Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/870050
Adam Blasberg FALL 2017 BCA A .COM 27 Too Close for Comfort Motorists who don't Slow Down and Move Over risk the lives of roadside workers BY IAN MacNEILL Al Lam AUTOMOTIVE Roadside workers p.27 F or Al Lam, drivers failing to slow down and move over is all too common an experience when he's on the side of the road helping a Member. The BCAA tow truck driver and service tech spends his days responding to calls from stranded motorists in Metro Vancouver, getting them on their way when he can, and delivering them to repair facilities when he can't. He does his best to set up safe work zones using traffic cones, and a combination of experience and common sense. But narrow margins and impatience on the part of some passing drivers invariably make him vulnerable. "I have at least one close call a week – especially in the morning when people are rushing to work – where someone goes by at a high rate of speed just inches from my backside," he says. "It's frustrating." So far he's been lucky, but others have not. Earlier this year, CAA tow truck driver Courtney Schaefer lost his life while trying to help a stranded motorist near Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. Although the incident is still under police investigation, news reports at the time stated he was killed when he was hit by a semi-trailer in blizzard conditions. BCAA tow truck driver and service tech Al Lam has had many a close call while working roadside.