Southwestern Ontario’s towing industry is feeling a mixture of disappointment and heartbreak following a fatal hit-and-run of one of their own on Canada’s busiest highway.
Some say Wednesday’s death, that saw an operator stopped on the side of the 401 outside of Woodstock, Ont. to help a stranded motorist, is proof that the attitudes of drivers must change.
“Any time something like this happens, it’s devastating to our industry,” said Gary Vandenheuvel, president of the Professional Towing Association of Ontario (PTAO).
“It’s a small industry and we all know each other in one way or another. It’s always a concern because everybody knows it could be one of us, any day.”
The crash that happened around 7 a.m. in Oxford County is still under investigation as police search for the vehicle and driver involved.
While that search continues, Vandenheuvel said tow truck operators are well aware of the risks involved working on the sides of highways and city streets, and say drivers don’t give them space to do their jobs safely.
He’s been running a family towing business in Sarnia for the last 34 years, and says he’s had too many close calls.
“It happens way too much. We’re seeing it on a regular basis [across North America],” Vandenheuvel said. “Whether it be on a local city street or whether it is on a major highway, people do not give us the respect to – and it’s the law – slow down and move over.”
The Highway Traffic Act has clear requirements when it comes to driver behaviour around emergency vehicles and tow trucks. Part of those requirements is the legal obligation to slow down and, if possible, move aside for the trucks.
The fines for disobeying can reach up to $4,000, three demerit points, six months in jail and licence suspension for up to two years.
“I think the fines and the penalties need to start being a lot more severe … and the consequences definitely need to be more widely enforced,” Vandeheuvel said.
London-based operator Dwayne Cameron agrees with that sentiment. He said he was devastated to hear of the fatal crash, and he’s almost been the victim of careless drivers multiple times on the road.
“There’s not enough enforcement, and something needs to be done,” Cameron said.
He pointed to a strategy employed by some police departments in the United States where tow trucks are set up along the side of a highway with police waiting nearby to catch people who don’t move over, as a possible blueprint for police here.
“It’s really bad these days, and it’s getting worse. I’d say in my experience not even half of the people on the road move over nowadays,” Cameron said.
He believes governments and police have a part to play in enforcing the rules, but he says the biggest factor is the attitude of drivers. They’re often distracted, impatient, or simply don’t know they’re required to move aside.
Changing those attitudes is something that both Cameron and Vandenehuvel say will likely take education campaigns, and plenty of time.
“It’s just common sense. When there’s a human being standing on the side of the road that has a family and that needs to go home, take the time to move over,” Vandenheuvel said.
