Keep your cool with flag persons of big loads – RCMP

By Patricia Harcourt
Editor

They may be annoying for drivers at times, but those pickup trucks piloting wide load vessels in our region serve a necessary purpose and must be obeyed.

So states Sgt. Jim Warren of the Tofield RCMP of the flag persons in those pilot trucks. They are responsible for the safety of their vessel as it travels down the road and the motorists that encounter that vessel.

“Under the Traffic Safety Act, motorists must heed to the direction of the flag person,” said Warren. “These people are deemed flag persons by the permits that are issued.

“If you see a wide load coming and are stupid enough to try and go through it,” he said, when there is a vehicle there with signs and flags, “you would have to be a moron.”

The RCMP have re-ceived information of some pilot trucks veering into oncoming traffic to try and force vehicles over to the side of the road. But Warren said this is not the correct method of getting motorists to comply.

More see the Feb. 22/12 issue of the Tofield Mercury