A line-painting truck and a tractor-trailer crashed on Highway 2, near Havelock, Tuesday afternoon, the second such crash on that highway in less than a week.

The same line-painting company, Northside Pavement Marking Ltd. was involved in both collisions. The first one happened May 26, west of Fredericton.  Truck Mounted Asphalt Hot Box Recycler

In that instance, a safety vehicle called a trailer-mounted attenuator, or TMA, was at the rear of a convoy of highway maintenance vehicles when it was struck by a transport truck.

Maritime Road Development Corporation (MRDC) is the company responsible for highway maintenance in the areas where both accidents occurred. It had contracted Northside to do the line-painting work.

"It's a spike in those type of instances that we haven't seen before with that kind of frequency," said Jay McInnis, safety and environmental manager for MRDC. 

The TMA, which is outfitted with flashing lights and meant to serve as a buffer for rear-impacts, is required to be used by the paint crew according to the province's Work Area Traffic Control Manual (WATCM).

Northside Pavement's operations manager, Peter Roberts, told CBC News the accident was due to the transport truck driver not paying attention.

However, police have not confirmed distracted driving as a possible factor in the crash.

Roberts said Northside Pavement Marking Ltd. has been in the business for 15-16 years and had never had any accidents until the two hits they received this week.

McInnis wouldn't speculate on the cause of the accident, but said it was unusual, considering the road was a straight stretch with no obstruction, on a clear sunny day.

"I would just ask people to pay attention. There is road work going on all summer on our facility which is Route 2 between Moncton and north of Fredericton," said McInnis.

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