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[Snagly]

My wife and I came within a meter of dying in a head-on collision with a downhill fully loaded logging truck (plus a trailer). He was in the middle of the road and we came face-to-face on a turn. I juked to the right by two meters and lived to tell the tale. I commented on this episode on Facebook and warned other residents.

To his credit, the logger came online and defended his position. His main points were he wasn't going that fast (I figure 80kph vs. his 50kph) and he called out the KM signs on the way down. I replied that this wasn't a private or FSR and the public had no obligation to have our radios tuned to his frequency. Instead, on public roads, he needed to slow down.

He then challenged me, saying that public roads can still have radio callouts and told me to provide a source for my claim. Our rural area has many people driving ordinary passenger cars that never see an FSR and can barely handle the gravel. How on earth can they be expected to have radios? (And there's no RR# sign on our road: only when you turn off onto an FSR.)

Can someone point me to the regs so I can set this fellow straight?

[RalphH]

Back many years ago I worked in a situation that involved this kind of traffic. Generally log haul trucks on back roads are contracted & paid for a haul out. They can in my long past experience, drive  and act in an  aggressive manner.

In this situation there  may not been much you could have done.  Luckily no one was hurt nor was there any damage. However best I can find a truck coming downhill on a resource road has the right of way. If he was speeding you could try to report the situation. Eighty km is far too fast for such a road though the unposted limit is 80kph. You know the time and place etc. Arguing about right of way after a possibly fatal crash,  is pointless. Private citizens driving such roads need to consider the outcomes and be extra cautious & vigilant.

There are a number of websites that go over the regulations, responsibilities and risks when driving such roads.

Here is the one from the Province of BC:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/natural-resource-use/resource-roads/local-road-safety-information/cariboo-chilcotin/wltsarrsc-1_driving_forest_roads.pdf

from BC Forest Safety https://www.bcforestsafe.org/transportation/resource-road-safety-2/#:~:text=Rules%20of%20the%20Road%20%2D%20Each,resource%20roads%20are%20radio%20assisted.


Rules may vary by road and specific district.

[clarki]

Sounds like a frightening experience, Snagly.

I'm not a professional logging truck operator but I believe his assertion that public roads can have radio callouts, and that he is absolved from responsibility because he was calling out km is bogus.

This is a helpful link https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/resource-roads/radio-communications

On the page it says "Sign materials and formats were standardized to compliment the new resource road mobile radio communications protocols."

If the road you are on is not posted with signage https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/resource-roads/engineering-standards-guidelines/forest-service-road-signs there is no expectation for users to use established radio protocols

Knowing where you encountered the truck on these maps https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/natural-resource-use/resource-roads/radio-communications/channel-maps can help you dig into the matter further.

Good luck on FB!

[Bavarian Raven]

Thats bogus. IF you are on a public road (not a logging road mind you), they have to follow the same rules/laws as everyone else.

[Snagly]

Ralph and Clarki, thanks for your expert input. (And German Crow, thanks for the support, too.)

I hope others benefit as well.

[GordJ]

On the page it says "Sign materials and formats were standardized to compliment the new resource road mobile radio communications protocols."

One of my pet peeve is the compliment/complement confusion and to see it on a government site is disturbing. What other mistakes exist?

[clarki]

On the page it says "Sign materials and formats were standardized to compliment the new resource road mobile radio communications protocols."

One of my pet peeve is the compliment/complement confusion and to see it on a government site is disturbing. What other mistakes exist?

I complement you, Gord, on your knowledge of grammar.

[RalphH]

I complement you, Gord, on your knowledge of grammar.

Clarki maybe, you should change your handle to mini-GordJ

[GordJ]

I complement you, Gord, on your knowledge of grammar.

What a suite thing to say. Your comment has had a very nice affect on my aptitude, which was a little dour on my uprising.

[clarki]

What a suite thing to say. Your comment has had a very nice affect on my aptitude, which was a little dour on my uprising.

Weather or not I intended my comment to effect your dour aptitude is neither hear nor there. I except that it did and I had no alterior motive other than to insure that your aptitudes continue they’re uprising.

[Snagly]

I knew we had a few Wordsmiths on this site, but you fellows are Englishing out of your skulls.

[jim]

I read an interesting story about a fellow who was injured badly when run off the road by a logging truck. Wish I could provide the link, it was years ago . He got nothing from WCB. He had to sue the logging company that was in charge of road maintenance, and he won!
 It was on Northern Vancouver island. He was returning home to Comox after doing a work stint with the logging co. LeMare lake comes to mind.
 I was researching going to Mahatta river at the time, going thru Port Alice, around the inlet, there is a very small forest rec site there. So not sure how to find this story again. There is also a surfing /wind surfing spot out past Mahatta river which is probably more popular...