Life Distracted Driving: Through the Eyes of a Trooper - Page 3

**Lzen** · 11:44 AM

It is Put The Brake On Fatalities recognition at KDOT. Just thought I'd pass this along. This is a subject that is very near and dear to me as I have been on road projects in the past. My son is now an employee at KDOT in Olathe. On Friday, someone slammed into the back of one of their trucks on a road project in KC. He was okay, just shaken up about it. I told him you gotta keep your head on a swivel out there.

Remember that the highway work zone is a person's work area. They have wife, husbands, kids, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters that love them and would like to see them again just like the rest of us.

http://ksdotblog.blogspot.com/2014/1...h-eyes-of.html

Distracted Driving: Through the Eyes of a Trooper

By Sage Hill

As a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper assigned to the Turnpike, you might expect my story to involve an accident that I personally worked. While it’s true that I have worked many horrific crashes, my personal involvement in this piece doesn’t place me at the scene of one. Let me explain.

On July 1, 2014, I was working a voluntary overtime day as part of federally funded program to enhance roadway safety during major travel holidays. Pretty early in the shift I noticed KTA maintenance crews were busy painting new roadway lines and stripes just north of the Oklahoma state line. Throughout the morning and early afternoon I stayed in the area so motorists could observe a patrol unit close to the crews, and I stopped several cars for various violations.

Later in the afternoon I was in a line of slow moving traffic passing the paint crew when I noticed a vehicle coming up from behind them very fast. The maintenance personnel were in the right lane painting, while multiple conspicuous warning signs and flashing lights directed traffic to slowly pass in the left lane. I looked at my own speed, under 40 mph, and then checked the vehicle I had been watching with radar. I was terrified by when I saw it was going 76 mph, and still in the right lane screaming up behind the maintenance vehicles.

“Unbelievable,” I thought to myself. How in the world could this guy not see all the flashing lights, warning signs, and other traffic that had slowed and moved to the other lane? As I paid closer attention, I thought I saw something in his hand above the steering wheel.

I continued to watch and observed no change. My radar gave a solid tone of 76 mph as the car was now only a short distance from the back of the rear truck in the consist of work vehicles. I was unable to warn the maintenance crew, and a very unusual sense of helplessness struck as I realized there was literally nothing I could do to change what I was seeing. Nausea began to settle into my gut and I took hold of my radio mic, preparing to place the request for additional help that I was sure I would need.

Then, with what I still believe were literally inches to spare, the vehicle jerked to left lane, narrowly missing the maintenance truck. The tone on my radar unit heaved and the display told me it had suddenly decreased speed in order to not strike the rear of the car in front of it. Swaying movements within its lane told me the driver was still trying to regain complete control after the sudden jerk to the other lane. As we passed the line of maintenance vehicles, I made an effort to calm down. Even though I was disturbed with what I had just seen- I would still need to be courteous when I stopped the driver of the vehicle.

Once we reached a safe spot past the work zone, I slowed to the shoulder and allowed the car to pass before turning on my red and blue lights to stop him. When I walked up, I saw a young man that was out of breath and had trembling hands. I was actually pretty pleased to see that he understood the gravity of what had just taken place. After making sure he was okay, I asked him what had happened. He was unable to construct a concise sentence due to his excited mental state, but nodded toward his phone that had been thrown to the other side of the car. I prepared a citation for failing to yield to a roadside maintenance crew, and soon he was on his way after assuming responsibility for over three hundred dollars in fines and the knowledge that he nearly killed himself.

The next morning I was drinking a cup of coffee in my home preparing for a day off when I saw something miserable on the news: A young woman had rear-ended a KTA paint crew in the very same area, and had lost her life as a result. Images from the scene depicted her destroyed car, and my fellow troopers that worked the crash said they strongly believe that texting was a contributing factor. All I could think about was how close the guy I stopped had come to suffering the same fate.

Driving is something many of us take for granted. We do it routinely for so many different reasons; it’s just another facet of our everyday lives that can seamlessly blend with the others. The same is true for our almost inexplicable need to be “connected” to the rest of the world. We simultaneously use our phones while we carry out countless other daily tasks, so it’s easy to allow it into our world while driving. I’m pleading with you – don’t. As a single 24-hour period in July can prove to you, the results can be horrendous.

I hope you never make us write that ticket. Even more, I hope you never make us work that crash.

Sage Hill is a Master Trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol – Troop G (KTA)

**loochy** · 10-06-2014, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

I just can't imagine ever getting to the point I would trust a computer to drive for me.

you trust them to fly for you

**007** · 10-06-2014, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loochy

you trust them to fly for you

It helps that I cannot see out the cockpit window. To be sitting in my drivers seat knowing how I would react to something and waiting for the computer to react or seeing it do something different would not sit well with me.

ThaVirus · 10-06-2014, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

Phones should have a "driving" setting. You just press one button when you get in your car and everything -- calls, texts, emails, alerts -- are sent to a holding bin and delivered to you when you disable the hold. People who send you texts or calls are given a message that you are driving and it's dangerous to pick up or reply. There could be an emergency override of this if it is truly an emergency.

In a perfect world.

Would never work in ours.

Amnorix · 10-06-2014, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

I just can't imagine ever getting to the point I would trust a computer to drive for me.

That would be difficult, but I'd probably be happy that computers were driving for others.

Imagine, drunk driving -- eliminated. Sleepy/tired driving -- eliminated. Driving while high on meth, or heroin, or whatever -- eliminated. Distracted driving -- eliminated.

Another upside -- real time coordination regarding traffic. You're heading from X to Y, and the normal route is heavily congested. Your car automatically adjusts to use alternative routes. Other cars also adjust automatically.

Parking. Your car will know where it will park when it gets there. A space is reserved for you so that when you arrive, it will automatically go to its space.

This isn't some George Jetsons version of the future. This is being worked on NOW, and we will very likely see some or all of this during our lifetimes. Imagine the veterans of World War II -- someone telling them that during their lifetime an American flag would be planted on the moon, when rockets had barely been invented, and in an age before computers really existed.

The far distant future is not so far as one might think.

vailpass · 10-06-2014, 03:11 PM

Hands free phone with audio text or nothing.

BucEyedPea · 10-06-2014, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baconeater

Meh...won't do any good. Too many people think their phone call or text is just too damn important.

Driving while texting is illegal in 38 states now.

BucEyedPea · 10-06-2014, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

They're laying the groundwork for laws requiring all cars to be automated.

I hope those are an epic fail in the market.

BucEyedPea · 10-06-2014, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loochy

People don't use headsets or in-car systems?

I've seen someone I work with use a hands-free Bluetooth in his ear while driving.

BucEyedPea · 10-06-2014, 03:20 PM

Laws keep changing as technology changes. Here's a list of the states that ban, partially ban texting and the ones that have hands free laws while driving.

http://www.drivinglaws.org/indexhf.php

BucEyedPea · 10-06-2014, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

Yep, it was a phone user that rolled my minivan back in 2009. I don't care how proficient you think you are with a phone you are not proficient enough. Put the damn phone down.

A truck driver was answering a text as he pull up to a red light. He wound up rear ending my daughter pushing under the truck in front of her with both ends of the car squished. She's lucky she was not seriously injured.

rabblerouser · 10-06-2014, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

Phones should have a "driving" setting. You just press one button when you get in your car and everything -- calls, texts, emails, alerts -- are sent to a holding bin and delivered to you when you disable the hold. People who send you texts or calls are given a message that you are driving and it's dangerous to pick up or reply. There could be an emergency override of this if it is truly an emergency.

I have that on my phone - 'Drive Mode'.

**Perineum Ripper** · 10-06-2014, 03:33 PM

I worked for a street maintenance crew for the city..I don't know how many times I or one of the other guys had to jump into the ditch or behind the truck because people would almost hit us from not paying attention

crazycoffey · 10-06-2014, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

A new study conducted on the behalf of AAA has brought the debate back to life by saying that hands-free devices aren't a safe alternative to chatting while driving. The study headed by University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer concludes that it's not a lack of free hands that makes talking and driving dangerous, it's the simple fact that you're splitting your attention between the road and arguing over dinner plans.

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/tal...n-your-phone-1

Hands free devices are just as distracting as having a conversation in the car.

But I disagree that it's just as dangerous as talking without a handsfree device. Whichever hand is holding the phone to your head is taking away peripheral vision, making it more difficult to catch a vehicle in a "blind spot" during lane changes. One hand on the wheel is not as effective when it comes to sudden evasive driving than having two hands.

BucEyedPea · 10-06-2014, 03:49 PM

Everytime I see one of those Mack trucks on the highway and I see them swerving making me hesitant to pass, I eventually see that they're eating something. It's usually something causing them to drive like that. Truckers are supposed to be the best drivers too.

**Donger** · 10-06-2014, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

This may well happen during our lifetimes, and will probably greatly improve traffic, parking and many other headaches of daily driving.

On the downside, a computer glitch could kill dozens if not hundreds, or thousands, but hey, best not to think about that.

Honestly, I'd rather have my life in the hands of software engineers instead of the general public.

10-06-2014, 11:34 AM
Lzen Supporter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Jan Quadrant Vincent 16 Casino cash: $1860692	Distracted Driving: Through the Eyes of a Trooper It is Put The Brake On Fatalities recognition at KDOT. Just thought I'd pass this along. This is a subject that is very near and dear to me as I have been on road projects in the past. My son is now an employee at KDOT in Olathe. On Friday, someone slammed into the back of one of their trucks on a road project in KC. He was okay, just shaken up about it. I told him you gotta keep your head on a swivel out there. Remember that the highway work zone is a person's work area. They have wife, husbands, kids, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters that love them and would like to see them again just like the rest of us. http://ksdotblog.blogspot.com/2014/1...h-eyes-of.html Distracted Driving: Through the Eyes of a Trooper By Sage Hill As a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper assigned to the Turnpike, you might expect my story to involve an accident that I personally worked. While it’s true that I have worked many horrific crashes, my personal involvement in this piece doesn’t place me at the scene of one. Let me explain. On July 1, 2014, I was working a voluntary overtime day as part of federally funded program to enhance roadway safety during major travel holidays. Pretty early in the shift I noticed KTA maintenance crews were busy painting new roadway lines and stripes just north of the Oklahoma state line. Throughout the morning and early afternoon I stayed in the area so motorists could observe a patrol unit close to the crews, and I stopped several cars for various violations. Later in the afternoon I was in a line of slow moving traffic passing the paint crew when I noticed a vehicle coming up from behind them very fast. The maintenance personnel were in the right lane painting, while multiple conspicuous warning signs and flashing lights directed traffic to slowly pass in the left lane. I looked at my own speed, under 40 mph, and then checked the vehicle I had been watching with radar. I was terrified by when I saw it was going 76 mph, and still in the right lane screaming up behind the maintenance vehicles. “Unbelievable,” I thought to myself. How in the world could this guy not see all the flashing lights, warning signs, and other traffic that had slowed and moved to the other lane? As I paid closer attention, I thought I saw something in his hand above the steering wheel. I continued to watch and observed no change. My radar gave a solid tone of 76 mph as the car was now only a short distance from the back of the rear truck in the consist of work vehicles. I was unable to warn the maintenance crew, and a very unusual sense of helplessness struck as I realized there was literally nothing I could do to change what I was seeing. Nausea began to settle into my gut and I took hold of my radio mic, preparing to place the request for additional help that I was sure I would need. Then, with what I still believe were literally inches to spare, the vehicle jerked to left lane, narrowly missing the maintenance truck. The tone on my radar unit heaved and the display told me it had suddenly decreased speed in order to not strike the rear of the car in front of it. Swaying movements within its lane told me the driver was still trying to regain complete control after the sudden jerk to the other lane. As we passed the line of maintenance vehicles, I made an effort to calm down. Even though I was disturbed with what I had just seen- I would still need to be courteous when I stopped the driver of the vehicle. Once we reached a safe spot past the work zone, I slowed to the shoulder and allowed the car to pass before turning on my red and blue lights to stop him. When I walked up, I saw a young man that was out of breath and had trembling hands. I was actually pretty pleased to see that he understood the gravity of what had just taken place. After making sure he was okay, I asked him what had happened. He was unable to construct a concise sentence due to his excited mental state, but nodded toward his phone that had been thrown to the other side of the car. I prepared a citation for failing to yield to a roadside maintenance crew, and soon he was on his way after assuming responsibility for over three hundred dollars in fines and the knowledge that he nearly killed himself. The next morning I was drinking a cup of coffee in my home preparing for a day off when I saw something miserable on the news: A young woman had rear-ended a KTA paint crew in the very same area, and had lost her life as a result. Images from the scene depicted her destroyed car, and my fellow troopers that worked the crash said they strongly believe that texting was a contributing factor. All I could think about was how close the guy I stopped had come to suffering the same fate. Driving is something many of us take for granted. We do it routinely for so many different reasons; it’s just another facet of our everyday lives that can seamlessly blend with the others. The same is true for our almost inexplicable need to be “connected” to the rest of the world. We simultaneously use our phones while we carry out countless other daily tasks, so it’s easy to allow it into our world while driving. I’m pleading with you – don’t. As a single 24-hour period in July can prove to you, the results can be horrendous. I hope you never make us write that ticket. Even more, I hope you never make us work that crash. Sage Hill is a Master Trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol – Troop G (KTA) Last edited by Lzen; 10-06-2014 at 11:44 AM..
Posts: 41,497

10-06-2014, 03:11 PM	#35
vailpass Psycho Bag Of Squanch Join Date: Sep 2001 Casino cash: $9594244	Hands free phone with audio text or nothing. __________________ “Education is a weapon whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” Joseph Stalin
Posts: 69,591

10-06-2014, 03:20 PM	#39
BucEyedPea Gimme My Berries Back! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: None of your business Casino cash: $2919963	Laws keep changing as technology changes. Here's a list of the states that ban, partially ban texting and the ones that have hands free laws while driving. http://www.drivinglaws.org/indexhf.php
Posts: 161,934

10-06-2014, 03:33 PM	#42
Perineum Ripper Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Missouri Casino cash: $1389542	I worked for a street maintenance crew for the city..I don't know how many times I or one of the other guys had to jump into the ditch or behind the truck because people would almost hit us from not paying attention
Posts: 5,229

10-06-2014, 03:49 PM	#44
BucEyedPea Gimme My Berries Back! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: None of your business Casino cash: $2919963	Everytime I see one of those Mack trucks on the highway and I see them swerving making me hesitant to pass, I eventually see that they're eating something. It's usually something causing them to drive like that. Truckers are supposed to be the best drivers too.
Posts: 161,934