Tow truck drivers to rally on Saskatchewan highways

Tow truck drivers sending message on highways Tow truck drivers will be lining up on a handful of Saskatchewan highways Wednesday evening to send a message, Laura Woodward explains.

Tow truck drivers and emergency responders are set to park along shoulders of Saskatchewan highways Wednesday, as a warning to drivers to slow down and to honour drivers who’ve died on the job.

The Slow Down and Move Over rally marks about one year since tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer died in a four-vehicle crash on Highway 22 in southeastern Saskatchewan.

Schaefer was a father and won the 2016 CAA Saskatchewan Roadside Assistance Award of Excellence.

RCMP said the crash involved a tow truck, a semi and two other vehicles.

Shaefer’s death prompted blue lights to be added on all towing vehicles — making Saskatchewan the first province in Canada to have two coloured lights — but drivers are still campaigning to remind motorists to slow to 60 km/h when passing tow trucks.

First-responders and tow truck drivers are planning to turn on their emergency lights and stand beside their vehicles Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. to honour Shaefer and other drivers who have died on the job. Drivers will keep their lights on for one hour.