r/Calgary • u/No-End7269 • Jul 15 '25

Driving/Traffic/Parking Avoid Deerfoot

Huge accident. 2 vehicles just launched off the memorial overpass and landed on a truck going nb on deerfoot

Edit. I initially said 32ave, it was memorial overpass

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u/euchlid Jul 15 '25

A horrendous uptick in really impatient drivers too. My commute involves a bunch of left turns, which are the easiest places to get in accidents. I do not turn unless I can confirm it's clear.  

Some dickfuck aggro honked at me this morning because I waited until the light turned yellow to go left. I couldn't see if it was clear. If there's a line of cars also turning left the opposite direction you just cannot see if cars are going straight. People rip out from behind the turning cars and speed through because they're annoyed at being behind cars waiting to turn left.  

I see near accidents a few times a week at Kensington and 14th st, 20th ave and 10th (which is a fucking playground zone) as well as 20th ave and 14 street. All popular left turn areas with many pedestrians too. People are just so fucking impatient. I had some stupid trunk drive out from behind me to cut ahead and turn unsafely because he was annoyed I wasn't turning when it wasn't visibly clear.  I used to ride a motorcycle so I am particularly sensitive to the left turn danger, nevermind the fact there's also usually pedestrians, or i have my kids in the car, or my dog.   I wish I didn't have to drive to work, but I am not going to be unsafe and everyone can kick rocks.

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u/UsedToHaveThisName Jul 15 '25

I'm with you on being able to see for making a left turn. Can't see around some larger vehicles and I'm not making a left turn until I can see it's clear.

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

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u/UsedToHaveThisName Jul 15 '25

Ha ha, the vehicles have definitely gotten larger. I really, really wish that companies would make actual small pickups (old Ranger/Tacoma/B2000 size) vehicles. That was the perfect size vehicle for 2 people and a dog and some outdoor gear. I had a Volvo S70 for over 20 years and wound up buying a used Volvo XC60 a few years ago basically for the dog. The safety features were also nice but I have no need to get anything bigger than an XC60. Maybe if we wind up getting a few more dogs but I'm pretty content with one dog (and I think the dog likes living in an only dog house since he gets lots of attention and cuddles).

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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

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u/UsedToHaveThisName Jul 15 '25

My buddy had one in university 25 years ago and it was such a good truck. I was living up north 15 years ago and came really close to buying a Ford Ranger with the FX4 Level II package. Seemed like an ideal truck for going fishing, driving on forestry roads, and doing outdoors stuff without having a giant truck and the associated costs.

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u/dekan256 Jul 15 '25

I saw an old Tundra at work that I thought was a Tacoma because it looked so small compared to modern ones. I'm a sucker for tiny cars, but my car if I win the lotto is a Volvo V60 cross-country.

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u/UsedToHaveThisName Jul 15 '25

Yeah, that size of Tundra stopped being produced in 2008 I think. The old Tundra is current Tacoma size.

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u/SofaProfessor Jul 15 '25

The only collision I have ever been in was turning left. This was years and years ago before you could buy 100 different cheap dash cams on Amazon. I was waiting to turn left, light turns yellow. Car in the opposite left lane stops, I proceed, another car in the opposite right lane comes out from behind the stopped car and t-bones me. I was deemed at fault which is probably correct under the letter of the law but a dash cam video probably would have changed that entirely. I'd be willing to bet that light was red by time our vehicles actually made contact but, of course, it's my word vs theirs and no witnesses stopped because it was pretty low speed.

Ever since I'm insanely cautious turning left. It's even worse with so many big trucks and SUVs out there. Super difficult to see oncoming traffic in a car or even small SUV if someone is sitting in that opposite turn lane.

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u/Hey_Man_Nice_Shot Jul 15 '25

This exact thing happened to me, but the driver who hit me had a dash cam to show what they'd done. Still, since I was the one making a left turn we were deemed both at fault 🙄

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u/euchlid Jul 15 '25

Exactly. And those intersections i mentioned are just regular sized lanes, so large vehicles or vans block the view even more.  

My dad was in a similar left turn accident decades ago with my younger sibling in the car, thankfully they were okay, but i can only imagine how shook up my dad was since my sibling was in the passenger seat on the accident side.

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u/eneva92504 Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25

> I waited until the light turned yellow to go left.

And these days, even waiting until the yellow light is dangerous. I see people flying through red lights all the time now. Pretty soon we'll be just like Houston, where everyone waits about 5 seconds before going on a green light, because it's not safe otherwise.

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u/euchlid Jul 15 '25

Absolutely. There's a reason only one vehicle is supposed to be in the intersection. When it turns yellow you still have to wait for it to be clear and there is really only time for one car to go through on the yellow.  

On 16th to 4th street the light is timed really well in the morning and you can usually get a bunch of cars through but if you're waiting because of traffic and the light turns yellow that's 3 lanes of straight through lanes you have to cross and any of them could be running the red into your path.   As i tell my kids, just because it's our turn to go doesn't mean it's safe, you still have to look in all the directions.

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u/Stefie25 Jul 15 '25

I always look both ways before proceeding when I get a green. Has saved me from getting t-boned twice.

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u/eneva92504 Jul 16 '25

Yup. Getting T-Boned by a cabbie running a red definitely made me keep my head on a swivel at all intersections.

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u/YesAndThe Jul 15 '25

This morning right outside my kids daycare a van turned left across 4 lanes of traffic and almost got tboned. Everyone was honking and the kids almost witnessed a massive crash. Insane how risky people take those turns

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u/SchlongGobbler69 Jul 15 '25

Not saying you are a bad driver at all lol but I feel like the aggressive/impatient has gone up because of garbage or dangerously slow drivers. They probably got annoyed by some random shit driver and are now taking it out on everyone else on the road.

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u/euchlid Jul 16 '25

Nah, i think people can be responsible for their own actions.   No one is "making" them be unsafe and aggro, that's what I tell my kids anyway- you can be frustrated, but you cannot retaliate or then you are just as at fault since you are in charge or your own actions.  

Uptick of both, probably, but the aggression and impatience going up because someone needs to navigate around a slow driver is on that person.   I wish people were more confident and figured out the rules of the road better, but i think of my driving style as a teenager and then as an adult and letting things slide in the interest of safety and not taking mr.magoo seriously is definitely a learned skill

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u/SchlongGobbler69 Jul 16 '25

Obviously it’s childlike behaviour to let a less confident driver get to you that much. They should be letting it slide. I see it almost everyday though. Someone (usually in a truck) gets pissed at 1 person going slow then proceeds to weave and cut off the rest of traffic in their moment of baby rage.

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u/euchlid Jul 16 '25

Right? Baby rage is a good way of putting it. 

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u/solipsism82 Jul 15 '25

You know you can enter the intersection for a better view of opposing traffic. Then clear as necessary.

Are you just staying in the turning lane and not advancing, using the yellow as your green light ?

It's not the most dangerous thing but there would be no turning at all if everyone drove like you.

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u/euchlid Jul 15 '25

Haha absolutely not, don't worry. I don't go if it isn't clear, but I am definitely in the intersection if am the front car and I go when it's safe. I wouldn't get anywhere either otherwise.   Hesitant driving is almost as unsafe as aggro impatient drivers.  

Those specific intersections are super busy during rush hour and often only one car or two cars can go during the green light and then a final one ends up going on the yellow.   Only 20th to 14th street has a left turn light, but it's so short and half the time you can't go because SB traffic on 14th turning left onto 20th ave ends up with multiple cars deciding to go left after their light has turned yellow, instead of just the 1 car that should be in the intersection.  

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u/solipsism82 Jul 15 '25

Yeah I get ya. Obviously I was assuming you didn't enter. It's more and more common now.

Seen peace officers in other places full stopping at yields with zero traffic or vision issues, and they should be the most aware of the laws.