OPP cruiser Struck on 401

hwybear · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:35 pm Post subject: OPP cruiser Struck on 401

An OPP cruiser was struck and the officer and two citizens were sent to hospital with minor injuries today.

At noon hour (23JUL08), an OPP Highway Safety Division officer had stopped on the north shoulder of the westbound Highway 401, west of Ingersoll, to assist a motorist whose pickup truck had gone into the north ditch. The officer had the driver of the pickup in his cruiser at which time the cruiser was struck from the rear by a westbound van. The van continued on into the north ditch. The officer and two civilians ( drivers of the truck and van) were taken to the local hospital, treated and released. Highway 401 was closed several hours as OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigators assisted at the scene.
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Few people understand the psychology of dealing with a highway traffic cop. Your normal speeder will panic and slow down. This is wrong. It arouses contempt in the cop-heart. Make the bastard chase you. He will follow"

admin · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:02 pm Post subject:

Its a tragedy! Another example of failing to move into the left..I wonder what the driver of the van will be charged with since he actually hit the cruiser and there were injuries...
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www.OHTA.ca OR www.OntarioTrafficAct.com

Reflections · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:44 am Post subject:

I personally like "Driving While Stupid". An incident like this should be cause for licence suspension, big fines etc. There is no reason or explanation for this to occur.

3 cents, 1 cent for GST
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I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them.

I'll only talk about what I know.

Bookm · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 242 Location: Stratford, Ontario

The news updated this collision this morning. It was weather related. A blinding rain storm had hit the area.

I've driven in this situation several times (rain, snow AND fog). I don't like to stop because of the likelihood of being struck from behind. I don't like to move because of the likelihood of hitting someone who DID stop. There's no PERFECT solution.

The last time I was behind a transport truck, I tried dropping back to a point I thought I would be able to see an emergency vehicle on the side of the road. Conclusion: It's very unlikely you'll ever see the masses maintain that kind of huge following distance.

Autobahn laws attack the problem in a much more effective way than we do. It is illegal to pull over and stop, PERIOD! You will even be charged if you run out of gas, because it is considered "preventable" there. The cops don't have to worry about pulling over speeders because there is no speed limit (on certain stretches). They recognize stopping on an expressway results in an unacceptably high number of serious wrecks (as do we) but they have taken a much more pro-active approach to minimizing these incidents. Over here, I see people stopped all the time: takin' a wiz, walking the dog, retrieving a hat, etc. Personally, I think it's safer to SPEED than it is being stopped for a speeding ticket!!!!

Reflections · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:41 am Post subject:

Ok, no driving while stupid charge here.
_________________
I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them.

I'll only talk about what I know.

hwybear · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:36 pm Post subject:

Reflections · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

I know why he was going that fast......he had fog lights. I hear them suckers work really well when you mount them above the bumper too..

OK, end sarcasm.
_________________
I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them.

I'll only talk about what I know.