A close call on Highway 56 last week served as a wake-up call for first responders reminding everyone how dangerous it is to operate on the scene of roadway emergencies.
In the early morning hours of March 8, Whitesboro Fire and EMS units were working an accident scene on Highway 56 with Southmayd Fire and Police Department units when a vehicle ran around traffic barriers and into the accident scene. The vehicle struck Southmayd firefighter Mark Everett who was working traffic on the roadway.
Thankfully, Everett suffered only minor injuries. This could have ended much worse.
Southmayd Police Officers immediately detained the driver and eventually arrested her for driving while intoxicated, with several other charges pending against her related to her driving into the accident scene. Whitesboro firefighter/paramedic Chase Stanford was the first to realize the woman driving the vehicle was not yielding to the traffic control patterns established for the roadway.
“I was waving my arms yelling at her to stop, and she never even made eye contact with me,” Stanford said. “I hollered on the radio to Southmayd Fire and PD.”
Local fire departments realize the danger involved in operating on the roadway -- they see it every day. It is one of the most dangerous areas a first responder can operate, with over 50 a year, on average, being struck and killed nationally in the United States. First responders include not just fire, EMS and law enforcement, but also the tow companies and emergency road crews and technicians that are called out to assist with clearing incident scenes. The statistics backing this are startling.
The only in-depth study was concluded five years ago, and it is safe to assume the numbers have risen since then. The research was conducted jointly by the National Safety Council and the Emergency Responder Safety Institute. The study revealed an astounding 71% of drivers passing emergency scenes are taking pictures or recording video as they pass, with 60% of those drivers admitting to posting it to social media while driving away.
Under normal driving conditions, about 25% of drivers say they will use social media or answer emails while driving. The jump to 71% doing it at emergency scenes proves that first responders are at a much higher risk from distracted drivers. The study went on to reveal that 16% of drivers surveyed had either struck or almost struck a first responder or emergency vehicle stopped on or near the road. Despite the shockingly high numbers, 89% of drivers acknowledge that distracted motorists pose a significant threat to first responders, yet many choose to ignore that truth and put first responders at risk.
The final shocking statistic is that 80% of surveyed drivers slow down to get a better look at the incident, knowing full well that it can create a hazard by slowing and backing up traffic further. The results of this survey certainly reveal the dangers first responders face on roadways.
Here in the Whitesboro area, there have been a couple of incidents over the last few years that stand out in first responders’ memories. Several years ago, a Whitesboro Police Department squad car was rear-ended and totaled on Highway 82 while assisting with traffic control. Thankfully, it was unoccupied at the time. Two years ago on Highway 377, a motorist drove through traffic control measures set up by the Whitesboro Fire Department (WFD) and actually collided with a cow in the road that was previously struck and killed by another vehicle and awaiting removal. That incident, like last week, also saw several firefighters trying to get the driver’s attention as she moved past emergency equipment into the active accident scene. Just last year, a brand-new Grayson County Sheriff’s SUV was side-swiped on Highway 82 as it provided traffic control at an 18-wheeler accident for WFD.
These incidents show that WFD and surrounding first responders are not immune to these statistics. Almost every first responder can recall incidents where distracted drivers nearly caused secondary accidents or collisions on accident scenes.
WFD uses several methods to try and combat these hazards. The way emergency apparatus is staged on scene (referred to on the radio as a “block” or “blocker”) provides a blocked area to help protect first responders on the ground. Next, WFD has a series of cones, lights and portable speed bumps to help control, channel or stop traffic as needed. But these devices are only reliable if they have the attention of the drivers approaching them.
Next, the WFD apparatus are outfitted with the latest technologies for lighting and scene safety. The apparatus lighting includes directional arrows, automatically dimmed lighting at night and lights that will synchronize between multiple units to lessen blinding lights and potential distractions coming from the apparatus lights.
But everything comes down to the drivers passing the scene. They must be paying attention to what they are doing and prioritizing the lives of first responders (like Everett and Stanford) over their own distractions.
