CAA, SGI put focus on safety of tow truck operators

Greg McCracken’s close call perfectly epitomized Slow Down Move Over Day.

“There was a lot of traffic,” McCracken, a tow truck operator, said in a video shared Tuesday by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). “I heard a car making contact with my pylons. He ripped off my fender (and) my door. I figured that was the end, that I was going to be done.”

Slow Down Move Over Day is staged annually on May 14 across Canada to remind drivers to slow down when passing tow trucks that are stopped on highway roadsides to assist stranded drivers.

A media event was held Tuesday outside the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to mark the occasion. The focus was to remind people to slow down to 60 kilometres per hour while passing those who are assisting others on Saskatchewan’s highways.

“Tow truck operators and first responders help others. As motorists, we also need to help them by slowing to 60 km/h and giving them plenty of room when passing,” Minister Responsible for SGI Joe Hargrave said in a media release.

“When you see those flashing lights out on the roadside, think about the people that might be standing there too — slow down and move over to keep them safe.”

According to the media release, nearly 100 tow truck operators are killed every year in North America when they’re struck by passing motorists who didn’t slow down or give the emergency crews enough room to work.

In this province, a tow truck driver was killed during a blizzard in 2017 while working in the Esterhazy area.

“Tow truck drivers, along with law enforcement and emergency service providers, are responding to unplanned incidents on our roads and highways,” Bruce Anderson, the director of CAA Saskatchewan’s board of directors, said in the release.

“We are reminding drivers that they can provide a safe working environment for those working on our highways by slowing down and moving over.”