Police are urging motorists to slow down when they pass official vehicles stopped on the side of the road.
Operation Shield, a provincewide initiative, was launched on Tuesday to remind drivers to slow down for official vehicles stopped with their lights flashing.
If the speed limit is 80 kilometres an hour or more, motorists must slow to 70 km/h when passing. If the speed limit is slower than 80 km/h, motorists must slow to 40 km/h.
Drivers who do not slow down could face a fine of $173 and three points on their licenses.
Cpl Ronda Rempel of B.C. RCMP Traffic Services said legislation came into place in 2009, but drivers continue to pass stopped emergency vehicles without slowing down.
She said more than 200 workers have been injured and 15 have been killed on the highways over the past 10 years.
Emergency workers in Summerland say they have had many near misses while stopped on Highway 97.
“We’ve almost been hit multiple times,” said Cst. Janice March of the Summerland RCMP detachment. She added that one police officer had several close calls during one stop.
“As soon as you see the lights flashing, slow down,” she said.
Fire chief Glenn Noble said firefighters often observe motorists who do not slow down when passing emergency crews at an accident scene.
“We even have people passing us when we’re going to a call,” he said.
In addition, some of the passing motorists will use their smart phones to take a picture of the accident while they are driving past.
He urges drivers to pay attention to the road, not the activity at the emergency scene they are passing.
Thomas Ratcliffe, unit chief of the ambulance station in Summerland, said paramedics need a safe area in which to work when they are attending a traffic accident.
He said the attendants tend to park vehicles at a scene in order to create a safe space for themselves to work.