ENGLISH VERSION

REPORT Of INVESTIGATION INTO the DEATHS OF MRS. JACLYN LINETSKY AND Mr. VADIM SCHNEIDER - UNEVENNESS IN EDGE OF the ROAD: POTENTIAL DANGER TO THE MOTORISTS

QUEBEC, on Nov 21 /CNW Telbec/- Deposit of the report of investigation of coroner Me Andree Kronstrvm following the public audiences held for to clear up the causes and the circumstances of the deaths of Mrs. Jaclyn Linetsky and Mr. Vadim Schneider. Two the 17 year old young people lost the life on September 8, 2003 following a traffic accident on motorway 10, in Longueuil.

Circumstances of the accident

Mrs. Jaclyn Linetsky and Mr. Vadim Schneider are two actors who hold of the principal roles in a telesery for the young people. Like turning has place outside Montreal, the company of production ensures their transport. The morning of September 8, 2003, Mrs. Linetsky and Mr. Schneider take seat on board Dodge Caravan. Towards 10 a.m., the driver borrows motorway 10 in direction is, to deposit its passengers with Saint-Césaire. Arrived at the kilometer 16,1, it circulates on the way of left of the coldly asphalted motorway, at a speed of approximately 110 km/h. According to the investigation, it is at this time that the vehicle deviates of its way towards the left and leaves the asphalted part of the verge to encroach on the central reservation. The driver then directs its wheel towards the line to return on its way. By regaining the asphalted verge, the driver again tries to correct the trajectory of the vehicle while contrebraquant towards the left. The vehicle moves then towards the quay level, in skid, to find itself in the way in opposite direction where it is struck by a semitrailer. The sudden driver of the wounds and the two young people die on the spot of the accident.

Was the accident avoidable?

The stakes of this investigation consisted in including/understanding what was passed while answering three questions: why the driver did deviate of its way, why it lost the control of the vehicle and why the accident it was fatal for the two passengers? After having understood that the accident was fatal for the two passengers because of the force of the impact and the place which they occupied in the vehicle, the coroner concentrated on the factors which contributed to the accident, that is to say the personal elements and environmental. By peeling them three first second of the accident, the investigation made it possible to determine that the vehicle had deviated of its way following one moment of hypovigilance of the driver or following an operation to avoid another vehicle. The driver then lost the control of the vehicle primarily because of the passage repeated of the wheels on a continuous unevenness of approximately 76 mm or 3 inches between the part coldly asphalted of the verge of left and the quay level. The investigation showed that in such circumstances, even an extremely tested driver could probably not have preserved the control of the vehicle and have reinstated in a sedentary way the lane. According to the coroner, the unevenness is one of the factors which contributed to the accident. However, this unevenness is the element determining of the loss of control of the vehicle.

Are preventive measures they possible?

According to coroner Kronstrvm, since they are deaths which could have been avoided, of the preventive measures must be considered. It thus retained certain tracks of solutions which were discussed with speakers aimed at the time of the public audiences. One of these solutions consists in making the promotion of vigilance in order to prevent or to decrease the frequency of the exits of road. The drivers of vehicles would have inter alia being sensitized with the dangers associated with the continuous presence with a unevenness. Moreover, since the investigation has shown that the unevenness between the asphalted verge and the quay level is an alarming factor, the coroner wish that the ministry for Transport of Quebec quickly documents this situation still ignored in Quebec. The presence of such made uneven, created during work of asphalting, thus represents a real danger. In order to increase the safety of the road users, of the provisional measures should also be taken to fill the unevenness quickly and to indicate the presence of danger.