Slow down, move over

Catching speeders is a standard part of the job for a traffic cop. But for RCMP Sgt. Mark Hume, it could have cost him his life.

During a traffic stop earlier this year, Hume pulled over a car for speeding. As he was processing the ticket, an SUV slowed down and moved over — following Manitoba's Slow Down, Move Over law, which protects workers on roads and highways. Another driver sped up and tried to move past the slowed vehicle, but lost control and pushed the SUV into the ditch.

"I could have easily been killed," says Hume, who works for Westman RCMP Traffic Services in Manitoba. "The driver was swerving all over the road and could have skidded the other way and rear-ended me."

While no one was seriously injured, the offending driver was slapped with a $672 careless-driving fine.

For Hume, this is just one of many close calls he's had while working in traffic services. Since the legislation came into effect in Manitoba in 2011, he's been an outspoken advocate for the law.

"Those few feet on the side of the road are our workplace," he says. "I tell people to have consideration for others on the roadside, whether it's police, paramedics, a tow truck driver or someone with a flat tire."

Listen to the law

In Canada, Slow Down, Move Over laws were thrust into the spotlight in fall 2017, following the death of Cst. Francis Deschênes, a Nova Scotia RCMP officer. While on duty in New Brunswick, Deschênes stopped to help a driver change a tire when he was hit and killed by a passing vehicle.

"It caught everyone's attention," says Cpl. Ryan Lewis, who's in charge of New Brunswick RCMP's Tactical Traffic Enforcement Unit. "It goes to show you that road safety is everyone's business."

Slow Down, Move Over laws vary from province to province. In New Brunswick, drivers must slow down to a reasonable speed and move to another lane. Other provinces have specified speed limits that drivers must slow to.

In the wake of Deschênes' death, many RCMP traffic units across the country held education and enforcement initiatives aimed at increasing the public's awareness of the laws. Manitoba RCMP's Traffic Services was one of those units.

To see how many people were obeying the law, officers surveyed an area of Highway 59, south of Winnipeg. Over 15 minutes, they counted 107 cars that passed a parked police vehicle with flashing lights. While almost all cars moved over, only four slowed down to 60 km/h, as Manitoba's law dictates. And 16 vehicles passed going faster than the posted 100 km/h speed limit.

"A lot of people are ignorant," says Insp. Ed Moreland, the officer in charge of Manitoba Traffic Services. "But we had to crack down, because fatalities happen because of this."

Moreland's unit also held media events and ran a week-long enforcement blitz, pulling over drivers who weren't following the law on Manitoba roads.

Seconds save lives

For police in particular, the unpredictable nature of their job combined with cars whizzing by at high speeds can be extremely dangerous.

"Keep in mind that a traffic stop is never just a traffic stop," says Lewis. "There are often underlying challenges, whether it's a domestic situation or mental health issues. People passing by have no idea what's going on."

Lewis says he's been in altercations on the roadside where fights break out and people end up in the ditch or on the road. That's when Slow Down, Move Over laws become important — to give police the space to do their job without getting injured.

To reduce their risk, many police officers park their vehicles wider than the car they are pulling over to give a pocket of space for the officer to walk in. Others use pylons to direct drivers into adjacent lanes.

For Moreland, close calls have happened so often that he began approaching cars from the passenger's side. But he says police shouldn't be the only ones making changes — it needs to be a shared responsibility with the public, too.

"We're not asking you to arrive late or cancel your trip. It's seconds," he says. "Are you willing to trade seconds of your life, for the life of someone else?"