For the second time this year, a Mountie in Saskatchewan was nearly struck while conducting a highway traffic stop. The Saskatchewan RCMP say the second near miss occurred on Oct. 8 at around 10 a.m. An RCMP officer with Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan stopped a vehicle on Highway 16 west of Lashburn, Sask. According to RCMP, the officer parked his fully marked vehicle in the “proper manner” for a traffic stop and walked over to speak with the driver. While speaking with the driver, a second vehicle travelling in the driving lane at highway speed, collided with the parked police vehicle and narrowly missed the officer standing nearby. The Mountie was not seriously injured, but was hit by debris, including the mirror of their vehicle. A video of the near miss was shared by RCMP. According to police, the driver stopped after the collision and was ticketed for driving without due care and attention. The first near miss occurred on Feb. 28, on Highway 1 near Grand Coulee. An officer was forced to run into the ditch to avoid a semi that collided with his parked vehicle. “Twice this year we have almost had one of our officers hit while conducting a traffic stop — and this doesn’t include the many scary close calls we don’t report publicly,” Supt. Grant St. Germaine said in a news release. “Watching the video is terrifying. Our officers are out there doing their job to keep the public safe — we need drivers to do their part to keep our officers safe.” The police service reminded drivers they must slow down when passing emergency vehicles with activated lights. “It can be easy to see only the uniform, but please remember that every officer is someone’s spouse, parent, child, sibling, or friend,” said St. Germaine. “At the end of each day, they have loved ones waiting for them to come home safely.” Traffic safety blitz The Saskatchewan RCMP reported success over a multi-day traffic safety campaign called Operation Impact. From Oct. 7 to Oct. 11, officers with Maidstone Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan: As part of the operation, one in six drivers were issued a roadside suspension for drug or alcohol consumption. More statistics from the operation are expected to be released later this week.
