Driver facing charge or careless driving after worker was injured
A construction worker sustained minor injuries after he was struck by a truck on an Ontario highway on Thursday.
The incident happened at 6:5 a.m. on Highway 401 in Kingston, Ont.
Highway maintenance personnel had just completed setting up a detour route to move vehicles off the highway at the Gardiners Road exit when the incident happened, reported CTV News, citing the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
"A heavy-duty commercial truck, pulling a car carrier failed to negotiate the detour and struck the highway maintenance worker," said Const. Rob Martell in the CTV News report. "The worker was transported to hospital with minor injuries."
The OPP reminded motorists to drive safely to keep roadside workers safe, according to the report.
"Police and other emergency personnel conduct their daily duties on the roadside of Ontario's busiest roads and highways every day and are put at risk by inattentive and careless drivers who fail to move over when safe to do so,” said deputy commissioner Rohan Thompson, provincial commander, Traffic Safety and Operational Support, in the CTV News report.
“Please comply with the Move Over law and respect that our dedicated officers and emergency workers deserve to get home to their families safely, as much as every other road user does. Please help us keep everyone safe.”
Under Ontario's Move Over, drivers who do not pull over and stop for an approaching emergency vehicle could face a fine of $110 upon conviction ($150 in a community safety zone).
Failing to move over for a stopped emergency vehicle can result in a fine of up to $2,000 plus three demerit points. Subsequent offences can result in a fine of up to $4,000, six months in prison and a two-year driver's licence suspension.
A number of workers have also previously been hit by vehicles on Highway 401.
