How Many Wettlaufers Are There Flying Under The Fatality Causation Radar?
Elizabeth Wettlaufer was a nurse in Ontario who was convicted of a number of homicides in nursing homes. It has recently been revealed that her acts could have been detected if coroner’s inquests were held to examine the deaths that appeared suspicious. However, Ontario’s chief coroner, Dr. Dirk Huyer testified at Wettlaufer’s trial that budget cuts had resulted in reductions in the number of inquests from 3300 in 2007 to only 927 in 2015. It was not so much that budget cuts occurred but that those cuts and the decrease in oversight was not revealed to the general public. This issue is not only relevant to possible murders in nursing homes. It is relevant to all incidents of death in Ontario.
With respect to motor vehicle traffic fatalities there has been a continual lack of reporting of important facts about how persons have come to their deaths. Scant information is revealed by police and official news media report those facts often without any further investigation or questioning. An obvious problem is that many news organizations are seeing declines in ad revenue and therefore cuts have to be made. Numerous small and independent news gathering organizations have been shut down resulting in only a few mega-media reporting the same news story in almost every local establishment under their umbrella. The lack of independent reporting is an obvious concern when there is a need to question the cause of a death.
In recent months a small and independent newspaper, the Aylmer Express, attempted to gain further information into the July, 2017 death of a driver where it was deemed that he committed suicide when he drove off a cliff and into Lake Erie. The facts were not exactly clear as the OPP were also following the vehicle just before the collision. Additionally, a checkerboard sign which ought to be posted at the end of a road did not appear to exist where the vehicle left the road. These were serious matters that the Aylmer Express journalists attempted to clarify. However when the journalists passed through a police road closure they were arrested. A trial of the journalists was reportedly to take place this week but no news has emerged.
Even this weekend there have been several questionable traffic deaths that needed further explanation. CP24 News in Toronto is typically a more reliable source of many traffic fatalities in the Toronto area. However they reported yesterday, August 5th, 2018, that a fatal collision had occurred on McLaughlin Road North between Old School Road and Mayfield Road in Caledon but that police had not released any details about the crash and the area was closed off by police barricades. However, Gord Edick of Global News, was able to reach the site and a photograph was shown in a Global News article showing a vehicle stopped on the shoulder of a road and it was obvious that the vehicle had been totally consumed by a fire. It was reported that “human remains” were found in the vehicle. The photograph showed evidence of some possible minor damage to the rear of the vehicle but this could provide no explanation why such minor damage should cause the start of a fire or why the occupant of the vehicle was not able to escape the fire.
In another weekend incident, three fatalities occurred when it was reported that an SUV attempted to make a left turn and was struck by Corvette at the intersection of Highway 50 and Countryside Drive near Brampton/Vaughan. The SUV then struck a pole with its left side. Two children, aged 7 and 12 were killed along with a 47-year-old female driver. Photos suggested that two impacts occurred to the SUV that were of substantial severity. Such facts are not common. Additionally those who are familiar with the sources of severe and fatal injuries would know that children in the noted age groups are not as well protected because of their growing out of child seats and booster cushions while also suffering from poor seat belt geometry that is often designed form adult bodies. When children of this age group sustain fatal injuries under collision circumstances like these further questions should be asked because we want to reduce the likelihood that these tragedies will not repeat themselves.
These are examples of “Elizabeth Wettlaufers” in the world of traffic fatalities. They are hidden causes of a death. How many of these Elizabeth Wettlaufers exist in the realm of traffic deaths? Are some of these actual homicides? Are they due to some form of motor vehicle defect? Are there other traffic fatalities out there that are related to other unknown sources? Independent investigations of death have been reduced. While basic reporting is parroted by news media from information provided by police, little or no, actual, additional investigation is conducted by news gathering organizations. This is a recipe for the continuance of “Elizabeth Wettlaufer Causes of Death” that could remain hidden with little public knowledge of the facts.
Personal Blood Alcohol Testing Could Save Lives But There Is No Official Interest
This inexpensive personal blood alcohol tester could save lives but there is no official interest.
There is much official talk about the dangers of drunk driving. Various non-profit, police and government organizations say they are working hard to eradicate the problem. The solution mostly involves punishing those impaired persons after the fact in the belief that stiff penalties are the only way to prevent future incidents.
It was an amusing news article this week that caught the attention of many who likely failed to understand an underlying, important point. Maybe this could have been a part of a Rodney Dangerfield stand-up comedy routine.
The story was that a man was drinking at a bar in the early morning of Wednesday, August 1, 2018. He wanted to prove to his friends that he was not impaired so he allegedly drove to a police station in Mississauga, Ontario and asked police to give him a breath test. It was reported that his blood-alcohol level was 1 1/2 times the legal limit and he was subsequently charged driving with an alcohol level over the .80 limit. Many persons reviewing the story would have found it amusing while moving on to the next, more important matter of life. However there was a deeper message in this.
After drinking several alcoholic beverages does a person have the same capability of reasoning as someone who is sober? Surely not as this is one of the reasons why we want alcohol-impaired individuals off the highway. However, what happens when an alcohol-impaired person comes to the mistaken belief that they are not alcohol impaired? Is that an easy thing to do? Oh, surely not. Or is it? Without the ability to objectively test this hypothesis many persons simply provide their uninformed and biased beliefs on the issue.
In recent months the Costco big box store has been selling a personal, blood-alcohol, reading device, “BACtrack”, for under $40. Recent testing of the device by several volunteers demonstrated how little they understood about impairment and when they had surpassed the legal limit.
One of the surprising facts, but not surprising to officials who constantly deal with impairment, is that alcohol concentration can rise even after a person has stopped drinking. Thus after consuming several alcoholic drinks a person may believe that they are under the limit, and they may, in fact, be under the limit, when they stopped drinking. But as the alcohol becomes absorbed into the blood stream the person’s reasoning becomes impaired while their blood alcohol concentration also rises.
It would seem logical therefore that an instrument that can provide a more objective reporting of a person’s blood alcohol concentration might be helpful, even to the alcohol impaired person, as opposed to depending on that impaired person’s reasoning to make that judgment. As the objective measuring device presumably does not become impaired along with the drinker it can inform that person that their reasoning is impaired, they are wrong and that the device is providing them with an unbiased fact.
Do we wait till we have a monster behind the wheel or can we take some preventative actions? Personal blood alcohol testing devices may be part of a solution.
Surprisingly, while there are many organizations willing to demonize those who have injured or killed while driving impaired, there is little official effort being made to distribute personal blood-alcohol meters that might prevent impaired driving from getting behind the wheel.
Further Details of the Disintegrated Vehicle Collision That Did Not Officially Happen
View of the engine of the striking vehicle which had become separated after the vehicle disintegrated.
The disintegration of a vehicle that collided with an ET-PLUS guardrail terminal on the south side of Highway 401 just west of Highbury Avenue in London, Ontario, did not actually happen. Or so it would seem since there has been little information of its occurrence or consequences. Portions of the separated vehicle such as its front bumper, its engine, transmission and windshield were all found strewn throughout the roadside. The ET-PLUS terminal that it struck was also separated in an unusual manner such that the frontal plate became separated from its rear channel and that plate was never found.
Upon first viewing, the impacted ET-PLUS terminal seemed to be missing from the end of the guardrail – until one looked a little closer.
Further research indicates that the ET-PLUS located at this site had been impacted in a collision that was documented by Gorski Consulting on January 27, 2016. The three photos below show the general area and status of the impacted terminal at that time.
View, looking east, toward the impacted ET-PLUS terminal that was documented on January 27, 2016.
View of the struck ET-PLUS terminal that was documented on January 27, 2016.
View of the struck ET-PLUS terminal that was documented on January 27, 2016.
The problem with the performance of this installation is that, although substantial energy was dissipated through buckling of the guardrail in the background, very little of the energy was actually dissipated in passage of the rail through the throat of the terminal, as it is designed to do. It can be seen in the photo below that the guardrail came jammed at the back of the terminal’s channel when the terminal became deflected to a 90 degree angle. Buckling like this cannot result in any further movement of the terminal along the rail and the performance of the system becomes chaotic with unpredictable.
View of the ET-PLUS terminal showing how it was rotated 90 degrees at the rear of its channel thus preventing the rail from passing through its throat.
A top view of the terminal, shown below, demonstrates how a small length of guardrail managed to pass through the throat of the terminal before it became jammed.
A top view shows that a small length of guardrail managed to pass through the throat of the terminal before it became jammed.
Following this impact a new ET-PLUS terminal was installed, as shown in the two photos below taken on February 26, 2016.
View of the site on February 26, 2016 showing that a new ET-PLUS terminal had been installed after the impact in January of 2016.
View of the newly installed ET-PLUS terminal on February 26, 2016.
There were no subsequent impacts of the ET-PLUS terminal until the one that occurred on July 23, 2018. Questions remain about the lack of reporting of the collision and its consequences. Even if there was a lone driver who miraculously escaped any serious injury one would think that this would have been a news-worthy story.
Vehicle Disintegrates After Striking A Guardrail Terminal on Hwy 401 at Highbury Ave in London
A vehicle should not be torn apart like this after striking a roadside barrier that should be designed to reduce the severity of a collision.
On the morning of Monday, July 23, 2018, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reported on their Twitter account that a collision occurred on Highway 401 near the Highbury Ave exit at London, Ontario. No other information was made available nor did any official news organization report any further details of the crash. Gorski Consulting examined the site of the crash on July 27th, with some disturbing results.
A vehicle had been eastbound on Highway 401 and as it approached the exit ramp toward Highbury Ave. It veered off the pavement and headed toward the south guardrail. The end of the guardrail was equipped with an ET-PLUS terminal that was manufactured by Trinity Highway Products of Dallas, Texas. Anyone who has been following the status of roadside collisions in recent years would have heard about the controversy surrounding the ET-PLUS terminal as there was a well-publicized civil trial that took place claiming that the terminal was detective. While the U.S. Federal Highway Administration failed to confirm that the terminal was any worse that other systems the manner in which that conclusion was drawn was suspect. Regardless, the ET-PLUS terminal has received a record of questionable performance.
Gorski Consulting has been monitoring the performance of ET-PLUS terminals since becoming aware of the controversy in 2014. Since then an increasing number of installations have been examined and the results of impacts have been documented. Questionable results have been found yet there has been no official response from agencies such as the Ontario Ministry of Transportation which continues to allow the terminals to exist on Ontario’s highways. While the ET-PLUS used to be the primary and most popular terminal installed in Ontario, there has been a quiet replacement of those installations toward other manufacturers without further explanation.
The most recent impact of the ET-PLUS terminal on Highway 401 at Highbury Ave exemplifies the concerns about the performance of the terminal. The photo below shows the status of the impacted terminal when it was inspected on July 27, or about 4 days after the actual collision.
View, looking east, along the south roadside of Highway 401 at the aftermath of destruction visible after an eastbound vehicle struck the ET-Plus terminal in the background.
Upon first approach to the struck terminal it appeared to be missing from the end of the guardrail, as shown in the photo below.
Upon first viewing, the impacted ET-PLUS terminal seemed to be missing from the end of the guardrail – until one looked a little closer.
The photo below shows a view of the ET-PLUS in October, 2014 when it was first surveyed as part of a research study.
This is a view of the ET-PLUS terminal from October, 2014 when Gorski Consulting surveyed its condition as part of a research study.
Upon closer inspection it was revealed that the back portion of the ET-PLUS terminal, the channel, was still present and attached to the guardrail. However the frontal plate was missing, as shown in the photo below.
Closer inspection showed that the back “channel” of the terminal was still attached to the guardrail but the front plate appeared to have ben torn off and was missing.
A close-up view of the location where the channel was welded onto the plate showed that there had been a separation. This is a rare occurrence based on the select impacts that have been observed to date. The photo below shows a close-up view of the area of the separation in the weld of the terminal.
The peculiar circumstance is that the frontal plate of the terminal seemed to broken away at its weld with the channel.
Looking at the remainder of the guardrail there was evidence that it had buckled and therefore some energy was dissipated, as shown in the photo below.
The buckled remains of the guardrail indicated that some energy was dissipated from its deformation but this is not the way that the system should perform.
But that is not the way the system was designed to perform. As shown in a controlled test in the photo below, the head (plate) and channel of the terminal is supposed to be pushed along the guardrail like a locomotive riding a railway track. In doing so, the rail is supposed to pass through a narrowing in the terminal (“the throat”) which causes the guardrail to become deformed, like a ribbon. This process of squeezing through the throat and deforming the guardrail is the mechanism by which energy is dissipated in a controlled manner.
As shown in this frame from a high speed test conducted by the South-West Research Institute in Texas, the ET-PLUS terminal is designed so that the guardrail passes through the throat of the terminal causing the rail to become “ribboned” and this passage is what creates the required dissipation of energy.
Looking east along the side of the highway from where the impact occurred there were numerous parts of the vehicle which disintegrated, as shown in the photo below.
Looking east along the side of the highway there was evidence of many pieces of the striking vehicle which disintegrated after the barrier impact.
Some of the major components of the separated vehicle that were found strewn along the roadside was the front bumper reinforcement bar. This is the metal part of the bumper that is behind the plastic exterior. A cord was attached from one end of the bar to the other to demonstrate the extent of crush of the unit, which should normally be straight.
The reinforcement bar of the front bumper of the striking vehicle had an obvious crush in it which matched the width of the front plate of the ET-PLUS terminal.
Measuring the crush of the bar with a tape measure showed that the crush was about 46 centimeters, as shown in the photo below. Measurements like these can be used to estimate the extent of energy that was dissipated while also providing an estimate of the collision severity in terms of its change in velocity (Delta-V). Those calculations can be difficult when a vehicle disintegrates.
A measurement tape was used to measure the extent of crush of the front bumper reinforcement bar.
The width of the notch in the reinforcement bar was also revealing. As shown in the photo below, the maximum penetration was over a width of 40 centimeters.
The width of the maximum penetration of the bumper re-enforcement bar was 40 centimetres and this matches the width of a typical plate of the ET-PLUS terminal.
As confirmation, the photo below shows a measurement being taken of the plate of a typical ET-PLUS terminal. The width of 40 centimetres is the same as the width of the maximum crush in the re-enforcement bar.
Example of the measurement of the width of a typical plate of the ET-PLUS terminal or 40 centimetres.
So, even without having the opportunity to examine the vehicle, we can say that it was likely not sliding sideways, or not even in a substantial yaw, when it struck the terminal.
Another part of the vehicle that was found on the roadside was the vehicle’s engine, as shown below.
View of the engine of the striking vehicle which had become separated after the vehicle disintegrated.
Close to the location where the engine was resting the separated transmission was also nearby as shown in the photo below.
View of the vehicle’s transmission lying, separated, near the separated engine. Walking further eastward the vehicle’s windshield was found, as shown in the photo below.
Walking further eastward the vehicle’s separated windshield was found.
Walking further to the east an area of fractured red lens material was found. This is where the remaining portion of the vehicle tumbled and one of the rear corners of the vehicle made ground contact before coming to rest.
Walking further eastward an area of fractured red lens material identified the location where one of the rear corners of the vehicle made ground contact before coming to rest.
Walking still further eastward an area of trampled grass was located where the remaining portion of the disintegrated vehicle had come to rest, as shown in the photo below.
View, looking west, of the area of trampled grass which typically identifies the final rest position of a vehicle. The initial impact of the terminal can be seen in the distant background.
Some measurements were taken to establish where the various portions of the vehicle had come to rest. Using the original position of the ET-PLUS as a zero point, the front bumper came to rest 39.0 metres to the east, the engine came to rest 53 metres and the remaining portion of the vehicle came to rest at 69 metres east of the original location of the terminal. Assuming a rather moderate deceleration level of 0.5g, the vehicle’s rest position at 69 metres would indicate that the vehicle left the area of impact, at a speed of about 94 km/h. That speed is after the deceleration caused from damaging the barrier and causing the crush to its front end. Clearly this was a high speed impact yet it is an impact speed that is tested for safety compliance of the barrier system.
The curiosity of this incident is the lack of any official, public reporting of its consequences. It is possible that, through some miraculous circumstance, the driver, or perhaps additional occupants survived this massive collision without major injury. But that seems rather doubtful. So why was it not reported to the public?
Results From Testing on CN Rail Crossing of Hardy Road in Brantford Ontario
Results from travelling eastbound over the CN rail crossing of Hardy Road in Brantford Ontario.
The results are now in from the testing that was conducted on the CN rail crossing of Hardy Road in Brantford, Ontario.
The Brantford Expositor newspaper had run a story regarding complaints by local residents regarding the “deplorable” condition of the CN rail crossing at Hardy Road in Brantford. Gorski Consulting visited the site on July 23, 2018 and testing was done to determine the effect that the crossing had on the motion of a test vehicle.
As shown in the above chart there was considerable longitudinal and lateral motion caused to the test vehicle travelling eastbound at just 28 km/h. The standard deviation of the Longitudinal Rotation was 0.0979 radians per seconds, while the standard deviation of the Lateral Rotation was 0.1744 radians per second. These values can be compared to the data shown on the Road Data webpage of this Gorski Consulting website.
The motion caused when travelling westbound was not as dramatic, as demonstrated in the chart below.
Results from westbound travel over the CN rail crossing on Hardy Road in Brantford.
For the westbound test the standard deviation in the Longitudinal Rotation was 0.0642 radians per second whereas the standard deviation in the Lateral Rotation was 0.0985 radians per second.
Three tests were performed in each direction. The results of the other tests will not be shown here but will be posted shortly in the Road Data database on this website.
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