Citing a number of near incidents and close calls, the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) is reminding motorists to slow down and take heed when passing tow trucks.
“The high risk calls, that’s often on a highway or a freeway,” said Chris Rechner, spokesperson with AMA. “It’s (often) in a location where either the roadway itself or the visibility of the scene presents a high risk to our guys there.”
Though many are aware of the fines that can be enforced if one speeds by an emergency vehicle with the lights flashing, Rechner said some drivers had a low recognition that those fines also applied to tow trucks.
“In 2005, they changed the legislation to include tow trucks. I think when people see a police officer, they have that fear of enforcement,” he said. “But it’s too easy to have the blinders on and not recognize that (tow truck workers) are putting themselves at risk to help rescue somebody.
“That could be a family member or your next-door neighbour. As much as we could, we encourage people to give that respect to get everybody home safe and sound at the end of the day.”
Rechner said many tow truck drivers reported motorists speeding past them, despite flashing lights indicating work was underway.
“The big thing is to scan ahead. We tend to get lost in our thoughts when we’re driving, we almost go into that autopilot mode,” he said. “We tend to drift along and follow traffic, and that’s when collisions tend to happen in the summer.
“We need people to be in the moment as they drive. Be focused on the act of driving rather than thinking of it as downtime to catch up on your thoughts. (Drivers) should be scanning ahead on the roads, 15 seconds ahead, to see what hazards are coming up.”
Under current Alberta traffic laws, motorists must reduce speeds to 60 kilometers per hour or the posted speed – whichever is lower – when passing emergency vehicles or tow trucks that are stopped with lights flashing, applying to the lane immediately next to the vehicles. Fines for speeding are doubled in those areas.
“It’s a reminder it just takes that first vehicle to slow down. But if that first vehicle speeds (up), people tend to lock on to the tail lights,” Rechner said. “It’s almost like they’re oblivious to what’s happening at the side of the road – and that’s a stressful enough environment as is.”
