Standing in the road at a car accident trying to direct traffic on a busy four-lane road is a very very weird feeling. Even with a big fire truck and cones at my back AND side, the 40mph speed limit has an entirely new meaning. Why? Because a hundred or so feet behind me, someone is having a bad day, and people I know and care about are trying to make their day a little less terrible.
Despite the cones, fire truck, flashing lights, my turnout gear, and flashlight there is no ideal way to stand in an active roadway. From a drivers perspective I get it, you didn’t expect to roll up on this accident when coming home late from work at 9:30pm. Seeing me in the road is a surprise and a traffic pattern change is an unwelcome addition to a stressful day. Still, there’s someone behind me that needs help and people I care about trying to come to their aid.
Ideally, I’ll greet you with a smile after urging you to slow down and direct you where to go. That happens seventy percent of the time.
The other thirty percent of the time the driver is forced to perform an emergency stop nearly misses me, and at times almost becomes uniquely intimate with one of the firetruck’s rear compartments. I’ll politely let you know what’s going on then radio back to my chain of command anything important for them to know, busses, trucks, or traffic issues but this doesn’t solve the immediate issue. In the first 14 days of 2020, seven roadway responders have been struck and killed by vehicles while assisting the public.
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