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“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.”
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Alberta’s new “move over” safety rules starting Sept. 1 will require drivers in the lane closest to any stopped roadside worker vehicle with lights flashing to slow down to 60 km/h or lower if posted as such.
Drivers will also be required to move over to the far lane, if safe to do so, and take reasonable steps to allow other drivers to move over as well, said a Tuesday morning Alberta government news release.
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Right now, only tow truck drivers and first responders are protected this way under the Traffic Safety Act, but all roadside workers, including highway maintenance workers and snowplow operators, stopped on the side of the road with flashing lights activated will be covered starting Sept. 1.
“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,” Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said in a statement.
“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.”
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It’s a change from the rules first announced last year which would have require drivers in all lanes of traffic travelling on the same side of the road as a stopped emergency or roadside worker vehicle slow down to 60 km/h or the speed limit, whatever is lower, when the vehicle’s lights are flashing.
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Dreeshen said the change away from slowing on all lanes followed consultation with drivers.
“We want it to be simple. We want to make sure the rules are the same,” he said.
“This was the best solution we came up with.”
Failure to comply with the new rules can result in fines and demerits, including a $243 fine and three demerit points for failing to slow down to the maximum speed limit when passing stopped roadside workers.
Failing to allow other drivers to move into a traffic lane farther from a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck or roadside work vehicle can also result in the same fine and demerits.
For unsafe passing of snowplows, a driver can be hit with a fine of $324 and three demerit points.
“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,” said Ronald Glen, Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association CEO, in a statement.
Alberta Transportation in March paused the introduction of the new safety rules saying more time was needed to better inform the public about the changes. The laws bring Alberta in line with other provinces.
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“These new measures will undoubtedly protect our highway maintenance and snowplow crews,” added Fred Desjarlais, Volker Stevin Canada president and CEO.
“Slowing down when passing roadside workers will be a minor impact on drivers that has a tremendous effect on the safety of our workforce. No matter the season, our crews strive to get the travelling public home safely, and these changes ensure our crews will get home safely too.”
According to Alberta’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), there were 2,229 injuries involving workers being struck by a vehicle between 2014 and 2018.
Between March 2018 and March 2021, there were roughly 130 crashes involving snowplows contracted by Transportation and Economic Corridors. During the winter of 2022-23, there were 37 collisions involving a government-contracted snowplow.
Alberta Transportation has also said it is extending the registrar’s exemption to permit tow trucks, support vehicles, government-contracted snowplows and highway maintenance vehicles to use flashing blue lights until February 2028.
After a one-year pilot project, the ministry said the blue lights have demonstrated effectiveness in increasing visibility and safety for roadside workers.
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