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Starting on Monday RCMP across Saskatchewan will be launching a traffic safety blitz aimed at cracking down on drivers who fail to slow down to 60 km per hour when they pass emergency vehicles.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Pete Garvey says the law requires you to slow to 60 because it is simply a dangerous situation for police or EMS or tow truck drivers trying to deal with an emergency scene.
“Unfortunately, close calls happen, and they happen very, very often out on the highway,” he said. “It’s our place of work and we’re out there trying to work safely and trying to be safe for all the motoring public that’s travelling on our highways in Saskatchewan.”
He says the biggest issue is often awareness because drivers forget they must slow to 60 km/hr when the lights are flashing on any emergency vehicle including tow trucks.
Garvey says it can even be dangerous when one driver slows but the next does not.
“I’ve been a policeman for 29 years and I’ve seen many accidents happen at accident scenes where people are slowing right down and people aren’t watching,” he said.
The traffic blitz will include some city police forces across the province and will run for a week. Fines start at $210 and go way up depending on just how fast you speed by those flashing emergency lights.
