There is no question that Jaskirat Singh’s mistake of driving his truck through a stop sign was a major causal factor in the deaths of the multiple occupants of the Humboldt Broncos bus on a Saskatchewan intersection on 6 April of 2018. That point has been the focus of almost all discussion about the tragedy. What is remarkable is how an equally important causal factor has been ignored.
The intersection sight lines were clearly inadequate. A simple reference to any roadway design manual would illuminate that point. It is also undeniable that, if the sight lines had been as recommended then a collision would likely have been avoided, even though Singh’s truck travelled through the stop sign. These facts are clear.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Transportation employs educated specialists in transportation safety like any other government agencies. Undoubtedly they would have been aware of the standards regarding intersection sight lines. They most certainly would have been aware that the sight lines at the Humboldt Broncos intersection were improper. Yet they did nothing to correct that defect.
So here lies the paradox: There has been a year’s worth of demonizing Mr. Singh for the mistake he made. Yet the conscious decision made by unknown persons with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Transportation not to correct the safety hazard at the Humboldt Broncos intersection has been meet with silence. So why is it that one individual whose actions caused multiple fatalities receives an eight year prison sentence, yet another individual whose actions also caused multiple fatalities is not even identified? Is it because those unidentified persons in the Saskatchewan Ministry of Transportation are employed by a powerful agency that is part of the Saskatchewan government? There is no other explanation that can explain these unjust circumstances.