Emergency workers say they’re also affected by distracted drivers
Posted April 30, 2015 5:40 am.
Last Updated April 30, 2015 6:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
By Mark Douglas, 680 NEWS
Distracted driving is already the number one cause of death on OPP-patrolled highways, but it’s a habit that can also threaten life in a different way.
Using your cell phone while behind the wheel could delay emergency responders from saving lives.
Paramedics, firefighters, and police, shared their stories with 680 NEWS about being stuck in traffic behind a driver with their eyes on their phone, instead of the road.
Norm Roberge, who has been a Toronto paramedic for 27 years, said remembers a time in March when he was trying to get his ambulance into Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
“We were sitting behind the third car and the first car, I could see the person, their iPad with it on the steering. You could see the light clearly. That car, absolutely no attempt to get out of the way, and it was clearly because they didn’t see us,” Roberge said.
Stories like this come as no surprise to Capt. Mike Strapko from Toronto Fire Services.
“It could just take one person who is being distracted, not hearing or seeing the emergency vehicle approaching that could cause a bottleneck.”
Failing to pull over for an emergency vehicle is almost $500.
