Only hazards on 5A are some truck drivers

I am not a resident off of Highway 5A, but I do travel it frequently, either by vehicle or motorcycle. The only hazards about this picturesque highway are some of the truck drivers.

I will not make broad generalizations because I do not believe all truckers are dangerous drivers. I encounter many who are courteous and professional.

I’ve listed some of my experiences, off the top my head, after reading the most recent letter regarding the highway.

· A trucker taking a curve too fast causing the trailer wheels to lift way off the pavement, very nearly resulting in a flipped trailer. That was in the curves before the southern boat launch on Nicola Lake.

· Just north of the Quilchena Golf Course, an over-height load of logs resulted in a log snagging and snapping off an over-head phone or power line. The log came spinning off the trailer right in front of my motorbike. Fortunately, excessive shrapnel had been flying off his load, so I had left extra clearance between his javelin and me.

· A pickup with a horse trailer and myself had to pull over to the shoulder, as the oncoming trucker didn’t slow to the posted 60 kms/hr thru Upper Nicola community. He had to veer into our lane to ‘make’ the corner.

· An impatient trucker didn’t want to slow his pace as the truck he was following pulled into the pulloff on top of Cardou Hill. He swerved around it, landing himself in the oncoming lane (my lane), so I had to quickly maneuver my bike to the far lane.

· Another trucker, not slowing for the curves near Shumway, took up 2/3 of my lane in the curve. Fortunately, I observed him from a distance, noting his speed, and rode to the shoulder in anticipation of our inevitable encounter.

It’s pure luck I haven’t been splattered by a toppled truck and/or its load. Luck and defensive riding, that is.

Countless times I’ve driven or rode past the evidence of spilled loads on 5A. It’s quite undeniable that there are truckers that need to have their licenses tossed into a shredder.

So in the spirit of Scott Hudson’s letter: Remember, if I ‘bought it’ on Highway 5A, a truck did it.

LOREE BURNHAM

Kamloops

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