It was a tragic beginning to the month of March, as several deaths accompanied a fierce blizzard that pounded the prairies. Among those was a tow truck operator, who lost their life after being hit by another vehicle as they were assisting at an accident on the road.

As a result, the provincial government recently introduced and passed legislation, all in one day, to permit additional safety measures for roadside responders, specifically tow trucks, in the form of blue flashing lights to accompany the already present amber ones.

"Losing one life on our highways is one too many. When it is someone is out there helping someone else in distress, that's an extreme tragedy. With that, we had to look at what we can do to protect the operators when they are out there," stated Joe Hargrave, the Minister responsible for SGI.

"We looked and talked to other stakeholders like police as to some different combinations. We discussed it with the association for tow truck drivers, and came up with the additional blue lights that they can put on their units to help make it easier for people to identify them. They do have to keep that one amber light that shows 360 degrees as well."

He said that they hope that it will have the desired effect.

"Sometimes I think people don't understand that it's the law to slow down to 60 kilometers per hour when you are passing a tow truck that's hooking up another vehicle when it's lights are flashing. I think that once they see those lights out there, they will slow down. They are easier to see in bad weather, so we are really optimistic that this will help. If it saves lives, that is what we are looking for."

Hargrave added that they hope that they will see the results immediately.

"I've talked to tow truck drivers. They set pylons, and those are getting hit by vehicles flying by at more than 100 kilometers an hour. They've had their mirrors clipped on their trucks, so people are obviously going way too fast by them. They are not paying attention and slowing down. We expect to see an immediate impact with this legislation."

He noted that they don't have any other specific measures in mind currently to deal with the issue, other than a widespread education and enforcement campaign.

"We are optimistic that the police will also be there and watching, and hand out a few tickets. They of course don't report to us, but they are out there too and see the same dangers, so we hope that they will take that initiative."

He expressed the importance of ensuring that the tow truck operators are unhurt at the end of the day.

"That is the key. They have families to go home to, who worry about them every day when they are out on the highway."

"That is what is going to make the difference. These guys are going to go home uninjured and alive. That's the biggest take-away," Hargrave concluded.