RANT: gf's bro ran through a construction ditch on McCowan Rd, south of Hwy7

[JL2002]

Tuesday night, my gf's bro was driving along McCowan Rd heading North going back home. I actually was in front of him probably like 30 secs apart so i didn't see him. On the way home, there was a construction "ditch" around a sewer on the side of the road. I didn't even realize there was a cone that was lying flat on on the road and when i was driving passed it, I saw a hole that was pretty deep and actually didn't see it until the last second. But i have a habit of driving close to centre, so i totally missed it. It was pretty dark around that area at night, so the cone wasn't reflecting any light at all... Well then...yes, my gf's bro walked over it.... and front tire was blown, front and back rims bent, and back tire was actually going..... so now the total bill to fix everything including alignment is approx $1200+..... today i walked through McCowan again, and saw the cones back up, and saw a popped out rim one the side of the road around that ditch.... argghhh, felt bad for him and he was going to take his 1st road test next week....

Well end of the story, so just be careful of that construction 'site'...there's actually 3 in total with cones on each one.....

[yao416]

Tuesday night, my gf's bro was driving along McCowan Rd heading North going back home. I actually was in front of him probably like 30 secs apart so i didn't see him. On the way home, there was a construction "ditch" around a sewer on the side of the road. I didn't even realize there was a cone that was lying flat on on the road and when i was driving passed it, I saw a hole that was pretty deep and actually didn't see it until the last second. But i have a habit of driving close to centre, so i totally missed it. It was pretty dark around that area at night, so the cone wasn't reflecting any light at all... Well then...yes, my gf's bro walked over it.... and front tire was blown, front and back rims bent, and back tire was actually going..... so now the total bill to fix everything including alignment is approx $1200+..... today i walked through McCowan again, and saw the cones back up, and saw a popped out rim one the side of the road around that ditch.... argghhh, felt bad for him and he was going to take his 1st road test next week....

Well end of the story, so just be careful of that construction 'site'...there's actually 3 in total with cones on each one.....


Damn 1200$ :eek:

but
he was going to take his 1st road test next week....


He was driving with G1? :confused:

[VivienM]

today i walked through McCowan again, and saw the cones back up, and saw a popped out rim one the side of the road around that ditch.... argghhh, felt bad for him and he was going to take his 1st road test next week....

FIRST road test?!

So, he was driving with a G driver who has been licenced for at least four years in the passenger seat, riiiiight? :)

[CSAgent]

Lesson learned, do not drive with a G1 ... alone as it is illegal and can get you prosecuted not to mention licensed revoked. $1200 lesson well learnt I hope.

[JL2002]

FIRST road test?!

So, he was driving with a G driver who has been licenced for at least four years in the passenger seat, riiiiight? :)

his mom was beside him and of course with a multi-year license, so he was not driving illegally or anything, and that's also why I was driving a separate car and not in his....

[untaka]

his mom was beside him and of course with a multi-year license, so he was not driving illegally or anything, and that's also why I was driving a separate car and not in his....

That sucks! Isn't their a way to get the city to pay for it?

[TenzoR]

That sucks! Isn't their a way to get the city to pay for it?

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_19754.aspx

You can try, but I'm not sure about the success rate

[supersnazz]

File a claim with the City of Markham. The sooner you file your claim, the better.

Call the City Clerk's department for more info: 905-475-4744

Also:

http://www.markham.ca/Markham/Departments/Clerks/AdmDiv/InsuranceAdmin.htm

[at1212b]

How deep is it?

How fast were you guys going?

[overboost]

Definitely file the claim with the city. Note the time and date, location, and you should go back and take pictures of the place as well as damage to your car.

I've read of other people filing the claims and they were successful. It may take a few weeks or months, but the city does pay up.

I know exactly which ditches you're talking about. They're all along McCowan road going northbound. There's one right near the intersection of McCowan and Hwy 7, on the far right lane that is impossible to see b/c there's no cone as well.


File a claim with the City of Markham. The sooner you file your claim, the better.

Call the City Clerk's department for more info: 905-475-4744

Also:

http://www.markham.ca/Markham/Departments/Clerks/AdmDiv/InsuranceAdmin.htm

[65505201]

Lesson learned, do not drive with a G1 ... alone as it is illegal and can get you prosecuted not to mention licensed revoked. $1200 lesson well learnt I hope.

:rolleyes: how would the legality of the license affect the visibility of a knocked out cone in the road?

[AzNCrAzYcOoLeR]

Will the city pay for it? I mean ... the cone indicating caution was there. It wasn't a a regular pot hole.

[rems]

Was the ditch/hole over a hill? How can you miss it?

[fastlayne]

It sounds like a curbside sewer was being repaired and the city (or contractor) had excavated around the sewer. (This is common if the grate has sunk and it must be lifted to be flush with the road surface again.)

The fact is it, with the safety cone lying on its side, the excavation hole was not properly identified for users of the road. The city (and/or contractor) are completely at fault. The driver's insurance will deal with the city.

[gilboman]

The fact is it, with the safety cone lying on its side, the excavation hole was not properly identified for users of the road. The city (and/or contractor) are completely at fault. The driver's insurance will deal with the city.

:lol: :lol: , if the cone was there, shows there was a standard of care already. the city/contractor maybe partially at fault if that, but they most certainly are not completely at fault if they placed a cone and 5min later a driver runs/hits the cone causing it to fall and then op drives over it.

moreover, you gotta proof the cone was on its side as well and not ran over by the op:o

[rems]

If there was a warning that it was under construction, shouldn't you be paying more attention to what's on the road? I still can't believe you can miss a hole that big.
Like they were doing construction on Mavis and had part of the road being repaved so that one part was elevated. But since I was watching the road, I clearly saw that and went over that part slowly with my car. I didn't need a cone to see that.

[JL2002]

If there was a warning that it was under construction, shouldn't you be paying more attention to what's on the road? I still can't believe you can miss a hole that big.
Like they were doing construction on Mavis and had part of the road being repaved so that one part was elevated. But since I was watching the road, I clearly saw that and went over that part slowly with my car. I didn't need a cone to see that.

again, if u ever go north bound on McCowan, it's pretty dark with not much lighting around that area....and with the cone on the ground, it's like impossible to see what was there. when I first drove passed it, i didn't see it until the very last second, and I mean it...my gf was like wtf?...and then we got a call from her brother that he stepped over it....

anyway, today, when i drove by it, the first construction pole was again on the ground and the 2nd and 3rd was standing up .....so i hope no one else was over it....

[JL2002]

thanks for the suggestions btw, i'm going to at least send them an email complaint, but not gonna hope for any compensation coming back. It'll be a bonus if there is though...~

[Drew_W]

thanks for the suggestions btw, i'm going to at least send them an email complaint, but not gonna hope for any compensation coming back. It'll be a bonus if there is though...~

An e-mail complaint won't do anything. MAIL it like a formal letter.

[Carnage]

his mom was beside him and of course with a multi-year license, so he was not driving illegally or anything, and that's also why I was driving a separate car and not in his....

Unless it's changed, one of the restrictions on a G1 is that you can't drive at night.

So technically he was driving illegally, as he shouldn't have been driving at night.

[Drew_W]

Unless it's changed, one of the restrictions on a G1 is that you can't drive at night.

So technically he was driving illegally, as he shouldn't have been driving at night.

Umm. It gets dark around 9pm. G1 is legal to drive until Midnight. The blackout hours are only midnight to 5am.

[VivienM]

Unless it's changed, one of the restrictions on a G1 is that you can't drive at night.

So technically he was driving illegally, as he shouldn't have been driving at night.

That's on an M1, I think...

[micron15]

It sounds like a curbside sewer was being repaired and the city (or contractor) had excavated around the sewer. (This is common if the grate has sunk and it must be lifted to be flush with the road surface again.)

The fact is it, with the safety cone lying on its side, the excavation hole was not properly identified for users of the road. The city (and/or contractor) are completely at fault. The driver's insurance will deal with the city.

Yup, its something along those lines... I drive by that area every night (work route) and you find those cones placed in different position every day. This work has started about a week ago and i see no progress being made.
Initially, the first few days, the cones were placed way away from the curb and middle of the road, forcing the drivers to do a lane change. The next few days, the cone were knocked off and took some dents and lying flat on the road... couple of days later, cones back up and placed in such a position creating a situation whether the car will come in contact with the cone or not while passing by ( witnessed drivers panicking very last minute and doing a sudden lane change). The last few days the cones are placed close to the curb again. And i did see a hub cap/rim in the last ditch ( if heading north) a night or two ago.
Now i don't see how the OP managed to run over the ditch as the cones were clearly seen from a far distance while the ditch weren't (atleast during the night) and the ditch is at extreme right of the road ( driving very close to the curb?).But i can see ppl banging or tossing the cones around.
My beef with this case is, they should of put some signs up cautioning drivers.

[Amuthini]

do not email , send a letter to the address posted. they will compensate you. my brother in law got back the full repair bill. go back and take pictures and put that in your letter too.