People are being charged for an offence that not too many people know about. The $490 ticket is given to people who stay in the right hand lane and don't merge to the left lane when they pass an emergency vehicle that is stopped on the shoulder. Police have started to actively enforce this law in Ontario.

 

And I saw a BUS and a Small car do the Exact same thing Yesterday..on the 401.(bus did however put on the 4 ways and slow down considerably,since there was traffic in the left Lane.)

 

In Alberta, you have to slow to half the speed limit to a minimum of 30 KPH.

Example is if the emergency vehicle is on the shoulder and your in the right lane, you have to slow down (but you can stay in the lane).

If you are in the middle or far left lane, you can carry on at normal speed. Most people slow down anyways.

Fine is about the same, $500-ish.

 

For passing emergency service vehicles (Police, ambulance, fire, or a tow truck with its lights flashing, the law in Alberta is you must slow to 60kmh, or the posted speed limit, whichever is lower if passing in the lane directly adjacent to the emergency vehicle/personnel. Most people on the highway slow down anyway, probably mostly because they don't know the rule only applies to the lane adjacent, so you get a whole bunch of people getting over to the far lane to avoid slowing down, only to have it held up by people slowing down needlessly. But that does better allow for the requisite gawking and gawping...

As far as fines, it appears the fine is simply whatever the speeding ticket would be for x-kmh over, which would range from $57 to $351 for 1 to 50 over (beyond which dangerous driving or racing/stunting penalties ($402+), with mandatory court appearances are called for); http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/INFT...plquickref.pdf

However, the government's own document is dated July 2003, and the law about passing emergency vehicles is only a couple years old at most, so the lack of a specified penalty relating to s115(t) doesn't mean there isn't one, only that the online document needs updating, otherwise it should at least have a reference for 115(t) to check Table 1 for the specified fines.

Alberta Traffic Safety Act
S115 t): [It is prohibited to]
subject to subsection (4), drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than 60 kilometres per hour, or the maximum speed limit established or prescribed for that highway under

(i) this Act,

(ii) the Government Property Traffic Act (Canada), or

(iii) the National Parks Act (Canada),

whichever is lower, if the vehicle

(iv) is travelling on the same side of the highway as a stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck, and

(v) is passing the stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck when its flashing lamps are operating.

 

In addition, they should also begin the heavily enforcing the law where people are to pull over to the shoulder for a passing emergency vehicle. All too often I see these people blabbering away on their cell phone, not paying attention and not noticing the approaching flashing lights with a critical patient inside. Such ignorance... it disgusts me.

 

Another part of the problem is many people think they must come to a complete stop when an emergency vehicle approaches from behind; I've seen this happen, and create an instant traffic jam where no one could get out of the way because no one was moving and it was immediately bumper to bumper. The idea is to get out of the way and make it easy to pass - which often means slowing, not stopping, so that traffic has somewhere to move to.

 

this law in Alberta is a knee jerk response to a death of a cop on hiway 2
where a dumb *** in a big truck ran into a cruiser (on purpose IMO )
who got away with the murder, as a result we all have to live by this new law.

even the guys who work hiway patrol (who I know) say the new rules are causing
more problems than good due to how poorly the public has been educated as to
what they are required to do.
I have seen close calls on 2 lane hiways where head on collisions have almost
occurred because of drivers moving into the on coming lane to give room as well
as drivers romping on the binders for no reason who were going in the opposite direction.

ok that's my rant
later
Matt

 

That's what they are taught to do in BC and it drives me up the wall!! You hear a siren, and you have to pull to the side and come to a complete stop. Problem is that people don't pull to the side, and coming to a complete stop can often create problems.

Instead of making room for the emergency vehicle, they freeze and create road blocks! My first week here I almost rear ended a guy because he heard a siren and did a panic stop from 90 kph instead of taking that 2 seconds to determine the source of the siren and take appropriate action.

 

Im one of those guys who follows ambulances and firetrucks. Fastest way around calgary, garunteed.


I also used to follow around cops in my Rx-7. Like not in an emergency. Just when they were driving around. I wanted to see where the hell they went, like to some invisable building somewhere. It was great because I'd follow buddy, then another cop would follow me, then I'd follow another one once the first one went back to that building.

 

....lol

Back when I used to live in Windsor, I flew past a cop who was parked on a side street and he didn't react, but for some weird reason I felt convicted to slow down and pretend I was busily trying to find an address. In my 20 year mind at the time, I thought it would have been more believable to pretend there was some purpose to my speeding....ahhh my 82 GX. I guess the whole time I was in his line of sight, or at least the jelly had squeezed out of his donut and he had nothing else to look at. When I left the area, he started following me and eventually pulled me over. He said "You seem to be taking a great deal of interest in what I'm doing over there" After spending less than a minute with my info, he stepped out of the cruiser and handed me my license and registration and in a very serious tone said "You're lucky I got an important call, otherwise I would have dealt with you pretty harshly". I said, "For what, for looking at you?" He said nothing and walked away. I guess he felt his safety had been violated

I actually saw this guy drive in the right lane past a cop who had pulled over a cabbie on the 427 yesterday. I thought for sure the cop was going to at least look up, but nada. The whole sight of a cop having pulled over a cabbie could have only been topped by a cop pulling over a tow truck...but seeing that interesting melange of a cop writing up a cabbie, being passed by some unsuspecting white van almost made me want to take the next exit and come back at it and try it for myself.... ....almost

 

As a truck driver it's pretty much become habit to move over whenever there's any vehicle on the shoulder. In most states I drive in they have signs posted everywhere saying to move over or slow down for emergency vehicles. I move over for all other cars as well because it would be just too easy to kill them with 40 tonnes of steel moving at 100KM/, so naturally I do the same in my car, although I'm usually in the left or middle lane anyway. I don't normally "speed" as compared to most of the other traffic but I do go faster than most cars out there.

 

I always find it funny when I'm following an ambulance on the 401 going like 120km/h with the lights on, it's like get the hell out of my way!