Re: Deadly weekend in Quebec leaves seven dead from road crashes, all victims under the age of 25

by Cindy Smith
Editor
Education for the Driving Masses.

Houston, or should I say, Quebec City, where the current leader of the majority government, Premier Jean Charest of the Quebec Liberal Party presides - we have a problem.

Mr. Charest, does it not concern you that seven young people all under the age of 25 were killed in car crashes in a 48-hour period?

This figure is staggering. Had it been a helicopter crash onto a highway killing all seven on board your government would be all over this tragedy with inquiries and public hearings galore. Right?

In fact, youths dying in large numbers in preventable car crashes in Quebec is all too common. Nearly 200 died, all before the age of 25, since the start of the summer this year.

I know H1N1 is a huge health care priority right now for your government and the health of its citizens but so far, the virus has killed 83 people in Quebec since March.

But did you know that the 1,400 people injured annually in severe road crashes in your province costs your province's health care system nearly $60 million dollars?

How much has H1N1 cost your government so far? Maybe two to three million dollars for hospital stays but I think that number is greatly exaggerated as most people affected recuperate at home using their own money and purchase prescriptions with no help from the province, unless they are over 65.

I can honestly tell you from my own observations, and this goes for other provinces as well, but I've decided to pick on your government today, that the provincial police force in your province as well as the police service for your largest city don't do enough to enforce your current traffic laws.

I think your court system needs a good look at as well as I don't understand why a vast majority of judges are releasing drivers back onto the road with no requirements that these people enroll in driver's training to correct their inexcusable habits of passing when it's unsafe to do so and killing an entire family of four in an attempt to shave mere seconds from their hourly commute.

No, Mr. Premier, none of this sits well with me.

But back to this weekend.

Here's a snapshot of what happened:

• A 25-year-old was killed on Highway 40 in Quebec City on Saturday night. He took a turn too fast, lost control and struck two lamp posts. Thrown from the car, he was crushed when it landed on top of him. He had not been wearing a seatbelt.
• Two young people in their early twenties died Saturday night in a head-on crash in Sainte-Mélanie, Lanaudière. The collision involved three vehicles and left two others seriously injured. Driver error is considered the causal factor.
• On Friday, a collision between two vehicles killed two cousins, also in their early 20s and seriously injured two others in Beauharnois. The roadway was slick at the time leading police to believe that speed too fast for the conditions was the probable cause.
• A 25-year-old motorist was killed in a head-on crash also on Friday night in Shawinigan. It's believe he lost control while traveling in excess of the posted speed limit. He collided with another car coming from the opposite direction. Two passengers in his car were sent to hospital in critical condition.
• Again on Friday night, an 18 year old woman was killed and four other teens aged 15 to 19 were seriously injured after the 17 year old driver of the car they were riding in lost control at high speed and slammed into a tree. Two of those injured teens were ejected from the vehicle leading police to believe the car was over-crowded with not enough seatbelts available. The driver and another passenger are listed in critical condition in hospital.

I hope you noticed a reoccurring theme in these tragedies, one that should raise serious concern.

I hope you don't think these needless deaths were the result of boys just being boys and doing what many consider a right of passage among our driving youth - speeding. And not only speeding, but speeding with absolutely no skill or training to drive safely at the speeds they had been traveling at. Worse, none of the drivers who contributed to these crashes this weekend had enough common sense to drive slower than the posted speed limit to suit the icy and snowy weather conditions. This is just plain stupid.

This is the problem, Jean. Speed doesn't kill. All of the speed limits in the province of Quebec could be lowered to 30 km/hr but it won't keep these young people from dying. It's the risks. It's the stupidity. It's the ignorance. It's incredibly frustrating and sad.

Driver's training in your province is taught with the current traffic act in mind where students are taught to drive and perform evasive maneuvers designed for the provincially mandated speed limits, the maximum being 100 km/hr. It's a speed limit proven to be the least fatal among novice drivers as most cars manufactured today can withstand serious crashes at this speed but also, the body is equipped to handle this speed.

But at 140 km/hr the risk of death in a car crash increases tenfold as physics has proven that an object in motion remains in motion, well after a car has come to a dead stop at 140 km/hr after slamming into a tree or lamp post. The brain and all other organs keep moving. This is what kills these young people. Equally appalling is the lack of seatbelt compliance among today's new drivers. There's no need or excuse for any kid to be tossed from a car. None.

I am certain all of these drivers had been warned about driving too fast in bad weather so why the ignorance?

So what do we do?

We need to get at these kids well before the thought of driving enters their heads. A reader suggested that we mandate that all drivers take race car handling courses so they are equipped to drive at high speed. This is the most ridiculous solution ever suggested to me. Racing is done on a closed track, on a circuit with the driver strapped into the seat with a five point harness system and a helmet. We don't drive on public roads like this. A race track also doesn't have sudden changes in road conditions and racing is usually done in ideal weather conditions. This is not a realistic solution.

No, our youth need to be taught that there is no room for stupidity behind the wheel. They've been told about the perils of too much alcohol but not told the perils of too much speed.

The solution is so simple yet no provincial government has shown any interest in designing a road safety program geared towards 11 to 12 year olds.

Maybe Quebec, based on the tremendous loss of life from this weekend alone, will be the one to do it?