The safety problem on the Guy Lafleur Highway has resurfaced. A report by the Laurentides coroner, Me Denyse Langelier, reiterates the lack of security on a large part of the A-50.
Me Langelier investigated a fatal accident that occurred in the Brownsburg-Chatham community in the Laurentians. In July 2022, Emmalee Scantlebury-Jacob, a 25-year-old Gatineau resident and mother of two young girls, was killed in a collision on Highway 50.
The victim, then a passenger, was driving west toward Gatineau with her partner on a day of heavy rain when he lost control of his vehicle at kilometer 250. The car then crossed the center lane before striking head-on and traveling against the flow of traffic, a Dodge Ram pickup truck was traveling eastbound.
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On Highway 50, users drive at 100 km/h, and in several sections there is only one lane in each direction. The lanes are not always separated by a slide. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Alexander Behne
A dangerous highway
According to Mr. Langelier, several factors, including the torrential rain, the condition of the rear tires of the vehicle in which Ms. Scantlebury-Jacob was found, the presence of ruts on the highway and the lack of a median between lanes… West and drug use of the driver contributed to this accident.
His report not only denounces the lack of separation between the two lanes on the motorway, but also points out the depth of the ruts on the A-50, which were filled with water at the time of the incident. The coroner deplores the lack of maintenance of certain highways, even though they are busy.
These are still highways, we're not talking country roads here! She responded in an interview with Radio-Canada.
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Coroner Me Denyse Langelier regrets that the work begun by the Ministry of Transport to widen the A50 does not affect the entire motorway. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada
This isn't the first time Me Langelier has addressed safety issues on Highway 50. It published its first report in 2013. Since then others have followed each other, from him and his colleagues, both in the Laurentians and in the Outaouais.
In addition to the report into Ms Scantlebury-Jacob's death, the coroner is currently working on two other fatal accidents, including one in November in which two people died.
The police tell us: You, the coroners, only have fatal accidents, but we have many accidents where there were serious injuries. I don't know what it will take for the ministry to realize that this path is dangerous.
The coroner says she has taken several steps in recent years to call for these issues to be addressed. She acknowledges that measures have been taken to improve the maintenance of the roadway, but admits that this is not enough.
They have [récemment] We were very happy about the corrections we made. They did it pretty quickly. On the other hand, at the level of the request for the separation of contiguous streets, according to the ministry [des Transports] believes there are rumble strips in the middle and that there may not be enough accidents in the area [pour installer des glissières]She explained.
It's not a highway that should have been [construite] with connected streets. They don't call it the highway of death for nothing.
Me Langelier is pleased with the concrete barrier installed in the middle of the route between Mirabel airport and Saint-Canut, which she says has prevented fatal accidents on this section. However, she regrets that the work started by the Ministry of Transport to widen the A-50 does not target the entire motorway.
More work and developments
In his report, Me Langelier recommends taking short-term measures to secure the A-50 by installing a central barrier made of concrete or cables.
If safety precautions had been taken, they believe there would not have been a head-on collision and the death of Emmalee Scantlebury-Jacob in 2022 could have been avoided.
She also recommends that the highway continue to be expanded to four lanes for the entire network, and emphasizes that this wish has already been expressed by several coroners.
With the adoption of the new Coroners Act, the Ministry is obliged to respond to our recommendations. But unfortunately these are only recommendations. If they tell us that they see no need to install a safety barrier in this sector, we as coroners can only continue to hit the same nail.
We forensic pathologists often work on human tragedies. The ministries work with statistics. […] I don't know what it will take for the government to ultimately make this highway from Saint-Jérôme to Gatineau truly completely safe.
The coroner also hopes that the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec will continue its awareness campaigns on drug use while driving, prevention, the use of appropriate tires and safe driving in adverse weather conditions.
As of this writing, neither Transportation Minister Geneviève Guilbault's office nor the ministry had responded to Radio-Canada's request for response.
With information from Benjamin Vachet