Steer clear!
How many times have you passed a state trooper or other police officer dealing with a trucker or motorist stopped on the side of the road– and we are talking flashing lights, the whole works here– and you have not bothered to move one lane over, even if that lane was wide open? Well, shame on any of us who has not given that officer as much of a safety cushion as humanly possible.
For the sake of these officers doing their duty not to mention the persons they are ticketing or helping, as the case may be, please do so. And if you run a fleet, please instruct your drivers to do the same. In many states, it’s the law and it ought to be so in every state if you ask me.
Whenever possible, give them a wide enough berth to safely do their job…
Just consider this Good Samaritan story, which actually has a happy ending:
While a Pennsylvania state trooper was dealing with a motorist he pulled over for speeding, he was struck by the mirror of an SUV going by. That driver kept going and is now wanted for hit-and-run and I imagine that thwacking of a police officer is not going to sit well with any judge down the road.
Anyway, it turns out the ticketed motorist was an EMT and she got out of her car– putting herself potentially in the path of another lousy driver– and rendered assistance to the stricken trooper who wound up with a broken arm and bruised spine.
But he could have been much more severely injured if not killed. All because someone did not have the brain power to either move the hell over or at least proceed by with the utmost caution.
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Related Topics: Heavy Trucks, Management, Equipment, Midrange Trucks, Light Trucks, David Cullen, Freight, Drivers, Trucking
May 8th, 2008 at 5:53 am
I wholy agree. These people place their lives on the line for the safety of us everyday. However, since the motoring public dosen’t like to be behind a “big truck” all too often the 4wheelers will dart to the open lane and pass the stopped vehicle endangering the officer even more. It seem to be a no win situation…
May 18th, 2008 at 11:16 am
This piece of feel-good law is wholly unnecessary and the way it is being sold is pure Orwellian propaganda.
A patrolman handing out a ticket,be it for speeding or, like in my case, for a registration violation, is not responding to an “emergency”. Rather, by choosing to stop a vehicle on the highway, he creates an unsafe situation..
In a true emergency, police and firefighters usually block off as many lanes of a freeway as the need to do their work and don’t leave it up to motorists to decide how far to move over.
Additionally,we all know that any time you do a lane change in a big rig, you are increasing your risk, especially when moving over to your right.
If the only reason for a discretionary stop is to write a ticket, it can be handled off the freeway on a ramp or someplace like that.
The only people who truly would need this kind of protection are tow truck drivers or people trying to change a tire,for instance, but I don’t think that language in these laws even extends protection to them.
Lastly, I have to point out that once again, US DOL LOD fatality numbers for 2006 (most current) place transportation workers (truckers)in the # 3 spot. Law enforcement is not in the top 10.
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About
Between the Lines: David Cullen offers his take on how actions taken by government agencies, industry suppliers and other trucking stakeholders impact truck fleet owners. Executive Editor of FleetOwner, Cullen has been covering trucking since 1981 and has been on the staff of FleetOwner since 1989. He does not claim to be an expert on trucking, but will admit to being a writer-- and hoping to be regarded a journalist.Advertisement
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