with the driving schools. They are doing the best they can with what they have but I wish there were more guys out there.”

Emmet Callaghan, owner of CCA Truck Driving Training Ltd. in Calgary, was quick to point out similar charges have been laid against schools in other provinces as well.

“Obviously the system is working,” he said, noting that the charges Delta faces can be seen as encouraging. “As long as the government monitors the current system, this shouldn’t happen again. Part of their mandate is to monitor everyone.”

Callaghan just hopes the front page headlines splashed across the mainstream daily newspapers don’t send the wrong message to the public.

“There are lots of us out here working hard and doing a good job,” he pointed out.

And that’s a message that’s being stressed by police, go
vernment and industry figures alike.

While Det. Robertson said the investigation continues and several other Alberta training schools are currently under the microscope, he stressed the problem is not “widespread.”

That’s a point that’s re-iterated by provincial spokesman, Johnson.

“The government is pleased with the system we have now which has been in place for a dozen years and we have no plans to overhaul the system,” he said. “Any system – however it’s set up – can be abused and we’re not going to change the entire system because there’s alleged abuse. We need to find out where there’s abuse and do something about it and that’s what we’re doing. We’re satisfied the vast majority of driving schools and examiners are running above board.”
As this issue of Truck News went to press, Delta Driving School was closed for business and calls to the school went unanswered. The City of Calgary had just permanently revoked Delta’s business licence, although city officials said they expected Delta to appeal the decision.
Robertson, who briefed city officials about the investigation the night before talking to Truck News, said “I can tell you I’m quite confident they’ll be out of business permanently.”
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Horus »

We had the same sort of scam going on here especially amongst the Indian immigrant community who would often take driving tests for someone else.
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Mad Dilys »

Unlike the Brits who don't bother with fake documents, but just get in and drive. ;)
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by Horus »

They are both as bad, one lot that thinks the law does not apply to them and the other lot that think they can just abuse the system because people are afraid to investigate it too closely like Pakistani Muslim child abusing sex gangs who seem to be immune to prosecution because it opens up a huge can of worms. 8)
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Re: A tragic accident

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Canada isn't letting this one slide as all the funerals are starting now. The "Go Fund Me Page" has gotten the most and highest number of donations ever - over $10 million to date.

The other thing that has come to light is that the intersection wasn't regulated and there was a previous accident that happened. Mostly in the north because you can see tomorrow it is a given you can SEE who is coming and then speed up or slow down but in this case there is a bunch of trees that could have impeded vision. Not saying that makes it all ok but they are querying if this stand of trees played any part in this.
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