Ace's Preliminary Saskatchewan Bus Crash Results...

[Angry White Male]

Appears to me that the semi truck (loaded B-Train truck and trailers combo) ran a stop sign, possibly with the sun in his eyes.



For the vehicles to end where they were, the semi would have had to have more forward momentum than would be possible if just accelerating away from the stop sign.



In this first image, we can see what the bus driver would have seen right before impact.  Notice the crosses on the right...  Not the first time a fatal happened here.  The semi-truck was heading West, meaning it would have come from the right, where there is a stop sign.





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This would be the North West corner of the intersection, where these vehicles ended up.  Appears that the bus T-Boned the semi's flat deck trailers.





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[Anonymous]

Six people were killed at that same spot about twenty years ago.

[Angry White Male]

That would explain the crosses in my Google Street snip...

[Angry White Male]

The semi and bus ended up where those two pickup trucks are parked in the Google Street snip...

[Angry White Male]

Not that I stick up for the semi-driver (even though I do this work, I have worked alongside enough brain-dead idiots), but having myself trucked through the prairies, I can attest to the fact that when the sun is close to setting, it can be brutally blinding for a little while.  If one isn't familiar with the area, and can anticipate where the stop signs are, I can easily see how this can happen.



Obviously it is the fault of the semi-driver, and we can attempt to get justice and lay blame, but there is a more important lesson here to be learned...  When your time comes, it comes.



Literally a split-second either way, and these vehicles would not have collided.  They did.  On a stretch of road that is not very busy.



I have seen similar instances in "Mayday:  Air Crash Disasters."  Of all the open space in the skies, shit just came together in a bad way.  Usually human error.



It should give one pause to think...  Although we are all "safety safety safety" these days, and wouldn't even think about letting our kids out of the house without wearing a helmet, never forget that life can end fast, no matter what you do.  It is a consequence of living.

[Bricktop]

Did he survive?

[Angry White Male]

The semi truck driver walked away with minor injuries, as they almost always do.

[Bricktop]

Semi drivers get killed too.

[Angry White Male]

I know they do, but it is very rare.  Most deaths in this industry happen when they are doing duties other than driving...



Since I run a business in this industry, I do have to pay into what's called "WorkSafeBC" here.  Known as Workers Comp to the average guy.  I pay a percentage based on what my business earns, or more correctly what I pay out in wages and/or dividends.  The rates fluctuate depending on industry, and this industry is at the very high end of what one must pay.  It's right behind loggers and fishermen.



These deaths mainly happen due to a variety of non-driving related hazards, to which there can be many depending on what segment of this industry you work in.

[Angry White Male]

One thing that is strangely absent from this image is straps.  Tie down straps.  They are usually bright yellow, and would stick out.  There should be at least a couple dozen of them or so.



I have done plenty of deck work, and I'm assuming these are B-Train deck trailers.



Where the fuck are the tie-down straps?



Lack of straps would only be attempted for very short hauls, when nobody is looking...  Could also explain why hesitant to hit brakes...  Non-secured load would shift.



Not sure why I didn't spot this earlier...







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[Angry White Male]

That load was completely unsecured.  Reeks of repetitive close local moves, meaning that this truck would do a very short run multiple times per day back and forth to the same places, and hoping to not get caught doing so.  Running a load unstrapped or unsecured is against every law in the book.  If it hits a public road, the load must be secured, and in the case of decks?  Secured via straps or chains.  I won't bore you with the exact requirements.



I cannot tell what that cargo is, but many years ago I hauled Peat that was packaged in similar sized bundles down to California, but I am just assuming at this point, as they could really be anything.

[Angry White Male]

Why was that fucking load not secured?



Now my results have changed tone.



Now we will have to examine the practices of the truck, the driver, and the company that employed them.



Not all trucks that have sleepers are utilized as highway "long haul" trucks.  Many get hired on doing local work.

[Bricktop]

No restraints would have held with an impact that severe. Nor would the load have been a contributing factor. However, it show's all the signs of excessive speed through an intersection.



Our trucks all have GPS on them now...with black box recorders.

[Anonymous]

It appears the truck driver did drive through a stop sign.

[Bricktop]

At a significant speed. Not only did he not stop, he did not brake or slow down.