STEPHEN RICCIO
MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC
April 1, 2021
A pilot project that saw Outaouais-area firefighters use green lights on their personal vehicles to facilitate quick passage to an emergency scene has become permanent, effective April 1.
According to Municipality of Pontiac (MoP) fire chief Kevin Mansey, the pilot program was . . .
initiated in 2016 in the two regions across Quebec, the Outaouais being one of them. He said that usage of the green lights is common-place in Ontario and used to be in Quebec, but was at one point stopped due to abuse.
Mansey said that it is a positive for the program to be permanent, but he also said it wasn’t an “end-all, be-all solution.”
“I support the program,” Mansey said. “The big thing to remember is that they’re courtesy lights. They don’t provide us any additional privileges, we’re not allowed to speed with them … we’re not allowed to speed with the fire trucks [either]. You have priority with an emergency vehicle but just because you’re driving an emergency vehicle doesn’t mean you can do [160 km/h] on the highway.”
“It doesn’t magically transform your F-150 into a firetruck,” he added.
In the MoP, roughly 20 firefighters have used the green light equipment since the pilot program was initiated.
Mansey said that those who use the green light have to undergo a three to four hour training video process.
Use of the equipment comes with some minor privileges, such as being allowed to pass on the shoulder at a slow speed in the event of a traffic build up.
Mansey said that as much as the green light can help in certain circumstances, even being at the wheel of a fire truck on the way to a scene doesn’t necessarily get all drivers to get out of the way.
