Why cops keep getting hit by vehicles.

[h.g.Whiz]

If cops keep pulling cars over on the side of the highway they will keep getting ran over.

[technoextreme]

If cops keep pulling cars over on the side of the highway they will keep getting ran over.
And???? I have no idea if I should toss this into my,"Im a moron for reading this pile."

[paximperium]

If h.g keeps posting such inane posts, people will start to think he is as intelligent as his posts.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

If airliners were banned from the skies, no one would be killed in airline crashes.

Any more?

[quixotecoyote]

If we killed all the pregnant women, we'd solve the problem of abortion!

[paximperium]

If we stayed underground we wouldn't be hit by lightning.

[IMST]

Killing all humans could stop the problem of AGW.

[tyr_13]

Killing all humans could stop the problem of AGW.

Careful, there are some environmental groups who wouldn't mind just that.


Back to the OP. If we had higher standards for our drivers, and enforced the rules of the road more, fewer cops would get hit by vehicles.

[quixotecoyote]

Careful, there are some environmental groups who wouldn't mind just that.


Back to the OP. If we had higher standards for our drivers, and enforced the rules of the road more, fewer cops would get hit by vehicles.

We could put the steering wheel on the other side of the car,

Or drive on the other side of the road.

[paximperium]

We could put the steering wheel on the other side of the car,

Or drive on the other side of the road.
What are you? Some sort of cop killing right-hand driving fascist; Left side road driving commie? :confused:

[roger]

If people keep breathing in while under water, they will keep drowning.

[I Ratant]

We could put the steering wheel on the other side of the car,

Or drive on the other side of the road.
.
They tried that in Sweden. On a certain Tuesday, all trucks moved to the lanes in the other direction.
The automobiles were scheduled to do that the next day.
Didn't work out all that well.

[quixotecoyote]

.
They tried that in Sweden. On a certain Tuesday, all trucks moved to the lanes in the other direction.
The automobiles were scheduled to do that the next day.
Didn't work out all that well.

You appear to be joking, but they did switch in the opposite direction, to driving on the right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H

[paximperium]

.
They tried that in Sweden. On a certain Tuesday, all trucks moved to the lanes in the other direction.
The automobiles were scheduled to do that the next day.
Didn't work out all that well.
Swedes are weird.

[Bikewer]

Having been in police work as long as I have... One of the first on-duty deaths we incurred was a situation where a detective in an unmarked car pulled over a suspect on the interstate, and was killed by a drunk as he stepped from the vehicle.

This led to an immediate ban on officers in unmarked units stopping cars. You were to radio for a marked car with proper emergency equipment to do same.
However, we then had two officers in a marked unit struck on an interstate (by another drunk; fortunately not killed) which led to a re-evaluation of stopping people on the highway.
For a while, here was the plan:
One was to pull the offender over onto the shoulder of the road. Then, without exiting the vehicle, get on the PA system and tell the driver to proceed to the next exit and pull off there.
Naturally, this was somewhat cumbersome...

That was some time back, and I presently don't do much in the way of traffic stops. However, just from observation, the paradigm appears to be to position the police car well off to the roadway side of the stopped vehicle, supposedly to create a buffer zone for the officer/violator. If one wishes the violator to exit the car, then you go further onto the shoulder if possible.
Still hazardous, but sometimes there is simply no choice. At any time, a DWI offender may become belligerent and try attacking the officer; the shoulder of the road is not a good place...

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Having been in police work as long as I have... One of the first on-duty deaths we incurred was a situation where a detective in an unmarked car pulled over a suspect on the interstate, and was killed by a drunk as he stepped from the vehicle.

This led to an immediate ban on officers in unmarked units stopping cars. You were to radio for a marked car with proper emergency equipment to do same.
However, we then had two officers in a marked unit struck on an interstate (by another drunk; fortunately not killed) which led to a re-evaluation of stopping people on the highway.
For a while, here was the plan:
One was to pull the offender over onto the shoulder of the road. Then, without exiting the vehicle, get on the PA system and tell the driver to proceed to the next exit and pull off there.
Naturally, this was somewhat cumbersome...

That was some time back, and I presently don't do much in the way of traffic stops. However, just from observation, the paradigm appears to be to position the police car well off to the roadway side of the stopped vehicle, supposedly to create a buffer zone for the officer/violator. If one wishes the violator to exit the car, then you go further onto the shoulder if possible.
Still hazardous, but sometimes there is simply no choice. At any time, a DWI offender may become belligerent and try attacking the officer; the shoulder of the road is not a good place...

Here in Ontario they recently added to the Highway Traffic Act that, on multi-lane highways, you must move over one lane when you approach a stopped police car. I haven't seen any statistics yet as to whether this has actually improved the safety of police officers.

[Autolite]

If cops keep pulling cars over on the side of the highway they will keep getting ran over.

Seems to me to be pretty much just a hazard of the job. No more of a danger than it is for tow truck drivers IIRC...

[fuelair]

Having been in police work as long as I have... One of the first on-duty deaths we incurred was a situation where a detective in an unmarked car pulled over a suspect on the interstate, and was killed by a drunk as he stepped from the vehicle.

This led to an immediate ban on officers in unmarked units stopping cars. You were to radio for a marked car with proper emergency equipment to do same.
However, we then had two officers in a marked unit struck on an interstate (by another drunk; fortunately not killed) which led to a re-evaluation of stopping people on the highway.
For a while, here was the plan:
One was to pull the offender over onto the shoulder of the road. Then, without exiting the vehicle, get on the PA system and tell the driver to proceed to the next exit and pull off there.
Naturally, this was somewhat cumbersome...

That was some time back, and I presently don't do much in the way of traffic stops. However, just from observation, the paradigm appears to be to position the police car well off to the roadway side of the stopped vehicle, supposedly to create a buffer zone for the officer/violator. If one wishes the violator to exit the car, then you go further onto the shoulder if possible.
Still hazardous, but sometimes there is simply no choice. At any time, a DWI offender may become belligerent and try attacking the officer; the shoulder of the road is not a good place...
Florida Law now specifically requires that drivers must slow down AND, if feasible (road isn't clogged), move over a lane for police stops or any emergency vehicles stopped.

[h.g.Whiz]

Seems to me to be pretty much just a hazard of the job. No more of a danger than it is for tow truck drivers IIRC...

I saw cop giving a ticket to a driver on a two lane bridge. We had to swerve into the other lane (oncoming traffic) to keep from hitting the cop.

[rwguinn]

Florida Law now specifically requires that drivers must slow down AND, if feasible (road isn't clogged), move over a lane for police stops or any emergency vehicles stopped.
Texas, NM, and OK have the "lose 20mph (below speed limit), or slow to 25 MPH (Whichever is greater) or move over a lane (on multi-lane) for ANY stopped emergency vehicle'

[sts60]

Cops (and firefighters and EMTs) get killed on the road because many drivers are drunk or distracted or inattentive or just feel too damn entitled to whatever road they want, when they want it. Drivers will tear right through an accident scene, or swerve back into "their" lane (never mind you and your partner wheeling a patient to an EMS unit), or drive right over flares, or simply not notice the vehicle ahead of them is not going 65 mph, but zero, until they hit it (I've seen all of these in my volunteer gig). Our department had one guy simply run full speed into the twenty-ton heavy rescue squad, with all its lights flashing, blocking at one scene.

You learn to keep one eye rotated, chameleon-like, towards oncoming traffic. I'd be terrified to be a cop working traffic stops without thirty or forty thousand pounds of fire truck physically keeping the idiots (that's you, dear driving public) off my back... literally.

[CurtisP]

On Akron, at least, the City Road crews have (or at least used to have) special trucks that carry a shock absorbing barrier on the back that is parked on the freeway while doing road work. This has protected the workers from idiots at least once.

[politas]

A few years back in Canberra, someone was struck and killed when they were changing a tyre on the edge of the road.

[politas]

Texas, NM, and OK have the "lose 20mph (below speed limit), or slow to 25 MPH (Whichever is greater) or move over a lane (on multi-lane) for ANY stopped emergency vehicle'This just seems like sensible driving to me. If there's an emergency vehicle with flashing lights, you slow down and take care, because you've got no idea why they're there and what might be obstructing the road.

[Redtail]

I saw cop giving a ticket to a driver on a two lane bridge. We had to swerve into the other lane (oncoming traffic) to keep from hitting the cop.

So?

[Bikewer]

I must admit the two-lane bridge stop seems....Ill-advised. I mean, how much longer would it have taken to let the guy get to the other side?

We've had several cases in recent years of individuals just flat running into the back end of large, emergency-lighted pieces of highway equipment. The sort of thing that has the big directional arrows.
Part of this is inattention, of course; the driver is busy changing stations on his radio or consulting his GPS...
But there's a psychological problem as well; some call it the "gaper" phenomenon. We tend to drive towards things that attract out attention. This is very familiar to off-road
trail riders, who are constantly told not to look at the big rock or log or dropoff, and rather at the line they should be taking.

[bjornart]

I saw cop giving a ticket to a driver on a two lane bridge. We had to swerve into the other lane (oncoming traffic) to keep from hitting the cop.

So basically you were driving, encountered an obstruction, wasn't observant/prepared enough to handle it safely, and you want to pretend you aren't a bad driver.

[Sir Robin Goodfellow]

The problem as I see it around here is that people think you must stop immediately if the police signal you to stop. I see them stop on a busy road when they could drive a few metres farther and pull into a parking lot or onto a road that has a parking lane.

[ponderingturtle]

Texas, NM, and OK have the "lose 20mph (below speed limit), or slow to 25 MPH (Whichever is greater) or move over a lane (on multi-lane) for ANY stopped emergency vehicle'

I see cases were you have to go into reverse in low speed areas.

[ponderingturtle]

The problem as I see it around here is that people think you must stop immediately if the police signal you to stop. I see them stop on a busy road when they could drive a few metres farther and pull into a parking lot or onto a road that has a parking lane.

Most people do not know how to deal with emergency vehicals. I would hate the ones who would stop in the lane in an area with no shoulder, in that situation just keep going until we get to somewhere that passing isn't suicidal.

[TX50]

If cops keep pulling cars over on the side of the highway they will keep getting ran over.

What proportion of cops are "ran over"?

[Beerina]

Are there a statistically higher level of these accidents lately? Or is it like "tornado" syndrome, where people think there are more tornadoes because there are tons of videos of them, which there didn't used to be, because there are tons of cameras now?

[Hellbound]

Texas, NM, and OK have the "lose 20mph (below speed limit), or slow to 25 MPH (Whichever is greater) or move over a lane (on multi-lane) for ANY stopped emergency vehicle'

Arkansas has the same now.

I see cases were you have to go into reverse in low speed areas.

"Whichever is greater" as in, whichever gives the highest speed (so you'll always go at least 25MPH).

[I Ratant]

Around here, many people make panic lane changes to the side of the road for EMTs coming in other direction, without clearing the traffic around them and behind them.
Others won't pull over until the EMT passes them going in the -same- direction.
I've seen drivers go -between- a pair of EMT vehicles. one to make a left turn thru an oncoming pair.
And the number of people with the big red fire truck right on their bumper, siren and lights on full.. and these doods don't do diddly,... just cruise along really dumb and happy!
I expect the reason the EMTs turn off their lights on the freeways is to prevent the clueless going the other way from doing the panic stop thing because you "have to stop" when you see the red lights. Whether you're any hazard to the EMT. not important.
Red lights mean stop!

[technoextreme]

I expect the reason the EMTs turn off their lights on the freeways is to prevent the clueless going the other way from doing the panic stop thing because you "have to stop" when you see the red lights. Whether you're any hazard to the EMT. not important.
Red lights mean stop!
The reason why people stop is because EMTs, Firetrucks, and the cops are the most erratic drivers on the road. And by erratic I mean I've seen them cut across sidewalks. It generally is better just to stop than to try and play a guessing game as to where they will go.

[LTC8K6]

"Move Over Law" went into effect a few years ago in NC.

Some folks apparently didn't hear about it though.

Just like the "Headlights on with Windshield Wipers" law that also went into effect a few years ago.

[tomwaits]

lol great thread.

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

Several years ago I was on a flight and struck up a conversation with my seat mate. Turns out he was on his way to Saskatoon for a court appearance. I asked him why. He was a truck driver and had been driving southbound on Hwy. 11 to Regina (this is a double lane highway). He had noticed that an RCMP officer had pulled someone over and so he was changing lanes - going into the left one and then he had spilled his drink (pop) on his lap and bent down to pick it up. The trailer of his truck clipped the officer and he was killed.

It was a tragic story all the way around. I believe now, at least in Saskatchewan, the patrol car is now a bit out on the road to shield the officer.

[LTC8K6]

the patrol car is now a bit out on the road to shield the officer

That just causes the patrol car to get slammed very hard into the police officer when it gets hit. Not going to be much less carnage.

[applecorped]

If airliners were banned from the skies, no one would be killed in airline crashes.

Any more?

They can crash on the ground too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_disaster

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

I certainly see your point LT - I think the size of the patrol car being a bit out is meant more as a clue for space and perception.

[h.g.Whiz]

So basically you were driving, encountered an obstruction, wasn't observant/prepared enough to handle it safely, and you want to pretend you aren't a bad driver.


What I meant by swerve was that we were forced to use the other lane to keep from hitting him ,thankfully the other lane wasn't occupied by an oncoming vehicle at that moment in time.

[Hamradioguy]

Most people do not know how to deal with emergency vehicals. I would hate the ones who would stop in the lane in an area with no shoulder, in that situation just keep going until we get to somewhere that passing isn't suicidal.

This is one reason why I have a red light but not a siren on my POV. Come up on a slow moving vehicle who is unaware of your flashing lights and hit the siren- I can almost guarantee that in a lot of cases the driver will slam on the brakes as soon as he hears the siren. Not good for either of you. I'll just hold back and wait till the driver sees my emergency lights and pulls over or I can safely pass. Most WILL quickly pull over, but I've gone for well over a mile on a two lane road with some guy poking along at 45MPH who apparently doesn't know how to use a rear view mirror.

Most cops these days will angle their cruiser well behind whomever they've stopped. Makes it easier to see and if it does get rear ended it won't end up being shot directly into the rear of the stopped vehicle. With highway vehicle accidents where traffic is still moving we make sure to angle the largest firetruck between the incident and the oncoming traffic.

[schplurg]

If h.g keeps posting such inane posts, people will start to think he is as intelligent as his posts.

"Stupid is as stupid does"

F.G.

[bjornart]

What I meant by swerve was that we were forced to use the other lane to keep from hitting him ,thankfully the other lane wasn't occupied by an oncoming vehicle at that moment in time.

And what I meant by being a bad driver is that you were so surprised by a hindrance in the road that you couldn't deal with it safely.

[h.g.Whiz]

And what I meant by being a bad driver is that you were so surprised by a hindrance in the road that you couldn't deal with it safely.

It was dealt with safely.

[Euromutt]

It was dealt with safely.You swerved into the opposite lane, and it was only by luck that there was no oncoming traffic. That doesn't sound safe to me.

[Starthinker]

I was beginning to wonder. I've seen so many dead cops on the highway lately. I just couldn't figure out why.

[I Ratant]

Exposure.
It's part of the job, standing along side roads while numbnuts car guiders pass, mostly unaware of anything that doesn't directly affect -them-, right now!

[h.g.Whiz]

If I could upload the bridge (I am still trying)you could see that it is a 6 lane bridge 3 lanes for each way.:footinmou I apologize I did not intentionally lie.:footinmou
Furthermore I was not driving and nobody got ran over that much is true.:duck: