Widen Highway 401 to make it safer, collision expert says

The section of Highway 401 where a tour bus crashed on Monday, killing one and injuringtwo dozen others, is safe, but widening it from two to three lanes would make it safer, a collision expert says.

Jason Young,president ofAdvantage Forensics, a company thatinvestigates collisions for insurers, lawyers and governments,told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Wednesday he looked at recent photos of the site and deemed it OK.

The shoulder was recently repaved, the rock cut the bus crashed into is well back from the road and it's smooth and evenwith no major protrusions, per the Ministryof Transportation of Ontario's Roadside Safety Manual. The ditches aren't particularly deep and therefore don't require guardrails, the eastbound and westbound lanes are separated, and there aren't any visibility issues on the flat stretch of road.

But Young echoed Prescott, Ont., Mayor Brett Todd's recent comments that traffic on the highway is getting heavier and heavier.

Heavy traffic

"Capacity, traffic volume ...is probably the No. 1 issue. Everyone who's driven from Montreal to Toronto and back and forth knows that the entire stretch can be quite heavy in two-lane sections," Young said.

"Aside from capacity issues and traffic volume issues, it seems to be a fairly well designed section of road."

The Transportation Association of Canada sets the standards for Canadian roads, and the Highway Safety Manual, issuedby the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials but alsoused in Canada, studies how to reduce collisions and outlines what to expect when road design and infrastructure improvements are made.

The manual states that expanding freeways from two to three lanes, especially near exits, reduces collision frequencyby about 70 per cent, Young said.

Todd has been calling on the province to expand Highway 401's two-lane sections to three lanes in eastern Ontario, and Young agreed Wednesday that it would be safer.

'We are grateful,' Chinese embassy says

Meanwhile, theEmbassy of the People's Republic of China issued a statement Wednesday morning thanking emergency responders, organizations and volunteers for assisting the Chinese passengers on the tour bus.

The bus was carrying 37 people 35 Chinese citizens including 34 tourists and atour guide, an American driver and an American tour guide from Ottawa to Toronto when it crashed inthe highway's westbound lanes near Prescott on Monday afternoon.

"The relevant authorities of the Canadian side rushed to the scene ... spared no effort to treat the injured, and notified [the embassy and consulate]. Some Canadian agencies and volunteers also actively provided assistance," the statement reads.

"We are grateful to the Canadian side for the treatment and related assistance provided to the Chinese tourists."

A 54-year-old from Suzhou in eastern China's Jiangsu province died in Kingston General Hospital after the crash. The hospital also received three other crash patients, and all three were listed in critical condition Wednesday.

Brockville General Hospital received two patients. One was discharged and the other remained in critical condition Wednesday.

The Ottawa Hospital received five patients. On Tuesday one had been discharged, one was in critical conditionand theother three were stable. On Wednesdaythe hospital said another two patients had been discharged, one remained in hospital in stable condition, and another remained in hospital in satisfactory condition.