A scene from an accident near the Queens-Shelburne County border is one that has been seen repeatedly in the past.
Highway hazard
Christopher Powers of Shelburne was driving his Acura Integra on the stretch of the 103 high-way near the Queen’s County line when he lost control of his vehicle and flew more than 9 metres off the highway and into the bushes and trees below.
“I was just going around the corner and I don’t know what happened,” said Powers as he holds a towel to his large and bleeding lower lip, his eyes showing signs of shock.
When the car hit the ground with full impact Powers head slammed against the steering column releasing the airbags seconds too late after the crash.
“The airbag hurt a lot more than the crash,” said Powers.
He was able to walk away from the total wreckage of his vehicle with minor cuts and bruises and a broken tooth.
According to Shalon McLachlan, Communications Advisor for the Nova Scotia Transportation and Public Works, it is not the first accident to be seen on that small section of road from granite village to the County line on the border of Shelburne County and Queens County.
There have been 22 collisions on that particular curved piece of road between 2000 and 2006.
Of the total accidents, seven were trucks, most of which were single vehicle accidents and one of which involved two transport trucks.
The other 15 accidents were from vehicles, like Powers’, losing control and ending up in the ditch.
Most of the accidents occurred during slippery conditions although in Powers’ case, the road was dry and the skies clear.
McLachlan says that the Nova Scotia Transportation and Public Works has been kept informed on that particular stretch of highway through the aid of the local RCMP and accident reports.
They added chevron signs to caution motorists of the dangerous curve ahead and signs for larger trucks use low gear.
They made them bigger, more frequent and adjusted the height to make them more noticeable than before.
According to statistics, the signs do seem to be working.
20 of the 22 accidents happened before the upgrades were put in place.
A recent development has the Nova Scotia Transportation and Public Works taking a closer look at the high accident location.
They have decided to do preliminary work including a survey on that particular stretch of highway in order to straighten the dangerous curves.
In the meantime McLachlan warns motorists to stay alert when driving those turns of the road, to adjust their speed and for trucks to shift to low gear, especially when conditions are less than perfect.
by Amy Woolvett 
Stephen Taylor
Comment online since July 5th 2007I think based on the article and the road conditions, curves and hills,that the 103 Highway from Sable River to Summerville through Robertson's Lake and Granite Village should be placed higher up the ladder in the process to bypass the area and upgrade the 103 in the area to a safe highway. It would also alleviate the detours when accidents happen in htat stretch.