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MOVE OVER VIDEO

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Move overprotect us all. It is the latest message to the public to give way to emergency vehicles trying to save precious seconds on the way to urgent situations and to slow down when emergency vehicles are stopped along roadways.

Toronto police joined forces with the OPP, Toronto Fire Services, Emergency Medical Services and the province to deliver the message that saving just seconds could be the difference between life and death.

It's a legal responsibility to slow down and move over, Chief Bill Blair said, at a press conference to launch the Move Over Protect Us All video available online at www.torontopolice.on.ca

This is the most ambitious project yet to make our roadways safer.

The TPS Video Services Unit teamed up with Global News to create the DVD.

Hosted by Global's Nathan Downer, the video also chronicles the tragic events that capture the message.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino called on drivers to realize their shared responsibility in making the roads safe for emergency workers.

While everyone else is going away from an emergency, our men and women are go to the emergency therein lies the danger, Fantino said, noting six OPP officers have been killed in roadside collisions.

The DVD details the collision that almost cost motorist Terry Flynn his life.

His life hung in the balance after being struck head-on by a dump truck but, as the York Region paramedic who drove him to the hospital noted, drivers cleared a path to get him there faster.

I'd like to say thank-you to those drivers, said Flynn, during a clip from the Move Over Protect Us All video.

I'm thankful to be here for my wife and my kids, those seconds saved my life.

The DVD also highlights new legislation in Ontario , requiring drivers to slow down and move to the left when passing emergency vehicles, with their lights and stopped on the side of the road.

The death of OPP Sgt. Margaret Eve in June 2000 along Hwy. 401 near Chatham sparked the legislation. Eve, a mother of two, was killed when a tractor-trailer struck her, two other officers and two civilians stopped along the road.

A first offence draws a $400 to $2,000 fine and three demerit points and a second offence levies a $1,000 to $4,000 fine, up to six months in jail and a licence suspension.

The video will be available on police, fire and emergency medical services websites and distributed to driving schools and media outlets across the country.

Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield said the law is designed to raise public awareness before tragedy strikes.

Emergency service workers demonstrate tremendous courage going to work every day and we owe it to them not to put their lives in danger.

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Also read an email circulating cyberspace:

Hi Friends,

Someone I know sent me this:

I just had an experience which I hope you will not share.

I was driving on the 417 West at Panmure at broad daylight at 2 p.m.,
when I came upon two police cruisers who had pulled over a third
vehicle. I slowed down to be cautious, and was surprised when the second cruiser pulled out and pulled me over.

Approaching on the passenger side, the officer asked if I knew why I
had been pulled over. I honestly expressed that I had no idea.

He informed me that Ontario law now states that when approaching any
emergency vehicle, on the roadside, with lights flashing, you must enter
the left lane. He then proceeded to ticket me, taking three demerits and
issuing a fine of , wait for it, . . . $490! (Yes, I'm choking as I type that.)

I realize I did not change lanes, but I do believe I was cautious. My
message is, be careful. He said that they are cracking down hard on this
because of three injured officers in the last ten days.
 I did not realize this was the law. Neither did any of my recently-licensed
children. Or, evidently, not the 47 drivers (I counted) who broke the same
law as I sat waiting to receive my ticket!
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Read the actual Law below:

Below is the the excerpt from the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. relating to this offence. It is under section 159.1 (1), (2), (3),(4),(5).

  Approaching stopped emergency vehicle
159.1  (1)  Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light or red and blue light that is stopped on a highway, the driver of a vehicle travelling on the same side of the highway shall slow down and proceed with caution, having due regard for traffic on and the conditions of the highway and the weather, to ensure that the driver does not collide with the emergency vehicle or endanger any person outside of the emergency vehicle. 2002, c. 21, s. 1; 2007, c. 13, s. 20.
Same
(2)  Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light that is stopped on a highway with two or more lanes of traffic on the same side of the highway as the side on which the emergency vehicle is stopped, the driver of a vehicle travelling in the same lane that the emergency vehicle is stopped in or in a lane that is adjacent to the emergency vehicle, in addition to slowing down and proceeding with caution as required by subsection (1), shall move into another lane if the movement can be made in safety. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.
Same
(3)  Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents a driver from stopping his or her vehicle and not passing the stopped emergency vehicle if stopping can be done in safety and is not otherwise prohibited by law. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.
Offence
(4)  Every person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,
(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000; and
(b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.
Time limit for subsequent offence
(5)  An offence referred to in subsection (4) committed more than five years after a previous conviction for an offence referred to in subsection (4) is not a subsequent offence for the purpose of clause (4) (b). 2002, c. 21, s. 1
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Happy Driving Everyone!!!