Calgary woman's vehicle sprayed by passing gravel truck
A Calgary woman is sharing her story in the hopes of bringing more oversight and accountability to gravel truck operators and the dangers caused by improperly secured loads.
Kaeleigh Kaufman said she was traveling home last Thursday, heading west on 144th Ave N.W. when moments after passing a gravel truck heading the opposite direction she heard a loud smack on the top of her windshield, “I am sprayed with tiny shards of glass. I feel them going all across my face, and I can hear them tinkle on my glasses.” Kaufman said.
Calgary woman's vehicle after getting sprayed by gravel
After realizing what happened and regaining her composure, Kaufman turned around to follow the truck driver and confronted him at a nearby intersection. "I looked into his driver's side window, which was open and I said, you just smashed my window. And he looked at me and he laughed and he said good luck with that and he drove off."
"That was worse than being hit by the rock," Kaufman said.
Kaufman has no doubt that a rock had fallen from the top of the truck-trailer and that is what caused the damage to her windshield, so she set off to try to find someway to make it right."“First thing I did was I came home and I thought you know what, this is not right. This is not only creating damage, it's dangerous to Alberta drivers."
Kaufman told CTV News in an interview that after filing a report with police and being told there was nothing they could do without the trucks license plate identification - she only had the trailer plate information - she has since spent a lot of time reaching out to various transportation agencies and even to the trucking company she believes is responsible for the incident.
A gravel truck like this one sprayed a woman's vehicle on Thursday, June 3, 2021
A properly tarped gravel truck spotted on Calgary streets on June 9.
All of those roads led her to the same realization; while there are federal and provincial laws mandating the security of any loaded truck and trailer, according to what Kaufman was told the enforcement and follow up to these rules just aren’t there. "This is a situation that needs attention, real attention," Kaufman said. "It needs a close look at better enforcement of load size, of securement, of municipal development requirements, such as brushing off trucks before they drive on a gravel pit."
Kaufman believes this whole situation has to be shaken up, "Just like the load on a truck when it's gearing up to speed up and driven down the road. It has to be shaken up for the safety of Albertans."
Damage from getting sprayed by a gravel truck, June 3, 2021
For Kaufman, this is no longer about the cost of the repairs to her windshield, it's about protecting others,
"More than everything more than anything, I would like to ensure the safety of Alberta drivers, kids, moms, seniors," she said. "We need to be assured of our safety on Alberta roads, and that's not happening."
CTV News has reached out to Alberta Transportation for comment and has not yet received a reply.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.