Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include statements from CN and the Salmon Arm RCMP.
A drive along the Trans-Canada Highway in the Shuswap nearly came to a tragic end Wednesday for a family of four.
Jonah Jones’ dashcam recorded a semi barreling towards him in his lane as he drove between Salmon Arm and Canoe with his wife and two children Wednesday afternoon.
Jones shared the video on the Shuswap Road Report page on Facebook.
“The truck was overtaking coming up the hill and didn’t judge the time/space required to make the overtake safely,” wrote Jones, a Revelstoke resident. “He ended up straddling the carriageway on my side of the road.”
“Thanks to the hard shoulder I was able to move off the side of the road. Without that I would have been flat.”
Several accidents in the Salmon Arm area in recent days prompted Jones to share his own frightening experience.
“Everyone goes on about speeding. It’s not speed which is the issue – although it’s an easy thing to blame,” Jones told Global News. “It’s poor road design (in this case a dual carriageway section closing into one lane on the brow of a hill) and poor judgement by a driver (who is probably financially rewarded for making decisions on how many deliveries he makes rather than how safe he is). I’d be interested to see how many company owners/directors are held to account for their drivers being involved in these type of incidents.”
The driver has yet to be identified.
Salmon Arm RCMP said the CN Rail trucker could face legal sanctions if identified.
S/Sgt. Scott West said it’s the responsibility of drivers to pass another vehicle only when safe to do so.
“In the case of this video that definitely does not appear to be the case,” said West. “These are the driving practices that concern our community. They are dangerous and we as police officers do go looking for and do write tickets when we see them happen.”
A CN spokesperson told Global News the company is investigating and taking the matter seriously.
– with files from Blaine Gaffney and Megan Turcato
Watch Below: Dash cam video of a family’s near miss on the Trans-Canada Highway has struck a chord with other drivers and gone viral online. The fallout from the short video clip continued Thursday. As Megan Turcato reports, the transport company involved is now investigating.