Cause of Deaths in Recent Collision Fires Not Revealed
Two recent fatal collisions demonstrate the lack of attention being paid to the cause of death in a vehicle collision.
News media reported on May 4, 2021 that a two-vehicle collision occurred near Milverton, Ontario which resulted the death of an 84-year-old male occupant. No mention was made of a fire. Another news agency then provided on-site video footage that clearly showed a large fire had consumed a vehicle.
In a second incident, on Saturday, May 8, 2021, Peel Regional Police reported that a driver of a single vehicle was deceased as a result of a collision on Burnhamthorpe Rd in Mississauga Ontario. Mention was made of a vehicle fire but no explanation was given with respect to its relevance to the deceased.
In both instances a pattern of non-disclosure emerges that has gone on for many years and this is consistent with other reports of deaths in collisions. While police and news media are quick to report causal factors such as alcohol impairment, driver distraction, vehicle issues, etc., rarely is it reported that a post-collision vehicle fire may have led to a death. The cause of a death needs to be known whether it is caused by inappropriate actions of a driver, vehicular issues or roadway issues. When police make decisions about what they will reveal, that hide problems that could endanger the public, they contribute to the future death and injury of future occupants who are unaware of those dangers. This bias must be corrected.
Better Collision Information Combats Speculation – A Simple Recipe
In reporting of collisions to the general public withholding of evidence inevitably leads to speculation. The consequences of such speculation are not always benign nor publicly recognized.
A case in point is a reported collision on Highway 401 near Renforth Drive in Mississauga, Ontario, on April 26, 2021 as reported on the OPP Twitter account. The OPP notification did not provide any information about how the collision occurred, however three photos were provided and are shown below.
The OPP need be commended for their transparency which is better than other police forces in Ontario. When major collisions occur on expressways such as Highway 401 they frequently post photos of the vehicles and site on social media. But this is not necessarily because of their ethical sense of duty. It is more likely because they are aware that drivers passing by collision sites take photos. This photo-taking is a distraction and could place emergency personnel and others in danger. By providing photos the OPP discourage the need for the public to reveal something valuable that they may feel they are revealing. Yet even these few photos provide little explanation for why collisions occur and, more importantly, how and why a serious injury or death occurred.
In the first photo above we can see that a heavy vehicle has struck a portable concrete barrier that appears to be in a construction zone. The truck can be seen lying on its left side in the background. In the foreground, at the bottom, we have inserted an orange oval to highlight the presence of a black tire mark near the top of the concrete barrier. Undoubtedly this tire mark was caused by one of the tires of the heavy truck. Vehicles that strike such barriers are supposed to slide against the wall and come to a stop over a long distance and in an upright position. But that is not what has happened.
In the second photo we see a considerable transfer or rubber material onto most of the left side of a white passenger car. The characteristics and height of the marking indicates that this was caused by one or more tires of the heavy truck. The characteristic smudging of the rubber transfer indicates that the tires of the truck were rotating at the time of contact. The quantity of this transfer indicates that the two vehicles were in contact for an extended time.
In the third photo we see the underside of the truck. We have inserted an orange oval to illustrate the buckling of the centre link of the truck’s steering system and the presence of a white transfer which is likely from contact with the concrete of the barrier. So it appears as if the underside of the truck has made contact with the concrete barrier.
If we return to the first photo and look at the surroundings, we can see that there is westbound traffic to the left and right of the barrier. So this does not appear to be an incident where the truck was steering to the right in an attempt to exit the highway and therefore drove into the the path of the car. Such a situation is quite common since truck drivers have difficulty seeing vehicles near their right front wheels. What is more likely is that the car moved into the truck’s lane and the truck driver steered, or was deflected, into the portable concrete barrier. But what would a heavy truck be doing in the left lane prior to the collision? Or was the truck initially in the middle lane and did the truck driver steer there in an attempt to avoid the car? Possible.
Even though most vehicles are now equipped with event data recorders (“Black Boxes”) in instances like these, where the contact is over a prolonged time period, there may not be a “wakening” of the system such that collision data may not become stored in the car’s recorder. Similarly the existence of event data in heavy trucks is more rare and more difficult to extract due to the specialized equipment that is required.
The OPP reported that there were minor injuries as a result of this incident and it might not even be reported by official news agencies. But even reporting by official news agencies will not contain the important information about what caused the collision and what led to its heightened consequences. For example, if all went well, the truck should have been pushed, or steered, against the wall of the barrier and it should have come to a stop in an upright position. But that is not what happened. The truck went over the barrier and rolled over. Yes, the consequences appear to have been minimized as the injuries were light. But what if the truck was carrying propane, a tank ruptured during the rollover, and there was a massive explosion? Would we be talking about the minimal consequences? Not likely.
Why did these to vehicles collide? Did the white car move suddenly into the truck’s path? That is an important question that cannot be answered based on the minimal evidence provided by the three photos. But there will be speculations. Not just by us, but by many. And some of those speculations will be totally off base. Lack of quality information does not stop persons from speculating, it only increases the magnitude of the error in the public’s understanding. And that is not helpful. A few words of explanation by police would not do any harm in their progress toward charges but could go a long way toward providing an understanding, and education, by the general public.
Strange OPP Twitter Message Regarding Fatal QEW Rear-End Impact
With no explanation the OPP posted some additional photos with respect to a dated fatal impact on the QEW that occurred last October 30, 2020. While this may not appear to be significant, the additional photos reveal something that was not revealed in the original news media accounts.
Originally, news media reported on October 30, 2020 that a school bus had been involved in a multi-vehicle fatal collision on the QEW near Ford Drive in Oakville. The focus of the attention was on the school bus in which no one was injured. Almost as an aside, the news media then reported that someone was killed in another vehicle, but minimal details were provided. A photo was attached showing a distant view of the school bus. Then another photo was shown with a dump truck and blue tarp placed over something in front of the truck. The news article mentioned that a vehicle had been “pinned under a gravel hauler” but no additional information was provided with respect to what kind of collision was involved or if someone died in the “pinned” vehicle.
Then on April 23, 2021, for no apparent reason, the OPP Twitter account re-displayed its reports of the incident from October 30, 2020. These reports indicated the following:
Update: Two separate collisions involved in this incident. The first crash involved a school bus, pick-up truck and a van that resulted in minor injuries. The school bus driver was charged with Careless Driving. The 2nd collision occurred seconds later involving a dump truck, transport truck and car. 29 year old Melissa PRIMOK from Toronto was killed in the crash. The driver of the dump truck Ronald RICKERT, 62 from Caledon is charged with: Crim Neg cause death and additional CMV charges.
This description was accompanied by three photos that were not previously submitted. These photos are shown below.
What these photos show is that a passenger car has been literally crushed between two heavy trucks. The extent of the crush is one of the worst ever recorded in over 40 years of our evaluation of thousands of collisions. It is also revealing that the dump truck that impacted the car was hauling a pup trailer. This is important information that was never revealed in the original descriptions of the incident to the public. No emphasis was provided by either the news media nor the investigating police that would educate the public about the dangers of such collisions where traffic is coming to a stop on an expressway. Regrettably, the young woman who was killed is just another statistic amongst numerous ones who have since followed. The cause of the collision was indicated in the original reporting as “unknown”. And since that time no further update was provided to inform the public.
This is the kind of process that does nothing to improve the public’s safety. Information that could, and should, have been used to inform and educate the public has been kept in hiding for no reasonable purpose except for secrecy itself. Yet this lack of education will lead to future tragedies for no useful purpose.
What were the factors that led to the extreme result in specific instance? We want to blame the driver of the dump truck but do we know? Why was this impact so severe? How much would new technology such as Automatic Emergency Braking help to prevent such tragedies? If the public was properly informed about these issues would momentum be developed that would increase the likelihood of changes being implemented? Sadly these are squandered opportunities that will revisit some future families.
Final Results From School Bus Motion Testing
Analysis of recent testing of school bus motions has now been completed. A total of six testing sessions were completed along various routes in London, Ontario noted below:
- March 4, 202; GMC 18 Passenger School Bus driven along Wharncliffe Road route.
- March 4, 2021; GMC 18-Passenger School Bus driven along Wellington Road route.
- March 25, 2021; International Full-Size School Bus driven along Southdale Road route.
- March 25, 2021; International Full-Size School Bus driven along Exeter Road route.
- March 26, 2021, International Full-size School Bus driven along Southdale Road route.
- March 26, 2021; International Full-Size School Bus driven along Exeter Road route.
Three previous articles were posted to the Gorski Consulting website discussing the results from the first three sessions:
April 5, 2021: Testing of School Bus Response to Irregular Road Surface Conditions
April 13, 2021: GMC 18-Passenger School Bus Testing on Wellington Road in London
April 15, 2021: Preliminary Comparison of Full Size School Bus Motions To Other Vehicles
Now analysis has been completed on the last three sessions. The present article will summarize the results from all six sessions.
The results from the six sessions are shown in the following tables and charts. For each session a table is presented describing the actions of the bus along each 30-second road segment, the bus speed, and the bus motions in terms of the Longitudinal and Lateral motion. A bar chart of vehicle motions is also presented for each session.
1. March 4, 2021: GMC 18-Passenger Bus on Wharncliffe Road Route
2. March 4, 2021: GMC 18-Passenger School Bus on Wellington Road Route
3. March 25, 2021: International Full-Size School Bus on Southdale Road Route
4. March 25, 2021: International Full-Size School Bus on Exeter Road Route
5. March 26-21: International Full-Size School Bus on Southdale Road Route
6. March 26, 2021: International Full-Size School Bus on Exeter Road Route
Discussion
Gorski Consulting has been gathering data of road conditions for the past seven years. The sensors of an iPhone have been used to capture a wide variety of parameters. Two parameters were chosen for display 1) Rate of Longitudinal Rotation and 2) Rate of Lateral Rotation of a test vehicle. It was reasoned that the rotation, or motion, of a vehicle is caused by its reaction to the conditions of a road surface. So a greater motion would indicate a rougher surface and therefore a surface which is of worse condition.
A webpage on the Gorski Consulting website called Road Data contains the results of testing from a large number of roads in Southern Ontario. Most of this testing was done using a 2007 Buick Allure passenger car. Although it was found that the methodology was reliable there was always a question whether a test vehicle of a completely different structure might produce very different or even unreliable data. Recently access was gained to school buses and it was decided that the road testing methodology would be used to see what differences might occur in the data.
The data presented here demonstrates the reliability of the test methods. It demonstrates that, even vehicles of vastly differing sizes and structures, can be used in documenting the condition of road surfaces.
A vast percentage of the population now has possession of smartphones. On the negative side, the designers of these devices have installed sensors that record intricate details about an owner’s actions and habits. On the positive side, such technology can be used to benefit society when used for ethical purposes such as detecting road safety problems. The gathering of vehicle motion data provides a cheap method of providing the necessary vigilance of road conditions to whoever wishes to use it. It could be used by municipalities as a quick way to spot safety problems and make corrections. However it can also be used by any member of the public.
The cost of the hardware to perform the testing is minimal. A functioning test vehicle is required and most persons already possess a motor vehicle. A smartphone is also available to almost everyone. A video camera is required but nothing is needed that cannot be purchased for under $100 dollars. A computer is required and that is available to almost anyone. Video-editing software is required but that can easily be purchased for about $100 dollars. And that is all. With a little bit of training anyone can gather and analyze the condition of road systems in an objective manner.
Preliminary Comparison of Full Size School Bus Motions To Other Vehicles
The safe transportation of children on school buses is paramount. An important factor in that safety is the reaction of school buses to road surface defects. Are school buses prone to loss-of-control because of their inferior characteristics compared to other vehicles? Are they superior in their design and construction and therefore ideal for safely transporting children? Little or no discussion exists in the public domain regarding this important issue. Gorski Consulting is conducting testing of school buses to address this issue.
Two previous articles have recently been unloaded regarding this testing. In the first article posted on April 5, 2021, testing was reported using an 18-passenger school bus driven along a path including Wharncliffe Road in London, Ontario. In a second article, posted on April 13, 2021, the same school bus was driven along a path including Wellington Road. Each of the two testing sessions were performed on March 4, 2021.
The present article will report on testing performed with a full-size International school bus which was driven on White Oak, Southdale and Wonderland Roads in London, Ontario. For simplicity this path will be referred to as the “Southdale” path. This testing session was performed on March 25, 2021. Two additional testing sessions were performed with this school bus on March 25 and 26, 2021 and it is hoped that time will be available to report on these sessions in upcoming articles.
The photo below shows a view of the 2012 International school bus that was used in the testing on March 25 and 26, 2021.
The following three bar-charts will provide the results from the previously-mentioned two testing sessions of March 4, 2021 as well as the current testing session on Southdale Road of March 25, 2021.
Discussion
Recall that what is being reported in the three charts is the extent of motion caused by the bus travelling over the noted routes. The blue bars indicate the extent of Longitudinal Rotation or the extent that the bus has been “bounced” front and back. The red bars indicate the extent of Lateral Rotation or the extent that the bus has been “bounced” left or right, or sideways. Each of the columns represent a time of 30 seconds of motion. When the bars are extremely low then this indicates that the bus has come to a stop, for a traffic signal for example.
Because the reported motions can occur in opposite directions their magnitude could be cancelled out if the actual rate of motion was reported. So this problem has been alleviated by reporting the “standard deviation” of that motion. In other words we are not concerned with whether the vehicle’s front end has been lifted or dropped, or if the bus body has moved down on the left or up. We are simply interested in the magnitude of that motion. So by using the standard deviation we are reporting, on average, how quickly the motion occurred regardless of its direction. It seems reasonable that if the rate of vehicle motion is higher then this must mean that the vehicle’s motion was affected to a greater extent by the road surface and that this is undesirable.
We must also pay attention to the speed of the vehicle during the testing because that has an effect on the magnitude of the motion. So if the bus is stopped and idling there is very little motion of its body. And if it is travelling very quickly then its reaction might be greater to the contact of an irregular road surface. While this may appear to be a confound it is of minor importance when an analyst become familiar with the signature of the expected motion.
An important question that will hopefully be answered with this school bus testing is whether our procedures can be reliable in providing a useful, objective reporting of possible safety concerns when a vehicle rides over a particular road surface. For several years testing was performed by Gorski Consulting over many roadways in southern Ontario using a 2007 Buick Allure passenger car. This “Road Data” is reported in the Road Data webpage of this Gorski Consulting website. That testing has shown that the procedures we used could reliably differentiate one surface from another. The school bus testing is adding another dimension to the issue: When a vehicle with a totally different body is used as the test vehicle can the Road Data still reliably differentiate between the characteristics of one road surface versus another? From the two preliminary tests with the GMC 18-passenger school bus on March 4, 2021, the answer would appear to be yes, the methodology appears to be reliable when the test vehicle is a small school bus. Of course we still have to examine further testing with the full size school bus.
An interesting result of the testing with the International, full-size school bus is that the overall motions (shown in the above bar chart) appear to less in magnitude and the Longitudinal Rotation appears to be less than the Lateral Rotation. Below is a summary of the results from each of the three testing sessions.
March 4, 2021 Wharncliffe Route: Longitudinal = 0.0192, Lateral = 0.0214
March 4, 2021 Wellington Route: Longitudinal = 0.0206, Lateral = 0.0201
Mar 25, 2012 Southdale Route: Longitudinal = 0.0091, Lateral = 0.0144
We can also compare the above data with the larger data contained in the Road Data webpage of this website. The City of London and Oxford County are two of the larger datasets and the average for all roads in each of those jurisdictions is summarized below.
City of London – All Roads: Longitudinal = 0.0270, Lateral = 0.0265
Oxford County – All Roads: Longitudinal = 0.0245, Lateral = 0.0214
Also, Hwy 401 has been noted to produce the lowest motion data indicating the highest quality of road surface. Some data from Hwy 401 are noted below.
Hwy 401 WB between London & Tilbury: Longitudinal = 0.0126, Lateral = 0.0096
Hwy 401 WB between Woodstock & London: Longitudinal = 0.0134, Lateral – 0.0092
A word of caution is worthwhile. The testing inside urban areas such as the City of London incorporates many instances where the vehicle comes to a complete stop. Also the urban data is collected from a lower speed than the rural data. So, if all roads were equal in character, one should expect that the data from the urban testing should contain lower motion data.
While the data from the International School Bus testing showed lower motion data it must be observed that, at the beginning of the testing session, the bus was stopped in the bus yard for 200 seconds (about 3.5 minutes) before the bus began its movement. Also the bus ignition was not activated until 150 seconds (2.5 seconds) had elapsed. So during this time when the bus stood still the motion was very low and this obviously lowered the overall average for that session. However the curious finding is that the overall Longitudinal motion was substantially lower than the Lateral motion. That finding does not seem to be confounded by the bus being stopped. At least there does not appear to be an obvious confound at this early stage of study. Given that a full-size school bus is very long (12.5 metres) compared to the other two test vehicles it is possible that this long length could reduce the forward-rearward bouncing of the bus and this could explain the lower Longitudinal Rotation values. However this is just a very preliminary thought and we will see how this unfolds upon exploring the remaining two testing sessions. We hope to report the two remaining testing sessions with the full size school bus in the near future.
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