Legislation was recently passed by the Saskatchewan government that is intended to improve the safety of tow truck operators while they are working on the side of the road.

This would be in the form of flashing blue lights being an option, with the hope that the units and personnel would be more visible. However, those who are actually in the field aren't quite as optimistic.

"People may slow down at the start, but the lights will just become a normal sight, just like the amber ones," stated Ryan Sekinger, the owner of Xtreme Towing in Estevan.

"Every truck uses one, and there's a lot of operators who don't turn them off when they are not being needed. I honestly think what's going to happen is that drivers are just going to leave them on all the time, and they will then just become the norm."

He also noted that it could cause problems with other equipment later on. If drivers get used to the blue lights, they won't slow down for snowplows either.

Sekinger added that he has noticed that, even when there is police presence with blue lights on the scene, traffic doesn't always slow down.

He suggested what he would like to see as an alternative to the government's solution.

"I'd like to see some sort of photo radar system in the tow trucks, and then that information is sent to the police. That would hit people in the pocketbook."

"Every time I go hook up to a vehicle on the side of the highway, one or two motorists may reduce their speed, but there's 8 or 10 that fly past. Some actually accelerate,"  he related.

"I myself get so completely frustrated on the side of the road when people don't slow down. I was actually standing on the deck truck, securing the hood of a vehicle that had collided with a deer, when a semi went by and the side mirror brushed my back."

"It's maddening is what it is."

"I honestly don't think that the lights are going to make a difference."