With the use of emergency vehicles likely to rise during the winter season, the Grande Prairie Fire Department is reminding the community to stay off their phones while driving.
With continued snowfall across the Peace Region, roads are starting to look and feel different — conditions that could lead to more car accidents and, consequently, more emergency vehicles on the road.
But not everyone may notice those emergency vehicles, said the city’s fire marshal, Chris Renyk.
“We spend a lot of time in our emergency vehicles waiting on people to acknowledge what we are doing because they can’t see us or hear us, most of the time it’s because they are on their phone.”
Renyk added that even if a driver is not using a cellphone, there is a real chance they may not notice sirens.
“A lot of new vehicles nowadays are very insulated, so having situational awareness — knowing where and how you should pull over to the side of the road to accommodate an emergency vehicle — that awareness is crucial.”
If you notice an emergency vehicle behind you, officials say you should pull off to the right-hand side to allow the vehicle to pass.
