I am writing in regard to the Oct. 15 fatal head-on crash on the Highway 11 bypass.
The only place on Abbotsford-Mission Highway that a person can now be killed or crippled in a head-on collision is up and down the bypass in Abbotsford. Until 2005, the only other place was on the Mission Bridge, then it was made safer.
The basic problem and the solution are the same – place a concrete median barrier between the yellow lines.
The barrier should have been installed as late as 2003. The reason the Chilliwack woman was killed because the out-of-control van did not bounce off a median barrier and redirect back into its own lane. Instead it crossed the median. If there was a barrier on that route, the woman would still be with us. This fatality was totally preventable.
People need to ask the highways department why there is no barrier on that stretch of road. Ask whether a barrier on the bypass portion of Highway 11 is warranted, and given recent events, ask about the likelihood that in the near future a barrier will be installed to make certain no further head-on collision casualties occur on that stretch of road again.
People also need to ask local elected officials what they think about the head-on collision casualties in the heart of their city, and what contributions to fix this public safety hazard do they think they can provide.
Some level of officialdom must be able to say “fix it.”
Demand median barriers on adjacent multi-lane roads to prevent the tragedy of head-on collisions in your community.
Dan Dalton