Accidents involving workers: tugs raise awareness of motorists

Pascal Girard/QMI AGENCY

QMI agency

Saturday, 3 march 2018 17:36

UPDATE
Saturday, 3 march 2018 17:41

Look at this article

Tugs have sought to raise awareness of motorists, Saturday, on the sidelines of the funeral of Stéphane Lebel, the worker of the ministry of Transport (MTQ) who lost his life at work the end of last week.

• READ ALSO: A tragedy that many had feared
• READ ALSO: A driver pinned under a truck in Drummondville: alcohol would be involved

Twenty workers of the towing industry visited, with their tow truck, at the funeral home, where it was exposed to Mr. Lebel. Their spokesman, Serge Landry, told TVA News that they were there, before all, to “carry our respects to the family who is proven”.

The tugs have taken advantage of the opportunity to urge motorists to exercise caution on the roads. “We are workers, we are also on the road network and, in the evening, we want to be able to go home and dinner with our families”, noted Mr. Landry.

In the last few days, two accidents have involved workers of the MTQ. Last week, a hit and probably drunk crashed into a vehicle, the sending of workers and leading to one death and six injuries. Then, on Saturday, another hit, possibly also under the influence of alcohol, crashed into a pickup truck of the MTQ.

“Somewhere, we realize that the yellow light does nothing. A given time, it will be necessary to put a color in the back of our tow trucks which is a bit more representative, which will perhaps turn on lights for people, who will maybe pay more attention,” said Mr. Landry.

The tugs had planned to go to distribute leaflets to motorists after the funeral service to raise awareness of the importance of respecting the corridor of safety. “The minute that [motorists] see our lights, it is necessary to slow down and change lanes. If it does not, they must go slowly enough so that they do not represent a danger to us,” explained the worker.