I Am Fortunate (Or Unfortunate - Depends Which Way You Look At It) To Be Involved In The Vehicle Recovery Industry, And My Business Provides Service To A Police Authority And All Of The Major Motoring Organisations.
There Has Been A Spate Of Accidents This Week Involving Recovery Operators From Around The Country Both Being Injured And Unfortunately Like This Incident, A Loss Of Life.
I Think The “Slow Down - Move Over” Concept Is Great, And It WILL Save Lives And Prevent Injury To Both Recovery Contractors And Motorists Alike, However Like Everything Else That Is Against The Law (Drink Driving - Mobile Phone Use Behind The Wheel Etc…) Enforcing It Will Be The Issue. There Simply Aren’t Enough Roads Policing Units Out There To Actively Police Something Like This.
Amongst The “Professional Driving Community” Raising Awareness Of This Issue Is The Way To Move Forward And Get The Message Out To The Motoring Public.
The Other Major Issue The Industry Faces In Regards To Safety At The Roadside Is The Mass Dilution Of The Effectiveness Of Amber Beacons. The Bin-man Has Them, So Does The Milkman, And The Guy Sweeping The Road… Though I Appreciate That No Amount Of Flashing Lights Will Stop The Guy On His Phone/Asleep Etc Coming Down The Shoulder And Causing A Nasty Accident.
There Is An Interesting Website That Was Created By Someone Within Our Industry For Those That Are Interested With Some Links To Various Past Incidents.
Its Not Always Possible, But If Everyone Could Shift Over Just Half A Lane When You See Us Working At The Side Of The Road, We’d Really Appreciate It.