If you have a flat tire or scrape a guardrail, think carefully before getting out of your vehicle on the QEW, or any 400-series highway.
Experts agree — your life could hang in the balance.
"Here is my tip for everybody," Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said.
"If you ever are involved in a collision, first of all, stay in your vehicle and keep your seatbelt on. Make sure your four-way hazard lights are flashing. You want to be as visible as possible to approaching motorists."
On Jan. 7, at about 3 am, a 28-year-old Niagara resident was killed on the QEW near the Ontario Street exit in Beamsville. His vehicle had sustained some front-end damage, possibly from hitting a guard rail, a police report said. With the vehicle stopped on the left shoulder, the driver tried to cross the highway.
He didn't make it.
A transport truck hit him. Several vehicles following closely behind also ran over his body before police arrived. Some of the drivers of those vehicles didn't realize they had hit someone. No charges were laid.
Schmidt said first responders never really get used to being on the side of the road as cars and trucks blast by at 100 km/h. Taking precautions is second nature. Officers don bright reflective vests and can summon blocking trucks from the Ministry of Transportation. They also keep their heads on a swivel and try not to turn their backs to oncoming traffic or stand in front of or behind a vehicle.
Schmidt said he hates the sound of wheels vibrating on rumble strips that are scored on the outside edge of the traveled portion of the highway. The sound means a vehicle is dangerously close.
CAA is hosting a national Slow Down Move Over Day on May 12. The organization will be raising awareness and highlighting risks of failing to obey the law — including to change lanes — which is designed to protect first responders and tow-truck drivers when their emergency lights are activated.
"People have to slow down and drive to the road conditions when they see the amber lights on a tow truck, or the emergency lights of a police car, fire truck or ambulance," Schmidt said.
CAA said about a hundred tow-truck drivers die on the job annually across North America. This past November, a tow-truck driver was struck and killed near Port Perry while pulling a car out of a snow-filled ditch.
Four years ago, tow-truck driver Andrew McDonald was helping a CAA member with a flat tire on Highway 400 when the mirror of a passing dump truck clipped him.
"The hit knocked me over and threw me in front of the member's van," McDonald said in a CAA media release. "I wasn't badly hurt, but the experience spooked me, especially since at the time I was a single father. "
He said he doubts the driver even noticed.
Kristine Bunker, the communications coordinator with the Ministry of Transportation, said most recent statistics show six pedestrians were killed on 400-series highways in Ontario in 2016 and three in 2017.
The Highway Traffic Act restricts the use of 400-series highways by pedestrians if you haven't had car trouble. Police can issue a $105 ticket and will move you to a safer place, whether you like it or not. The law covers all 400 -series highways with few exceptions. One is in Niagara. Short sections of Highway 420 at it nears Niagara Falls is open to pedestrians and have sidewalks.
Schmidt said if a vehicle is involved in a minor crash on a major highway, the best bet is to drive the car to an exit and get off the highway if possible. The ideal spot to stop and wait for help, or change a tire, would be in a commuter parking lot or gas station.
When outside your vehicle on a highway, you're also a distraction to traffic, Schmidt said.
"You are vulnerable as a motorist, and as a pedestrian," Schmidt said. "You are depending on the other motorists to drive slowly and for the conditions. That doesn't always happen and, sadly, we have seen numerous occasions where pedestrians have been killed because they are outside of their vehicle, and don't realize traffic is coming toward them at highway speeds.
"You have very little time to react."
In January, a video of a motorist standing on Highway 427 in Toronto and gesturing at passing cars made the rounds of social media and caught Schmidt's attention. He retweeted the video and added, "Don't be this guy" to the caption.
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