OT: Bad accident on 401 near Coburg
 

401 closed eastbound near Coburg and will remain closed until tonight. Lots of injuries in a chain-reaction accident. Toronto sending EMS buses, so this is no run of the mill fender bender. If you are heading eastbound from Toronto towards Kingston, best to get off the 401 and onto side roads.

http://www.680news.com/news/topstory...01_133149_4728

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_7425.aspx

Edit: I could have sworn when I first read your post there was no link.

You did, but then I found a link and went back and edited my post.

Thats right folks - get your traffic reports for Toronto - the centre of the universe - right here on the Aeroplan thread of FlyerTalk. :D

Seriously though - I hope everybody is okay!

As if we care about your freaking wacky weather!:D

And no, everybody is not okay. So far, one death, multiple injuries, and there will be people going east from YYZ who will be best advised to avoid the area.

It's now being reported that the highway - the main route between Toronto-Belleville-Kingston-Montreal - is also closed westbound.

If one is driving to/from Ottawa, perhaps better to go via Peterborough on Highway 7

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2...498945-cp.html

Thanks for the heads up. I live there and normally take the 401 home. Thanks to your notice, I won't be stuck in the backlog (which all in all is still better than being in the accident :( )

Oh, sorry - I didn't realize this was weather-related - regardless, sounds like a tragedy unfolding on 401 right now.

news reports have stated that 5 persons are dead! and many injured!

And, being Ontario, there is no network redundancy:

+ no other freeway route east/west.
+ Highway 2 downloaded to municipalities and no longer consistently marked.
+ Highway 7 too far north for many trips.

Simon

Thanks for the heads up. My father lives in Cobourg.

Glad I could help a few people with this post. I recognized this was an unusually bad accident - not just routine congestion. And for those looking for workarounds, the weather in the area sucks so the (poor) alternates had better be explored with care and 100% attention.

Yes, thanks for the original post. I commute one day a week from Kingston to Toronto and have been feeling like a wimp for using my Welcome Aboard pass on AC one direction and Via the other since the weather turned wintery instead of driving the 401. I justified it as having time to read and catch up on work - but safety is something to think about.

I've been stuck on the 401 with accidents, fires, etc. - there is no good, safe, easy way around it along the lakeshore anywhere between Toronto and Kingston - I've tried. If you're in that mess - find somewhere to sleep and pick up some hotel points, and get where you're going later but safe (especially if you're surfing Flyertalk in the car :) ).

I understand the sentiment entirely. When I was younger I used to do the drive YYZ to YUL and back without giving it a second thought. About 98 though I suddenly noticed cars scattered through the median were a semi regular thing. Then came the storm in 99. You couldn't see 20 feet and the road edge was completely obscured. We actually came to a standstill on the highway. I moved to the front of the pack and we moved at about 5 kph for a couple of hrs. 2000 was freezing rain and the last time I ever did the drive between Nov and April.

Then I had a chance for a long weekend at home here in YYZ and given the mild winter thought of driving again this am. Had I left YUL at my usual hr I would have hit the accident within a few minutes of the event. Opted for Rapidair instead.

IT bugs and website snafus, missing bags, delays and cancellations aside, Nothing is safer than the airlines.

Actually the Heritage Highway route through Picton is pretty scenic and pleasurable in the summer. Great places to stop for food and I love that 500 yard ferry ride. Want to bike it one of these years when I get some time.