BillM Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 I commuted from Barrie to Toronto for about 7 years (Now I work mostly from home).. One thing I noticed (and I think anyone that commutes from here can agree to) is that the craziness (ie crappy driving) begins from Hwy 9 southbound.. It's like a flick is switched and people have turned their brains off. You could have a blizzard from Barrie to the city and everything is fine past 88... Once you hit Hwy9 all hell breaks loose, lol!!! Don't even get me started with the friday night weekend warriors like to clog up the NB 400 during the summer time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cudz Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 I commuted from Barrie to Toronto for about 7 years (Now I work mostly from home).. One thing I noticed (and I think anyone that commutes from here can agree to) is that the craziness (ie crappy driving) begins from Hwy 9 southbound.. It's like a flick is switched and people have turned their brains off. You could have a blizzard from Barrie to the city and everything is fine past 88... Once you hit Hwy9 all hell breaks loose, lol!!! Don't even get me started with the friday night weekend warriors like to clog up the NB 400 during the summer time! Hey Bill, Something has always baffled me on the 400. I believe there are more accidents between 89 and 88 than any other locations. Now I can't explain why. I look at the area and there is nothing really special or odd about it. A few hills but that is all. There are so many accidents there it is crazy. It is the highway 400 Bermuda triangle. Maybe it is at this location that people start falling asleep? My buddy hit a guard rail there and ripped his running board off his truck when he dozed off. What is your opinion? What are peoples opinions about this stretch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) From 88 to 89 you've got a lot of wide open spaces on both sides of the highway. The wind ices that section of road up like crazy. I agree with you though, between 88 and 89 is the worst for accidents. Edited February 2, 2013 by BillM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 My brother was involved in a very bad accident many years ago on the 400 and I think it was in the 89 area. Him and his buds were coming south on 400 after a weekend of snowmobiling and got enveloped in a massive whiteout. It wasn't visible because of the heavy blowing snow, but just ahead of them a flatbed tractor trailer loaded with lumber had collided with a couple cars and caught fire. From the vehicle my brother was in, they suddenly saw the orange glow ahead and slowed right down but a hiway bus flew past them and crashed into all the other vehicles. Other cars began crashing into the burning wreckage and something like 7 people died with many more injured. The driver of my brothers car saw the fire in time and drove into the ditch just in time to avoid it. Another car hit the wreckage and caught fire and the driver burned to death about 20' from my brother but there was nothing they could do to help the poor guy. My brother carried that image with him for the rest of his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) The most road closures as well/detours. I'd say 8 times out of ten it is in that section of highway. The north bound 400 at Dunlop St,has been a bit of a accident area of late. Edited February 2, 2013 by davey buoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Long before all the construction, the old 69 had to be the most dangerous highway. Stupidest thing I ever saw there was a truck with boat trailer trying to squeeze into the southbound 69. Traffic was stop and go and this fella tried to cross from Oaks into the plugged lane without enough room for truck and boat.. The rig coming northbound hit the boat and trailer and sent it airborne into the opposite ditch. A miracle no one got hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cudz Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 My brother was involved in a very bad accident many years ago on the 400 and I think it was in the 89 area. Him and his buds were coming south on 400 after a weekend of snowmobiling and got enveloped in a massive whiteout. It wasn't visible because of the heavy blowing snow, but just ahead of them a flatbed tractor trailer loaded with lumber had collided with a couple cars and caught fire. From the vehicle my brother was in, they suddenly saw the orange glow ahead and slowed right down but a hiway bus flew past them and crashed into all the other vehicles. Other cars began crashing into the burning wreckage and something like 7 people died with many more injured. The driver of my brothers car saw the fire in time and drove into the ditch just in time to avoid it. Another car hit the wreckage and caught fire and the driver burned to death about 20' from my brother but there was nothing they could do to help the poor guy. My brother carried that image with him for the rest of his life. That is a sad story but all too common on that stretch. The weird part is that these accidents happen in the same spot in the summer too so although snow and ice play a big part there is still the summer accidents that remain a puzzle The most road closures as well/detours. I'd say 8 times out of ten it is in that section of highway. The north bound 400 at Dunlop St,has been a bit of a accident area of late. The one before the transport truck was a lady who smashed into the dunlop bridge. Unfortunately it was the mother of a boy in my math class. Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 People backing up the Dunlop off ramp on the 400NB can get super dangerous... turn that corner on the 400NB and you see nothing but brake lights.. That's a really bad offramp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burtess Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Actually it does. As per the link you posted, "The tests, released Wednesday, show how well vehicles stack up against others of similar size and weight." In other words, the favourable ratings that the Smart car received only apply if you have a collision with another Smart car; or perhaps a BRP Spider. They don't apply to Smart car versus F150 crashes. Here is another quote from the link that you , "All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better." Sadly, this is the truth.... all those crash tests are against a stationary object so the force of impact is 2X the crash force of the tested vehicle. If you hit another vehicle head on, usually the heavier one wins no matter how many air bags blow up around you. Even if I hit a Smart Car head on with my Cruze, I am going to push that thing back in the opposite direction. Of course if I head on with a pick-up, I am getting the worst of it. The strangest thing I think I have seen was up in the Elmira area when I had to stop for a line of turkeys crossing the road, this went of for a couple of minutes as I counted over 40 of them leisurely walking right in front of my car. Burt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Turkeys, I've had to stop for a hundred buffalo standing in the middle of the road a bunch of times. Also deer (white tail and mule), elk, moose, stone sheep, caribou, ptarmigan...................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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