(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Sensors will do nothing to resolve the safety issues on Highway 5A

Jan 25, 2023 | 4:58 AM

IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE how installing sensors on Highway 5A a few miles north of Merritt to monitor the weight and size of transport trucks will do anything for safety.

The provincial government, though, says it will, claiming the information provided to Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement officers by the sensors will help keep an eye on the safety standards of the rigs.

But while it might help nab truckers trying to avoid weigh scales it won’t do anything about the fact Highway 5A wasn’t designed for a high volume of commercial trucking. The list of accidents involving the trucks just keeps growing.

Residents along the highway have been calling for years for a ban on non-local transport trucks from the highway, pointing out that the Coquihalla is virtually next door.

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Yet the government, despite studies to the contrary, keeps insisting it’s built to adequate standards. Furthermore, it says, 5A is an important alternative to the Coquihalla in emergency situations.

Well, there would be nothing wrong with making exceptions to a ban in the case of emergencies, but 5A is more likely to be the scene of a true emergency if the government doesn’t act.

Not even MLA Todd Stone, when he was Transportation Minister, had the stones — if you’ll excuse the expression — to do anything about it.

Certainly, improvements have been made, including a safety-check pull off and markings at particularly dangerous corners, but it’s not enough.

With both the current NDP government and the previous Liberal government having no interest in a ban, the issue won’t be resolved any time soon.

Sadly, there’s one thing that will change attitudes in the halls of power in Victoria, and it’s what proponents of a ban have been warning about for years — a major collision with a school bus or some other disastrous accident that would take multiple lives.

And that will be due to the government’s refusal to act.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a former director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.