Police in Ontario are alerting drivers they are required by law to slow down and move into other lanes when encountering flashing emergency lights and stopped vehicles on major roadways.
The plea from the OPP comes after the service released a dashcam video from early July on the Fort Erie-bound QEW near Lyons Creek in Niagara showing an SUV bolting through two other cars at a traffic stop.
The light-coloured SUV can be seen screaming past another stopped utility vehicle and a sedan around 1:30 a.m. in the footage.
Highway safety division Sgt. Kerry Schmidt characterized the move as “shocking” and “risky.”
“This vehicle went screaming by as everybody else was moving on the shoulder,” Schmidt said.
“Had there been someone standing outside, it would not have been a good day.”
Officers were dealing with an impaired driver when the vehicle sped by, estimated to be going around the highway’s 100-kilometre-per-hour speed limit.
There were no injuries as a result of the drive-by, and no charges are expected.
“The law is very clear, when you see stopped vehicles and emergency lights flashing, you’re required to slow down and move into an adjacent lane if one’s available,” Schmidt explained.
“Proceed with caution as you go by. Certainly a very reckless action by that driver.”