Alberta towing company owner renews call for blue lights after driver's close call on Highway 16

After a collision sent one of his tow truck operators to hospital on Thursday, a towing company owner west of Edmonton is renewing a callfor blue and amber lights to be allowed on roadside assistance vehicles in Alberta.

Gregg Wilson owns APL Towing & Recovery, based in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain.

He said one of his employees was on Highway 16, near Range Road 22, to recover a vehicle from a median and had pulled onto the shoulder with his lights on to wait for a blocker unit to arrive.

While he was waiting, another driver drove into his vehicle.

The tow truck driver was sent to hospital and is now home, expected to make a full recovery. Both vehicles were badly damaged.

Stories like this are all too common, Wilson told CBC NewsFriday morning. Just last week, there was a less serious but similar incident with another driver for the company.

"We don't go a day without an incident or a close call," he said.

Wilson said blue and amber lights on tow trucks could make them more visible to drivers at night because the unique colour combination would stand out.

He said he and his business partner have raised the issue with decision-makers, but theyhave yet to act and don't seem in a hurry to do so.

Two years ago, an Alberta petition supporting the idea drew more than 11,000 signatures.

In 2017, Saskatchewan became the first province to allow a two-colour lighting combination for tow trucks. The legislation change followed the death of a tow truck driver who was killed in a roadside collision during a blizzard.

In an interview with CBC's Radio Active in March, Jeff Kasbrick, vice president of government and stakeholder relations for the Alberta Motor Association, said research shows blue and amber is the most effective colour combination in alerting and raising motorists' attention.

The AMA, which responds to a high-risk call every 14 minutes, has been lobbying the Alberta government to allow the lights for three years.

"We deploy safety blocker units, we have visible clothing, reflective cones, ongoing trainingand despite all of that, it's very clear from our lived experience that more needs to be done," Kasbricksaid.

Only police vehicles are currently permitted to use blue lights in Alberta, but Kasbrick said they are already used on snow plows in other Canadian and American jurisdictions.

"So we, by no means, would be a first mover in this regard in Alberta," he said.

Rob Williams, press secretary for Alberta's minister of transportation,said the government has partnered with the University of Alberta to research improvingsafety for roadside crews.

He said theirreport is expected early in the new year.