Winter driving in the north is deadly

This is the time of the year that I fear for my safety the most. The reason for my fear has to do with winter driving on roads anywhere in the Canadian north. One stretch in particular is very dangerous. The Trans-Canada Highway that runs through northern Ontario is treacherous for most of the winter. Often I have had very close calls with death on this highway and I have witnessed many bad accidents.

The main highways throughout northern Ontario are quite dangerous from November to April, sometimes even into May. The biggest problem is ice on two-lane roads with oncoming traffic. There are no dividers on most of these roadways so drivers are more or less playing Russian roulette when venturing out in bad weather.

Like most northerners I take these conditions for granted. It is necessary to throw caution to the wind when we want to go somewhere. We think nothing of heading out in bad weather where tons of metal hurtle past us only a couple feet away from our own vehicle on treacherous black ice. I can recall many trips where after a few hours my hands were cramped and stiff because I had been gripping the steering wheel so tightly along an icy highway with certain death only feet away. There’s a reason they call it white-knuckle driving.

I have seen the result of head-on accidents on northern highways. You can imagine the result of two cars, trucks, vans or transports colliding when both are travelling 100 kilometres an hour. The force of the impact is huge and most of the time somebody dies.

When I first started driving on these roads 15 years ago the traffic was bad enough in the winter. However, things have gotten progressively worse as more and more transport trucks crowd the highways. When I drive on Highway 11 in northern Ontario I am amazed at the steady flow of freight trucks.

Eighteen-wheelers are involved in most of the accidents on northern roadways. Even in perfect conditions these giants are difficult to drive, especially when their operators have been working for hours on end. So you can imagine how perilous with snow and ice on the highway or perhaps freezing rain.

Somehow, the huge truck traffic has kidnapped our road systems for the sake of moving goods around. The general driving public is facing a much greater risk these days because our road infrastructure has not kept pace with this evolution in how we transport goods to market.

Even the best drivers can hit a patch of ice and lose control while meeting one of these huge trucks. As well, these trucks often seem to travel in convoys. In really bad storms these trucks throw up explosions of snow and slush that can completely cover your windshield. When there are several trucks in a row it becomes a frantic fight for survival.

I don’t really understand why we moved away from transporting most goods by train. It seemed to work very well and meant there was very little transport-truck traffic on the roads. I guess it has to do with the bottom line and money, but that choice results in many needless deaths on our highways.

Even the winter road that I often travelled from Moosonee to Attawapiskat now has many transport trucks hauling goods up north. We need some creative solutions for freight shipment to decrease the threat to the public. Perhaps it’s time to create incentives for rail transport, or even look for creative solutions like helium airships. Anything would be better than the fleets of giant trucks hurtling down our icy northern roads.