Alberta expanding slow down move over safety law
Alberta is bolstering roadside worker safety rules, protecting first responders, tow truck operators, highway maintenance workers and snowplow operators with the slow down and move over legislation under the Traffic Safety Act.
To increase safety for all roadside workers, starting Sept. 1, drivers in the lane closest to any roadside worker vehicle stopped at the side of the road with its lights flashing must slow down to 60 km/h or the posted speed limit, whichever is lower.
Drivers must also move over to the far lane if it’s safe to do so and take reasonable steps to allow other drivers to move over as well.
Currently, only tow truck drivers and first responders are protected under the act, but now all roadside workers stopped on the side of the road, with their flashing lights activated, will be covered by these protections.
To help enforce these changes, fines and demerits will be applied for unsafe behaviors when passing roadside workers and snowplows. Failure to comply with the rules can result in:
- $243 and three demerit points for failing to slow down to the maximum speed limit when passing stopped roadside workers.
- $243 fine and three demerit points for failing to allow other drivers to move into a traffic lane farther from a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck or roadside work vehicle.
- A fine of $324 and three demerit points for unsafe passing of snowplows.
“This is a common-sense rule change. If you see any flashing lights and people working on the side of the road, slow down to 60 km/h or move over to make an open lane beside them. We want to protect our police, paramedics, maintenance workers and tow truck drivers so they can get home safely at the end of the day. These people proudly serve Alberta, and we want to make sure we look out for them,” said Devin Dreeshen, minister of transportation and economic corridors.
Drivers must do their part
“Worker safety is the top priority of our highway maintenance contractor member companies. While we provide training to employees so they can work safely around traffic, we rely on drivers to do their part to slow and make space for workers and machinery. ARHCA thanks all members of the legislature who supported Bill 5 for their concern for our employees’ lives,” said Ronald Glen, CEO, Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association.
According to Alberta’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), there were 2,229 injuries involving workers being struck by a vehicle between 2014 and 2018. And between March 2018 and March 2021, there were approximately 130 collisions involving snowplows contracted by Transportation and Economic Corridors. During the winter of 2022-23, there were 37 collisions involving a government-contracted snowplow.
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Well there’s not enough space first nothing more frustrating construction signs left out on the side of the road and there’s no construction workers around or it’s the long weekend and the signs are still up no one working construction workers driving with their flashing lights on and just going down the road with this new plan we just got a follow him at 60 K number two road construction is done at the worst time of the days holding up traffic number three snow ploughs holding up traffic not moving over and stopping to let traffic go by when there’s a white out yeah number three talk about safety. What is the reason for the roads to be repaired most roads are here. Totally unsafe I live in Alberta I drive it every freaking day this weekend it was of a motorcycle killed near where I live. They put up cement blocks for the lights to be seen here for two months and still no lights. What is the problem? Not enough people got killed or watt hit this bill and later five is just a money grab most common sense people you said it was common sense that they move over or they slow down for emergency vehicles. I live in Alberta the highway was re-paved from red deer to Edmonton on the shoulder now we’ve lost 2 feet so when the vehicles pull over now, you can pull over safely because the vehicle gets pulled in the ditch because the road lies to feet, the edges taper down, bring you into the ditch , yeah there’s no sense. Everybody just gets paid for it and nobody monitors the work the contractors do I can go on with this man you write you a paper I hope you put this out there and actually not just people read it but you’re the right people be reading it the government , the government that puts in build build five you know it is just me the government driving government vehicles. They seem to think that if everything is fine with the roads, I might sound a little frustrated here but the only reason that they never reported it because the taxpayers pay for their vehicles , yeah I don’t know how much more I cannot go on. I mean you know if I can see it and the next person can see it and now here we are talking about it is is this all going to be us talking about it in the meanwhile, they’re just going to be hanging around and ticketing people when they should be doing something about the roads and the cat contractors but leading sign speed limits long weekend and there’s nobody working and everybody’s going only like 80 K in the middle of the night nobody working but the signs are still up not even covered. It’s good to vent, so I’m just hoping that the right people will be reading this .
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That was entertaining
Peter Halak: I certainly can appreciate a lot of what you tried to write about in your comment “column”. My only concern is that you went on and on without using any grammar, sentence structure, periods, commas, and/or whatever. In short, it was very frustrating for the reader.
I could not believe driving in Alberta that vehicles were flying by stranded vehicles with a tow truck on site and a police car some times but not slowing down. I used to do driver education years ago in the school system in Saskatchewan it was expected to slow down when vehicles were stranded road side and taught to students . I could not believe driving in Alberta and other provinces ,vehicles including large trucks went flying by stranded vehicles on road side. It is time Alberta and other areas put laws in place to make the roads safer.
The fines are extremely insignificant, like all Alberta highway traffic fines. Won’t deter anyone.