By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Still unclear about what exactly you’re supposed to do when you drive past emergency vehicles along Alberta’s roads and highways?
You’re not alone, a recent back-and-forth in the legislature hinted.
Lorne Dach, the NDP’s transportation critic, said he and others in his party’s caucus met recently with fire chiefs who told them that the province should reboot its public awareness campaign on the relevant rules.
The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association wants the campaign reinvigorated with more “visuals and videos” that show drivers exactly what to do when they pass stopped emergency vehicles displaying flashing lights, Dach said during question period last Wednesday.
He said that “an alarming number of roadside workers suffer serious, life-threatening injuries each year in Alberta after being struck by passing vehicles.”
What Are Those Rules Again?
So how should you act when you drive past an emergency scene? The province sums up the rules this way: slow down, move over.
You’re required to reduce your speed to 60-km/h in the lane next to the scene or at least match the speed limit if it’s already less than 60.
If there’s a lane beside you for your travel direction, you’re supposed to check for traffic there and move over if you can do so safely.
That can be tricky, though, because you’ll probably need to speed up right away. The 60-km/h rule does not apply to the lane over your shoulder — drivers are free to zip along at speed, which could be 110 or faster in Alberta.
On two-lane undivided highways, travellers going in either direction must slow to 60 or less.
What the Minister Said
Devin Dreeshen, the transportation minister, didn’t commit to a campaign refresh. But he did say the province is looking at making permanent a pilot program that has added flashing blue lights to the emergency warning mix.
For now the pilot is set to expire Feb. 29, 2028.
The province wants all types of roadside workers to be safe, Dreeshen said, “and that’s why we want to have the best policies possible to protect them while they’re doing their job.”
For the pilot program, blue flashing lights became acceptable in tandem with yellow lights in mid-2022 to increase visibility. Amber lights tend to blend into the background, the province has been told.
In one article, an industry representative estimated that after the blue-light pilot began, compliance with slow down, give space jumped to nearly 90 per cent from around 30 per cent.
The Enforcement Question
Dach, the member for Edmonton-McClung, sought assurances that the province is using effective enforcement like unmarked police cars to make work life safer for first-responders and others along highways.
“Enforcement is a very important part of what comes next,” said Dreeshen, the member for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.
“We from transportation can make the best rules possible, but we have to make sure that they’re being enforced on the roadways,” he said.
His department is working with the RCMP and sheriffs to “make sure all Albertans can go home safely.”
A variety of reporting organizations and criteria make the numbers hard to parse, when it comes to first-responder deaths and injuries along roads and highways.
According to the Workers’ Compensation Board, between 2014 and 2018 in Alberta the number of workers struck by vehicles totalled 2,229.
Data from Occupational Health and Safety say 12 deaths occurred over the same period because workers were struck on foot next to a roadway.
Bumps Along the Road
Slowing down or moving over to pass stopped emergency vehicles became the law in Alberta back in 2005, but the situation got confusing in 2022 and 2023 as the province considered legislated amendments.
A major change would have extended the 60-km/h limit across all lanes of traffic passing emergency vehicles. But despite wide support — from the public, within the emergency response community and among traffic safety advocates — the province backed away from the idea for fear of creating more problems than the change might solve.
The thinking went that if drivers in far lanes didn’t understand the rules, accidents would result from dramatic and sudden speed differentials. The government’s reversal was based on modelling and informal consultations, the UCP said.
Supporters of the change said that the all-lanes rule was simpler and therefore safer: see the lights, slow down.
The base fine for disobeying the rule is $243 and three demerit points, not counting a standard doubling of a usual fine for speeding through emergency and construction zones.
