There has to be a better response to the incident that resulted in the death of a cow on the Trans-Canada Highway south of Mount Sicker Road.
One reader pointed out a cow was known to be on the highway at 11 a.m. on Dec. 19 so why did it take so long for any kind of action?
Another cow was seen essentially running down the highway in the opposite direction a short time later and that’s the one that eventually got hit nearly seven hours later before 6 p.m.
Three vehicles hit the one cow and two of the vehicles were totalled that obviously killed the cow. Once darkness fell, it was an impossible situation in the rain and fog. Motorists had little warning other than to alert each other.
It was a horrible situation for the people and the cow.
Animals can be unpredictable, especially if they are disoriented or possibly panicked from not knowing where they are. At the same time, drivers often methodically do well over the speed limit without paying much attention to what’s going on around them.
That certainly wasn’t the case in this accident because no one had any time to react to the cow on the road in the darkness and those following couldn’t have known it had been hit since the impact was at a bend in the highway.
At the very least, one lane in each direction should have been shut down until the situation was brought under control. At least that would have given drivers a chance to completely slow down to be aware of the imminent danger and for animal control to calm the cow and get it off the road.
It almost calls for some sort of amber alert system as well, particularly during this time of the year.
There was plenty of time to make sure this incident was brought under control in the early afternoon daylight. As time went on, the chances of a disaster increased and that’s exactly what happened.
The cow, of course, was put at serious risk and so were drivers. Hopefully, some lessons have been learned for the future to ensure a better outcome.