This happened in 2003 not seen it before,has this happened in other places across America?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LC6oqLhbr0&feature=related

This has happened in Maryland also in some jurisdictions. The Maryland State Police are famous for demanding that fire apparatus not block lanes to keep traffic flowing, especially during rush hours. In one case in Western Maryland a few years ago, an entire crew was arrested.

Location: Baltimore

glenn still cant e-mail you at home not sure why it wont work can you e-mail me with the question about the TFFT thanks
john

Location: uk

John

sent you email

Glenn

That incident happened in St. Louis County (Mo.) on I-270 in the Robertson Fire District. The Hazelwood cop was, as usual, showing his authority and wanted the Captain to move his truck in order to open up another lane of traffic. Hey, why worry about the firefighter's and medic's safety, you know???!!!

The Robertson Fire Captain sued the cop and the case was just recently in the news. The judge ruled in favor of the Fire Captain.

Not that I would want a FF or medic injured, but this business of blocking two or more lanes (esp of a 2 or 3 lane highway) in rush hour traffic is not justifiable by any means. I said RUSH hour traffic, not off peak, not night...rush hour...when traffic is usually crawling. When you talk about affecting thousands (or more) lives by blocking significant portions of traffic for no reason, there is a problem, and I would love to see the OIC arrested. Now, before some of you ya hoos go nuts, go to firehouse.com or one of the line of duty death sites for firefighters and search on the leading of causes of death for firefighters. The top 2, in order, are heart attack, and vehicle accident (that being an accident involving the rig DRIVING to or from a scene, NOT from being struck by a moving vehicle. Statistically, if you were to total all the vehicle accidents in a year that firefighters responded to, and then total all the FF deaths or serious injuries from being rear ended and the number is statistically insignificant. We already have laws on the books for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, and here in Illinois "Scotts Law" which means a person who causes serious injury or death to a FF or other safety worker due to hitting a rig or person in an accident is a felony, punishable by substantial prison time. When traffic is already at a crawl, there is no reason to make it even more so and delay everyone just because it is your practice to automatically block a lane for the hell of it...and i have seen this done numerous times. Look at all the traffic stops that are made....how many times do you see another cop block the additional lane next to the traffic lane or shoulder, because another cop is doing a field sobriety test..or other investigation...answer is they don't! 99 times out of a hundred (unless its a felony stop), they pull directly behind the other police car, or SLIGHTLY to the side...they do NOT block additional lanes. I am all for safety..but if its good enough for the cops, its good enough for firefighters. After all...thats what FFs signed up for...knowing the job involved risks. We cannot eliminate all of them...and there is no need to inconvenience everyone else for safety sake, when the risk is extremely low to begin with. Why not focus on the more important risks to FF, heart attacks and cardiovascular disease, and driver training to avoid the even more needless deaths.

PS....funny how everyone is so concerned about ff safety....and yet a significant number of ff are killed or severely injured from accidents each year DUE TO NOT WEARING THEIR OWN SEAT BELTS. Again...sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

Location: Chicago

Not even worth a reply.

differ,
You are a MORON!!Who cares if you are slowed down? That Law does a lot of good to a Killed F/F...BUT,blocking the work area does.When you are involved in an Extrication,You don't think about looking to see if it's SAFE before you move.
The Idiot drivers don't CARE....Here again,It's Me,Me,Me....I can't be late.I need my coffee.Whatever excuse you want to use is not worth a FF's life. And Yes,IT HAS HAPPENED!!
Good enough for the PoPo IS NOT Good enough for the Fire Dept.,PERIOD!!
As far as eliminating ALL the risks,you are correct,you CAN'T. BUT,when you can eliminate one,We DO IT!!
So the next time you are broke down in traffic,cars whizzing by you or crawling really close to your body while working on your car or changing your flat, remember how you feel.
AND you know what you are going to do next.But it is still an unknown varible what YOUR FELLOW DRIVER is going to do next..

'I beg to differ' is too big of a wuss to use his own name.

Anyone who is of the opinion that it's OK to arrest the OIC because he/she is concerned for the safety of his/her crew on a highway incident, thus prompting the closure of busy highway lanes, has his brain up his a--.