A worker of the MTQ killed in Dorval: “It happens too often that soûlons hit us,”

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Saturday, February 24, 2018 10:49

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Saturday, February 24, 2018 10:49

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Employees called to work on the québec road network are faced with on a daily basis and regularly situations involving their health and life in danger.

Late Friday night, a worker of the ministry of Transport of Quebec was killed and 9 others were injured after being struck by a vehicle on highway 20 to Montreal. The accident may have been caused by an impaired driver.

This tragedy of road out of its hinges Jean-François Dionne, president of the Association of workers in road signs of Quebec, who has been fighting for many years to secure the people who work on our roads.

“I want to offer my sympathies to the family and my wishes for a speedy recovery to those employees who have been the victims of the accident. It is an accident too”, stated from the outset the representative.

According to him, it would be the 27th accident involving workers of the signaling, either the MTQ or private firms, since 2011.

“The problem is that in Quebec it is too soft with the car. You hit a worker of signs, you must be criminally charged, in the same way that when you hit a policeman,” said Mr. Dionne, in the interview, in Quebec MatinIl also finds that the penalties should be doubled.

“We don’t have protection. We have our trucks, but we are working in the tract. It is too that are in the drink and that hit us. People won’t understand as long as there is not one who eats a good award and which is rapped on the fingers sound.”

According to him, the drivers of offending écopent of fines or small prison sentences, for serious offences against workers.

“There is a lack of police on the building, it is nice the photo radar, but it takes us away from the police presence”, he adds.

Jean-François Dionne believes that the construction zone of highway 20 was perfectly secure.

“There was a truck shock absorber with impact who was there, usually the MTQ is going to put a rocket road to the ground to signify their presence, they will also be put on trucks with flashing lights. They are going to bring three, four, five trucks with flashing lights,” he said.

“Should we close the highways completely in order to better protect our workers because there are those who do not have a good head on his shoulders?”, questions-t-it, noting that everything seemed to have been done to protect the employees Friday night. In spite of everything, the accident has killed one of them. Three others were seriously injured.

“It happens too often that soûlons hit us,” he concludes.

The Association of workers in the road signs of Quebec has made representations at Quebec, concerning the revision of the Code of the security. The representatives have requested to see more severe penalties applied to motorists who injure or kill workers road.