Safety on the Roadway
We can not control the actions of others and when we are operating in an environment populated by people who under the best of circumstances are rushing from point A to point B while eating, drinking, reading newspapers, shaving, and watching DVD movies, oh ya, by the way they are driving their vehicle through an emergency scene that we are doing our jobs in while they are accomplishing all these tasks.
One of the real bothering issues is that for a lot of us as soon as we are complete of these emergency responses we have to leave the station and go to our own full time jobs just like the people who gave us no safety consideration an hour earlier.
When called upon to respond to emergencies on the highways and roadways in our response area. You and I cannot drink and be able to perform our duties safely, so the issue of drinking and driving for us is rather obvious. We however need to be aware of the motorist driving through our emergency scene who may and could be under the influence alcohol.
I'm not going to dwell on the use of alcohol by our members when on duty or not. We all know the department policy and the one and only end result of this behavior. Find something else to do, you are done.
I have something critical for you to remember as you operate on the highway at a car fire, or a motor vehicle accident. The people in the passing vehicles may not be as smart as us.
We have policies, procedures, and protective equipment. They have their cell phones, cosmetics, newspapers, rolls, and coffee. We have to pay attention to what we are doing. They should, but most do not.
Oh, we are well aware that what we do is important to society and the folks we might be helping at any given time. Sadly, to the rest of the world, we are just a setback, roadblock or a speed bump on their way to work, shopping, appointments, or where ever. We are a pain in their collective rear ends.
We need to keep stopping at stop signs, keep our eyes on the road, wear our seat belts, wear our safety vests when operating near roadways and in traffic, wear all our PPE including helmets, and watch out for our fellow firefighters on all emergency scenes. We have to be careful out there and take care of each other.
We need to shut down traffic when warranted and spot our apparatus in the safe positions and pay attention to our actions as well as the actions of the public.
Thanks to ResponderSafety.com and Closecalls.com for their information on Highway Safety and other safety issues that affect us every time we leave our homes to report to the station and when responding to or returning from an emergency or non-emergency call.
FULL STOPS, TIMELY STOPS, SAFE SPEEDS, SEATBELTS, SAFETY VESTS, SAFE PRACTICES IN THE STATION AND ON SCENE, LOOK OUT FOR YOUR FELLOW FIREFIGHTERS, OFFICERS DO NOT PUT OUR PEOPLE IN UNSAFE POSITIONS. All these things add up to Everyone Going Home Safe.
