Both the Daytime and Nighttime light patterns resulted in a 40% shift at night.

During the day, the presence of the tow truck displaying the Daytime light pattern prompted a 25% shift out of the adjacent travel lane.The patterns were tested during the day and at night, and with the additional use of flares, cones, or both. “Safety equipment can serve as an important reminder to do so.”īetween 20, tow truck drivers were killed while operating on the roadway at an annual rate of nearly 43 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers – far greater than the rate for all other industries (about 3 per 100,000 workers).įrom 2016 to 2020, six people in Idaho were killed while outside of a disabled vehicle, while 1,703 people were killed nationwide.įlares and cones in combination with two different light patternsįor this experiment, AAA staged an incident at the roadside that consisted of a flatbed tow truck using a Daytime or Nighttime light pattern while parked in front of a silver sedan with flashing hazard lights.

Drivers who approach a stationary emergency vehicle are required to slow down below the speed limit, and if possible, move over at least one lane to give tow operators and other first responders more room to work,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “Every state has a ‘Slow Down, Move Over’ law. Many of these life-saving countermeasures were successful in changing driver behavior. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently studied the effectiveness of cones and flares that were used in combination with two emergency vehicle lighting patterns, as well as the effectiveness of vehicle-mounted variable message signs (VMS), in protecting roadside workers. Safety countermeasures can reduce the likelihood of serious injury at the roadsideīOISE – On average, two emergency workers are killed each month by passing vehicles while working at the roadside, but new AAA research could help to reduce that number.

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