Killer road in Barrington Hills

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
June 5, 2012

Ever drive on Algonquin Road (Route 62) between Route 25 and Barrington Road? This is definitely a "killer" stretch of roadway and, in fact, many have died on it.

On Monday there was yet another head-on crash, when about 2:30PM there was a three-car crash. Initial crash reports don't even indicate in what direction the at-fault driver was heading - only that "...a vehicle reportedly crossed the centerline and struck a vehicle traveling in the other direction..." Now, that tells a lot, doesn't it?

No doubt more information will follow with the identities of the injured and who got what ticket(s).

If, as is true with most crash reports, the public will never hear exactly what happened. That will be left to the police reports, the insurance company reports and the lawsuits in court.

What could be learned from more complete coverage in the media?

If readers and viewers were told what happened, they'd be in better positions to protect themselves on the roads.

Was one driver texting? Talking on a cell phone? Otherwise distracted? In what way(s)?

A couple of days ago I pulled up alongside a girl on Route 14 who was texting as she drove. Hello??? How stupid do you have to be to take your eyes off the road long enough to read and send text messages? Should I have called the Crystal Lake Police to have her stopped and ticketed?

Should everyone do that? Is that what it will take to reduce the number of drivers who text while driving?