Skip to main content

Close call: Warning signs wanted for windy section of Cabot Trail

Share

Somehow, the driver of an 18-wheeler on the Cabot Trail walked away with only minor injuries after the legendary les suêtes winds near Cheticamp, N.S., knocked the big rig off the road.

“He got taken off the road and he was fortunate. He was able to walk away on his own. He got a few stitches and some memories I’m sure he would rather not have,” said Michel Soucy, a resident of Cheticamp, N.S., and photographer.

The strong winds don’t surprise locals anymore, but they can come out of nowhere and cause real problems for people driving through the western section of the Cabot Trail.

According to Soucy, who took pictures of the scene, the tractor trailer was empty.

“I think it’s really difficult to appreciate the potential unless you see it up close and that’s why I really wanted to zoom into that cab to show what that driver walked away from,” said Soucy.

Last year, Soucy photographed another truck that ended up in the ditch in almost the same spot.

Before that, a wind turbine collapsed in 2017 from wind gusts that neared 200 kilometres per hour.

For the past year, the councillor for the area has been demanding wind warning signs.

“They came out with small, small signs. If you don’t know they’re there, you’re never going to see them,” said Inverness councillor Claude Poirier.

In an email to CTV News on Wednesday, Acting Public Works Minister Alan MacMaster said that supply chain issues are causing delays in getting equipment needed for signage, but are hoping to have signs installed by the fall.

“A sign with lights and the speed of the wind, then it would show people it’s not fit to drive into that wind,” said Poirier.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Stay Connected