Alberta tow truck operators urge drivers to slow down and move over

The Busby Sports Grounds were transformed into classic car enthusiast’s paradise for the 2nd Annual Move Over Alberta Show & Shine Weekend.

While the event featured an assembly of impressively restored rides, it was about promoting the safety of tow truck operators. A portion of proceeds will go towards the survivor fund, which benefits families of drivers who lost their lives on the job.

Dan Sych was injured in a crash during his first month as a tow truck operator. It happened on December 23, 2016 and left him with a fractured femur. It took five months and extensive rehabilitation for him to fully recover.

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“I was recovering a vehicle off highway two and highway 19, when I had two vehicles strike my wrecker – which then hit me and sent me flying 30 feet into the ditch,” he recalled.

Sych is now lending his voice to the chorus of safety advocates reminding drivers to be aware.

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“When you see tow truck drivers or any other emergency vehicles on the road, just slow down and move over. Give us room to work,” he said.

“We’ve got families. Our lives matter too.”

Drivers are required to slow down to 60 km/h when passing emergency vehicles or tow trucks that are stopped with their lights flashing. The law applies to the lane directly beside the stopped vehicles.

“I was on the shoulder, I was on the white line hooking up to this truck and I get up and all of a sudden, ‘whack!’ And a mirror hits me and I basically fall right down to the ground,” recalled Steven Wilson, event organizer.

He was struck only a few months into working as a tow truck operator.

“Tow trucks have to go out, regardless of weather conditions,” he said. “If it’s a blizzard, you still have to go out there and spend 20, 30 minutes on the side of the highway.”

Wilson hopes the event will help convey the importance of road safety and change attitudes.