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Imagine working to save someone’s life after a crash on the highway while vehicles speed past you at 100 kilometres per hour, just inches away.
An experiment by the Balgonie Volunteer Fire Department suggests that happens more often than you might expect.
The department took part in a Slow Down and Move Over rally, a project that is popular across Canada to raise awareness on slowing down while passing first responders and other road workers on the highway.
For 30 minutes on Wednesday evening, fire crews set up a scene on the Trans-Canada Highway between highways 10 and 46, using the same signage, lights and pylons they would during an emergency.
Then they tracked how many people slowed to 60 km/h or slower.
Out of 66 semis, only 13 slowed down. For cars and light trucks, 23 out of 65 slowed.
In an interview with 980 CJME, Deputy Chief Doug Lapchuk said he was disappointed and worried about the results.
“It’s unfathomable how people don’t see you, they don’t pay attention, they don’t move over. Or they’re busy with their cameras, trying to get videos of the accident scene … Really, people? You have a job to do. Drive; just drive. Slow down, get past us and go from there,” he said.
“I think what it is is people just become so engrossed in their own lives and focused on what they have to do. Regretfully, it seems that anything that interferes with their end goal isn’t worth their effort or time.”
When drivers fly by first responders at high speed, it creates a variety of safety issues. For one, it’s a major distraction.
“We’re placed in a hazardous situation, dealing with somebody having the worst day of their life, possibly. We’re standing there trying to help that person but yet, we can’t focus on what we’re doing because we have to focus on making sure that we aren’t getting injured, or somebody’s coming in and hitting the vehicles,” Lapchuk explained.
It’s also hazardous to both the driver and the firefighters.
“The philosophy in fire services is … you can’t help anybody if you become a victim,” Lapchuk said. “So to help keep us from becoming victims, just slow down. Show a little respect.”
Not only is it dangerous, you can also end up with a ticket.
The Traffic Safety Act states that: “No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than 60 kilometres per hour when passing an emergency vehicle that is stopped on the highway with its emergency lights in operation.”