Alberta tow trucks operators allowed blue lights to ensure safety of operators

Drivers will soon be seeing blue flashing lights on tow trucks in Alberta as part of enhanced safety measures for operators.

Transportation minister Rajan Sawhney announced a one-year pilot project starting June 30th to add blue lights to the existing amber lights on tow trucks.

“I want to thank MLA Brad Rutherford for advocating for this change in his Private Member’s Bill 207,” said Sawhney.

“Too many tow truck drivers are involved in collisions or dangerous situations because motorists have difficulty seeing them while they’re working. This pilot project is intended to increase safety for these operators and will help determine the best lighting for tow trucks in Alberta,” said Sawhney.

The Alberta Motor Association (AMA) has been fighting for the change for some time.

The Alberta Motor Association has been fighting for the change for some time.

‘Every Albertan deserves to be safe at work, even if their office is at the side of the road.  Today we affirm this point and we’re grateful to the government for this announcement.  This change is as simple as it is profound, and it will make a life-saving difference for Alberta’s essential tow operators and the Albertans they’re responding to,” said Michelle Chimko, AMA president and CEO.

This change is as simple as it is profound, and it will make a life-saving difference for Alberta’s essential tow operators and the Albertans they’re responding to.”

Jeff Kasbrick with AMA adds, that there is a lot of traffic safety research that colour combinations are far more effective and far more visible than a single colour alone.

“The Blue and the amber light is the most effective colour combination to be seen, especially during bad weather or low light circumstances,” said Kasbrick. “There’s a whole body of research behind why blue and amber make the most sense.

“In addition to that, there are a lot of other jurisdictions that have experience in this regard. In fact, Saskatchewan has had blue and amber on their tow trucks and have reported an increased level of visibility.”

“If we think about the times where we really are relying upon our tow operators in this province the most, it’s certainly within those low light and bad weather circumstances,” said Kasbrick. “By a twist of fate, tomorrow it could be us broken down at the side of the road. So it’s really important that we’re just all working together to build the kind of safe driving community that we want and we took one giant step forward today.”

But that’s not all that’s happening to improve roadside safety. A really big change is coming in the spring of 2023.

The province recently made changes under the Traffic Safety Amendment Act to require all drivers travelling in the same direction on multi-lane highways to slow down to at least 60 km/h and allow one lane of space, where possible, when passing stopped emergency vehicles, tow trucks and other roadside workers.

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Motorists travelling in both directions on single-lane highways will also be required to slow down when passing roadside vehicles and workers.

“This is a huge step forward in making our industry safer for roadside assistance workers and the motoring public through increased visibility. The effectiveness of this change will be noticeable and will save Albertans’ lives,” said Don Getschel, president of Towing & Recovery Association of Alberta and Oil Country Towing.

According to Kasbrick, AMA responds to a roadside call every 64 seconds and they respond to a high-risk call every 14 minutes.

Since December 2019, they’ve experienced at least 36 near-miss incidents between tow trucks and passing vehicles. He says they’ve had 14 serious collisions involving hospitalizations and even deaths.

Between March 2018 and March 2021, there were 128 collisions involving snowplows contracted by the province.

Alberta Transportation is now working with the University of Alberta to research possible light configuration changes for snowplows.

—With files from Lisa Grant