CAA asking us to be cautious around tow truck drivers
Posted May 14, 2019 02:11:18 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CAA South Central Ontario and other CAA clubs from across the country, launched the first-ever national “Slow Down Move Over Day” on Tuesday.
The education campaign is to serve as a reminder to motorists to be cautious around tow truck drivers assisting motorists on the side of the road.
Four years ago, tow truck operator Andrew McDonald had a close call on Highway 400, while helping a CAA member with a flat tire.
He was clipped by a mirror on a dump truck.
“The hit knocked me over and threw me in front of the member's van. I wasn't badly hurt, but the experience spooked me especially since at the time I was a single father,” McDonald said in a release.
In the last five years, Ontario Provincial Police have laid over 9,000 charges against drivers who failed to slow down and move over for tow truck drivers, police and other emergency personnel who were conducting work on the side of the road.
“These people count on drivers to give them the safe space they need so that they can make it home to their families at the end of their workday,” added Acting OPP Deputy Commissioner of Traffic Safety and Operational Support, Dave Quigley.
The province recently tabled Bill 107 (Getting Ontario Moving Act).
If passed, a subsection of the Highway Traffic Act will be changed to include tow truck operators and 'persons working on the highway' as vulnerable road users.
