Nova Scotia: Drivers speeding past emergencies putting first responders at risk: fire chief

Rain-slicked roads and driving rain may have helped send a silver sedan off Highway 101 at Ben Jackson Road Tuesday morning. Hantsport deputy fire chief Paul Maynard said Tuesday the rollover that landed the driver in Hants Community Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries is being investigated.

But Maynard said drivers who flew by the scene as responders from police, fire and ambulance tried to do their jobs are breaking the province's Move Over law and endangering lives. "(At the) last two accidents, the majority of the drivers were not adhering to the law," he said.

Maynard said he saw people driving by at regular highway speeds passing within feet of emergency responders. "Motorists need to slow down and move over when first responders are at an accident scene," he said. Some drivers aren't and that is putting emergency workers at risk.

The Move Over law, the Act to Increase Safety for First Responders and Others came into effect on May 1, 2010. In Nova Scotia it is illegal to travel in excess of 60 kilometres per hour on the highway when passing a stopped emergency vehicle with its emergency lights on. Drivers must also pull into the next lane if it's safe to do so.