Montreal police investigating after video shows car drive into traffic signaller on closed street

Montreal police say they are investigating after a video posted on social media showed a driver trying to force their way into a traffic signaller down a closed street.

The video, which was posted on TikTok with the #roadrage hashtag and has been viewed more than 108,000 times, shows a blue sedan slowly inching forward, pushing the worker further down the road after trying to get them to stop.

After a few minutes of what appears to be verbal exchanges between the driver and the worker, the driver reverses the car and drives away.

Police confirmed they received a 911 call around 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday regarding the incident and responded to the intersection of Saint-Antoine and Atwater avenues, in the Southwest borough, to meet with the traffic controller and witnesses.

Now that they have new information, including the viral online video, they have opened an investigation, a spokesperson said. The person who posted the video wrote in a comment that "I gave the video to the police officer."

No arrests have been made, but police said a criminal charge or a ticket for a Highway Safety Code violation is a possibility. The police investigation is ongoing.

Comments from other TikTok users under the video condemned the actions of the driver.

"This man could be my father / my father works on the construction site / I don't want to lose my father like that," one person wrote.

Another person wrote: "I think you have THE video that represents Montreal in all its aspects."

One user also said, "I almost lost my spouse like that and my mother-in-law who is a signaller also experienced it last week…"

DRIVERS 'THINK THEY CAN DO ANYTHING'

Incidents like this are why unions have been calling for better protection of workers on construction sites for years.

They say every year, more than a dozen people die or get seriously injured after being struck by vehicles, adding that the workers put their lives on the line every single day.

"People that work as [traffic signallers] have had those situations through the years," said Martin L'Abbée, a representative of the United Steelworkers union.

"If you've been working full-time for two, three years, of course, it happens to you at one point because people are getting frustrated they can't pass. And since you're not the police, they think they can do anything."

The union is reiterating its calls for the Ministry of Transport to strengthen road safety laws and create more public awareness campaigns. They say, after all, it's the drivers' responsibility to help keep workers safe.