Law Trucker who killed 16 and injured 13 others sentencing this week

[trac209]

i think he had to have fallen asleep. No signs of braking, no swerve while the bus was braking and swerving heavily. Many of these guys are working 2 jobs or more and I bet he dozed off.

But no, I don't expect heavy jail time. This is Canada and it would be an aberration for anyone to get heavy jail time for an accident no matter how abhorrent. People who commit violent purposeful crimes here rarely get 10 years. Plus punishing the driver would not make the trucking industry change. For the industry it is simple math. Yes their insurance claims have gone up as a result of lesser trained drivers being in more accidents but their hourly cost of labour has gone way down as a Pro Driver used to command $80k or more /yr for local hauls and would make $150k/yr for long haul. Now they can pay $35k-55K for drivers to do the same. They can pay way higher insurance premiums with those savings and eat that extra risk.

That’s doubtful since he had just picked up and strapped that load down only minutes before. He ran the sign and never disputed that fact either.

 

[filthynumber1]

i think he had to have fallen asleep. No signs of braking, no swerve while the bus was braking and swerving heavily. Many of these guys are working 2 jobs or more and I bet he dozed off.

But no, I don't expect heavy jail time. This is Canada and it would be an aberration for anyone to get heavy jail time for an accident no matter how abhorrent. People who commit violent purposeful crimes here rarely get 10 years. Plus punishing the driver would not make the trucking industry change. For the industry it is simple math. Yes their insurance claims have gone up as a result of lesser trained drivers being in more accidents but their hourly cost of labour has gone way down as a Pro Driver used to command $80k or more /yr for local hauls and would make $150k/yr for long haul. Now they can pay $35k-55K for drivers to do the same. They can pay way higher insurance premiums with those savings and eat that extra risk.

That’s doubtful since he had just picked up and strapped that load down only minutes before. He ran the sign and never disputed that fact either.

I dont think he fell asleep. He was just a very inexperienced driver and did not know that road very well. Didnt realize that he was crossing a busier highway that he had to give the right of way to. A blinded intersection as well (trees obstructing). I also dont think he realized what the responsibilities of driving a super b really entail. It's the biggest truck out there. You have to understand that. I dont think he had a clue

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

can't even focus on the topic at hand due to TSs avatar.

 

[lifelessheap]

I can understand why people are saying he should get 10-20 years. It's a knee jerk reaction to an awful tragedy. But let's be real here. He wasnt impaired, he wasnt doing it out of malice, he made an honest mistake due to lack of experience. His pleading guilty is a sign that he knows he fucked up, and wants to atone for it. I would say 5-10 would be acceptable, and he never allowed to drive truck again (not that I think he actually would).

He shouldn't have been behind the wheel if he didn't know how to drive safely. He deserves at least a decade.

 

[MikeMcMann]

He shouldn't have been behind the wheel if he didn't know how to drive safely. He deserves at least a decade.

Well therein lies the rub.

We have a method to certify a driver as safe or competent to be on our roads. You and I might both agree that standard has been eroded and is way to low but you cannot really blame the drivers for that. I don't think the Canadian legal system will hold him fully accountable to that.

The system of training, hiring and Insuring, has, IMO been so badly watered down that is broken and what should come of this (besides some jail time for him) is a comprehensive review of those driving qualifications and standards and a tightening of that process.

I actually hold out the most hope for the Lawsuits filed by parents against the driver, the Truck driving company and the Insurance (Sask Govt) which are seeking lifetime earnings awards for many of these NHL bound athletes. Generally in Canada it is hard to get giant payouts in court, like in the US so it does not act to force corporate change. But in this case, if they win it could be hundreds of millions of dollars which could force the Insurance Company (Sask Gov't) to enforce higher standards or dramatically raise rates. That would change behaviour amongst the owners more than anything else.

I bet he gets about 4 years and serves less than 1/3rd of it to many peoples outrage. But that is Canada.

 

[trac209]

Well therein lies the rub.

We have a method to certify a driver as safe or competent to be on our roads. You and I might both agree that standard has been eroded and is way to low but you cannot really blame the drivers for that. I don't think the Canadian legal system will hold him fully accountable to that.

The system of training, hiring and Insuring, has, IMO been so badly watered down that is broken and what should come of this (besides some jail time for him) is a comprehensive review of those driving qualifications and standards and a tightening of that process.

I actually hold out the most hope for the Lawsuits filed by parents against the driver, the Truck driving company and the Insurance (Sask Govt) which are seeking lifetime earnings awards for many of these NHL bound athletes. Generally in Canada it is hard to get giant payouts in court, like in the US so it does not act to force corporate change. But in this case, if they win it could be hundreds of millions of dollars which could force the Insurance Company (Sask Gov't) to enforce higher standards or dramatically raise rates. That would change behaviour amongst the owners more than anything else.

I bet he gets about 4 years and serves less than 1/3rd of it to many peoples outrage. But that is Canada.

Not a chance they sentence him to 4 years. I can see 18 months tops and probably do half.

 

[filthynumber1]

can't even focus on the topic at hand due to TSs avatar.

It's TRUE! I just got used to it after while. Took about 6-7 months

 

[filthynumber1]

Well therein lies the rub.

We have a method to certify a driver as safe or competent to be on our roads. You and I might both agree that standard has been eroded and is way to low but you cannot really blame the drivers for that. I don't think the Canadian legal system will hold him fully accountable to that.

The system of training, hiring and Insuring, has, IMO been so badly watered down that is broken and what should come of this (besides some jail time for him) is a comprehensive review of those driving qualifications and standards and a tightening of that process.

I actually hold out the most hope for the Lawsuits filed by parents against the driver, the Truck driving company and the Insurance (Sask Govt) which are seeking lifetime earnings awards for many of these NHL bound athletes. Generally in Canada it is hard to get giant payouts in court, like in the US so it does not act to force corporate change. But in this case, if they win it could be hundreds of millions of dollars which could force the Insurance Company (Sask Gov't) to enforce higher standards or dramatically raise rates. That would change behaviour amongst the owners more than anything else.

I bet he gets about 4 years and serves less than 1/3rd of it to many peoples outrage. But that is Canada.

You seem very articulate and seem to argue your point well and not disrespectful. For that I commend you, not common on sherdog.
I want to to know your thoughts on this. This guy blew a stop sign. We all know what stop signs are and what they mean. He blew a stop sign, we are blaming the truck industry for someone that cant follow what a learners driver at age 15 knows what to do.
He blew a stop sign and killed 16 and severely injured 13 others. He has to pay the penalty for that. How does he not? We all know to stop at stop signs.

 

[MikeMcMann]

You seem very articulate and seem to argue your point well and not disrespectful. For that I commend you, not common on sherdog.
I want to to know your thoughts on this. This guy blew a stop sign. We all know what stop signs are and what they mean. He blew a stop sign, we are blaming the truck industry for someone that cant follow what a learners driver at age 15 knows what to do.
He blew a stop sign and killed 16 and severely injured 13 others. He has to pay the penalty for that. How does he not? We all know to stop at stop signs.

I hear ya. And I get your emotional reaction to it.I have one too.

I am just saying that the Canadian system has a hard time putting away murders with intent for 10 years and we rarely see anyone for negligence (no matter how gross) get long sentences.

If you made me bet I say 4 years, only because public outrage is high but otherwise I would be more with @trac209 saying 18mths, serving half. Thats Canada, like it or not.

 

[Steve-French]

Huffington Post:

The identity of the Humboldt Broncos victims helps explain why Canadians have rallied around them to an extent unseen for any other community.

What a piece of shit article. Imo this a very distasteful situation to try and race bait. It was a tragedy that most of the country can relate to because the majority of them grew up playing hockey. Also playing hockey requires traveling, even in the youth leagues.

The guy who wrote this article (pictured below) isn't even a person of color. He's just some white homosexual playwright who is just trying to virtue signal because he got picked on by hockey players growing up.

 

[MiniCraque]

Criminal convictions are not about setting examples. The incident is awful and it's infuriating that one person making a stupid mistake can end a dozen lives in the blink of an eye, but whatever sentence he gets is not meant to soothe anyone's anger.

This could be an opportunity to look at traffic laws, hiring standards or whatever (as long as it's clear the incident shows real flaws in the system and is not just one freak occurrence), but locking away the driver for a couple of decades won't really do anything other than satisfy the vengeance boner of the victims families (which is a perfectly normal reaction tbf).

 

[bref]

I dont think he fell asleep. He was just a very inexperienced driver and did not know that road very well. Didnt realize that he was crossing a semi busier highway that he had to yield the right of way to. A blinded intersection as well (trees obstructing). I also dont think he realized what the responsibilities of driving a super b really entail. It's the biggest truck out there. You have to understand that. I dont think he had a clue

I've always thought he just blew the stop sign because it was late on a fairly empty highway and he probably thought he was clear. It's a bit of a bitch to bring a semi to a full stop when you're travelling 100. I think he probably just wanted to save a bit of time and ended up really fucking up royally.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Nah man. I get what you're saying but not this time. This time, bc of the severity of the accident, sheer numbers of deaths and injuries, something serious Is getting handed out for punishment. This guy may never drive again and hes looking at some hard time.

Of course this is all pure speculation. Find out on the 20th

He’s not going to get hard time. It doesn’t matter that 16 people died. He won’t be sentenced consecutively. He’ll be sentenced on each charge concurrently.

Furthermore, as already pointed out he wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol or driving distracted. He literally just ran a stop sign. Also, as far as I know he has no preexisting criminal record. If he gets more than 3 years tops I will be utterly shocked.

 

[filthynumber1]

He’s not going to get hard time. It doesn’t matter that 16 people died. He won’t be sentenced consecutively. He’ll be sentenced on each charge concurrently.

Furthermore, as already pointed out he wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol or driving distracted. He literally just ran a stop sign. Also, as far as I know he has no preexisting criminal record. If he gets more than 3 years tops I will be utterly shocked.

Seems to be the majority consensus on the matter. Somewhere around the 5 year mark, or less. I guess because I played hockey and travelled on buses as a teenager it hits home pretty hard. Humboldt is only half hour drive from where I live. Just to think that if I had my life ended and all my hockey buddies at 17 or 18 because of some ones poor driving IQ. Also the pain that all my family would go thru and what those families currently are going thru...There are no words. I think I would want that person to sit and think about it for while. A long while. Hoping the judge feels the same way. This has nothing to do with race but with bad driving and people losing their lives. You only get one life to live. All taken away in the blink of an eye

Having said that it appears I'm in the minority here on how much time he'll get and I might be emotionally too close the situation.

Some parents are taking it pretty well all things considered. Evan Thomas, who was killed on impact, his dad spoke and said he doesnt even care how much time he gets he was satisfied with the driver pleading guilty. That is amazing to me and a testament to who Mr Thomas is. Time really does heal. Other parents may feel quite abit different.

 

[filthynumber1]

Not a chance they sentence him to 4 years. I can see 18 months tops and probably do half.

You really think 18 months and out In 9? Wow, that would be insane. I cant even comprehend that, I just cant

 

[trac209]

You really think 18 months and out In 9? Wow, that would be insane. I cant even comprehend that, I just cant

To be honest I’m being optimistic he serves even that long

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Seems to be the majority consensus on the matter. Somewhere around the 5 year mark, or less. I guess because I played hockey and travelled on buses as a teenager it hits home pretty hard. Humboldt is only half hour drive from where I live. Just to think that if I had my life ended and all my hockey buddies at 17 or 18 because of some ones poor driving IQ. Also the pain that all my family would go thru and what those families currently are going thru...There are no words. I think I would want that person to sit and think about it for while. A long while. Hoping the judge feels the same way. This has nothing to do with race but with bad driving and people losing their lives. You only get one life to live. All taken away in the blink of an eye

Having said that it appears I'm in the minority here on how much time he'll get and I might be emotionally too close the situation.

Some parents are taking it pretty well all things considered. Evan Thomas, who was killed on impact, his dad spoke and said he doesnt even care how much time he gets he was satisfied with the driver pleading guilty. That is amazing to me and a testament to who Mr Thomas is. Time really does heal. Other parents may feel quite abit different.

I’m not commenting on what I think he deserves. I’m commenting on what I think he’ll get based on the realities of how crimes are sentenced generally in Canada, let alone one like this that comes down to an error in judgment as opposed to criminal behaviour.

 

[filthynumber1]

I’m not commenting on what I think he deserves. I’m commenting on what I think he’ll get based on the realities of how crimes are sentenced generally in Canada, let alone one like this that comes down to an error in judgment as opposed to criminal behaviour.

Ok.
What do you think he deserves ?

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Ok.
What do you think he deserves ?

Hard to say really. Unlike most criminals this guy isn’t a “bad person” per se like most of the trash in the justice system. His crime was recklessness. Then again, 16 people are dead.


I don’t know... ritualistic seppuku?

 

[jefferz]

Umm no actually, and I speak from experience many of these owners are hiring their own who have been fast tracked through the driving school process. The company that was involved in this accident was suspended and he just changed the name and was up and running within days of the crash. There were schools in Alberta that were basically selling class one licences for how shitty these guys were being trained. The driver in question in the crash had zero business behind the wheel of a tandem loaded tractor trailer period. Although the race of the driver isn’t what caused the crash the shitty training and company policy this demographic brings to the table in this regard is.

Do farmers in Canada have to have CDL licenses to drive a semi? In my state I don’t need one, but I’m restricted to a 75 mile radius from the homestead.