It only takes one.
Just one driver doing something annoying, thoughtful or even reckless.
That one driver can shut down the entire commuting machine.
Case in point, this morning when some sort of dump truck stalled on Highway 1 westbound, just before Gaglardi Way (check out the photo above). That stalled truck what was a high-volume, but still relatively flowing commute and backed it up for a kilometre and ruined the morning for commuters.
That’s all it takes.
We’ve seen all this before. Vehicles stalled because the drivers or the companies that own the truck haven’t done proper maintenance. If you think I’m being harsh, well, look at the results of the Burnaby RCMP’s recent blitz on commercial trucks. During a series of sweeps in Burnaby over multiple days in August, RCMP traffic officers found hundreds of mechanical defects.
That’s not just some coincidence. It clearly shows how poorly these vehicles are maintained. That’s dangerous, but it’s also frustrating when one of these vehicles breaks down at the worst possible times during rush hours.
Like I said, all it takes is one stalled vehicle or a minor fender-bender because one driver was texting while driving and an entire route gets shut down.
So, even if you don’t care about your own vehicle, think of others and spend a few bucks making sure the engine works.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
