FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report
The Sûreté du Québec and the Canadian Automobile Association are raising the alarm in the wake of three road fatalities involving quad vehicles this month in the province – one of them claiming the life of an 83-year-old Coteau du Lac man.
At about 10 a.m. on Aug. 7, the victim was riding his four-wheeled vehicle on Route 338 near the Centre nature Quatre-Saisons, east of Route 201, near his home in Coteau du Lac when he was struck by a car driven by a woman in her 50s, the SQ said. The speed limit in that sector is 70 kilometres per hour, according to SQ spokesperson Frederic Deshaies, adding that the collision was extremely violent. Both vehicles sustained serious damage, and both drivers were sent to hospital. The elderly man was declared dead in hospital, while the woman was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
According to former SPVM officer and CAA spokesman André Durocher, the Coteau du Lac incident is the third fatal quad-involved accident this month in Quebec, which, he said, is worrisome because it indicates that cars and quad vehicles are not sharing the roads properly. He urged drivers to be more vigilant and be on the lookout for quad bikes, which are often driven by elderly drivers or people with mobility issues.
“The problem is education,” Durocher said. “People (who drive quads) often don’t really know what they can and cannot do on the roads.”
Between Aug. 7 and 11, three people driving quad bikes died on Quebec roads, including one incident in Nicolet on Aug. 7, where a quad was struck by a truck as the driver of the off-road vehicle drove onto the highway to avoid a pile of garbage on the shoulder of the road. A passenger aboard the bike died. On Aug. 11 at 4:30 p.m., a man driving a quad was struck and killed by a truck in Laurier-Station.
Another problem, according to Durocher, is the lack of uniformity in traffic regulations, which vary from municipality to municipality. He said some cities allow motorized traffic on bike paths, while others do not.