THUNDER BAY — Travis McDougall thought he was about to roll his tractor-trailer.
On a trip through Northwestern Ontario earlier this month, the Kitchener-based truck driver encountered two oncoming transports as he crested a hill on Highway 17.
"Just inches away from a devastating crash, I was forced to take evasive action to avoid a potential fatal accident," he wrote in a submission to Newswatch.
He said the near-collision was the result of reckless driving by another trucker.
McDougall shared more details of the incident in an interview Monday and said the risk of these kinds of things occurring on the highway has become severe enough that he may have to think about getting out of long-distance trucking.
"I was travelling east, between Ignace and Thunder Bay, and came over a small hill, and I had two trucks coming at me. One was in my lane and one was in his own lane, but they were side-by-side. Neither one backed out and tried to give way to me. The one was passing the other but shouldn't have been because he was coming up towards a hill, right? He couldn't see over the other side."
McDougall said he ended up driving onto the shoulder and partway into the ditch to try to avoid a collision, but it was an extremely close call.
"Our mirrors touched enough that my mirror folded in towards my window...My truck was on a pretty good angle. My passenger-side tires were somewhat into the ditch or into the gravel along the ditch."
He said he's had numerous similar experiences over the years but this was the most frightening.
"I probably have a close call at least once a month, but just not quite to the point where I thought 'This is it.,'" McDougall added.
In this instance, McDougall was so focused on escaping disaster he was unable to note the name of the company that owned the truck that was in his lane.
But he said the incident highlights the need for various measures, including improving truck driver training programs, to enhance safety on Canada's highways.
"I'm certainly more anxious about being on the road, in general, as a driver. It's getting to the point where maybe it's time to look for something where I'm closer to home and not on the long-hauls anymore...Every trip is like 'Thank God I made it back home,' right? "
