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A Worrying and Potentially Harmful Attempt to Help a Crash Victim

Memphis Police Officer In Critical Condition After Crash

But here is the potentially very worrying aspect:

“Social media posts indicated that witnesses and bystanders rushed en masse to help flip the police vehicle back over onto its wheels after the tremendous wreck as first responders began arriving on the scene.”

Quote: “…thank you to those who ran to help turn the police car back over after it flipped” … But if the officer, presumably, was still in the vehicle and had suffered serious neck or spinal injuries, this action could have caused her permanent paralysis or even death!

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Should the USA Adopt the ‘Safety Corridor’ Approach for Crash Scenes?

Eight European countries are now requiring drivers to create a “safety corridor” to allow emergency vehicles swift access to trapped and injured people at crash scenes on congested roads.  This methodology could be a life-saver here in the USA, too.

Traffic separates to leave a ten-foot ‘lane’ to allow rescue and police vehicles to reach crash scenes. Getting this to work requires the provision of good education regarding the technique, together with enforcement that significantly penalizes those who selfishly try to cheat.  (Image courtesy of the ETSC)

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Roadside Safety for U.S. Law Enforcement Officers

One area of great concern to us at Road Safety USA is the welfare of state troopers and other emergency services personnel at traffic stops and highway incidents.  In the interests of full disclosure, the writer of this post is himself a retired traffic patrol police officer.

State police officer doing a traffic stop at night and nearly impossible to see until the last moment because he was not wearing a reflective jacket or vest.
A state trooper in significantly greater danger through the lack of reflective garments. As is so often the case, the flashing lights on the patrol vehicle were seriously dazzling, and the officer was effectively invisible until the last moments.  (Copyright image, 2017.)

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