Winnipeg, Manitoba — February 19, 2015 — The recent rear-ending of a CAA Manitoba tow truck has the organization reminding drivers to slow down when approaching emergency vehicles with their lights flashing.
The Winnipeg Sun reports that the February 11 collision took place on the city’s south Perimeter Highway, close to McGillivray Boulevard, while the tow truck driver was working roadside, recovering a vehicle from the ditch.
In the report, CAA President and CEO Mike Mager says the crash — the result of an approaching vehicle losing control in slick conditions and colliding with the truck’s back end — is something CAA witnesses far too often, stressing the need for motorists to hit the brakes in bad weather.
“If you aren’t driving appropriately for the conditions, you aren’t able to slow down and move over for emergency workers,” he says.
CAA says the crash didn’t result in any injuries, but the driver of the vehicle was checked over in hospital as a precautionary measure.
The province’s current Move Over Law states that motorists must slow down when passing emergency vehicles, including tow trucks, when pulled over with their lights flashing. Drivers failing to slow to a speed of 40 km/h in areas with a limit of 80km/h, or 60 km/h in areas that exceeed 80km/h, can be charged with a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or receive a one-year licence suspension.
