Tow truck drivers and paramedics are joining the voices criticizing the provincial government for changing new rules meant to protect roadside workers.
Don Getschel, president of the Towing and Recovery Association of Alberta, stands next to one of his company's trucks on Friday.
Earlier this month, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen announced the speed limit change would come into effect on Sept. 1, but would only apply to drivers in the lane closest to the roadside worker. Getschel, who owns a towing company based in Leduc, said his operators have seen 14 major collisions over 12 years. Two were so serious that the operators were taken to hospital in an ambulance, he said.
"Some Alberta roads have up to five lanes, and having five lanes slow down to 60km/h will create a sudden bottleneck increasing the risk of sudden or improper braking leading to a higher risk of rear-end collisions," he wrote. "It is also the case that drivers in the far lane often cannot see that a vehicle is stopped on the shoulder multiple lanes across from them.
The old rules required drivers in the adjacent lane to slow to 60 km/hr when passing an emergency vehicle, tow trucks and construction crews when vehicle lights were flashing. Don Getschel, president of the Towing and Recovery Association of Alberta , Lorne Dach, NDP Transportation critic, and Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, want the province to require drivers in all lanes to slow to 60 km/hr when passing a roadside vehicle with flashing lights.
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