While Lake Placid Police Officer James Fansler writes a citation, Ernest Gelinas with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office waits to catch a driver who failed to "move over," Friday in Sebring
BOOKMARKS TO LOCAL ARTICLES
COMMON SENSE CAN SAVE BIKER'S
LIVES 05/04/2005
TWO KILLED AFTER DEADLY ROAD RACE
06/20/2005
MOVE OVER OR
GET A TICKET 6/22/05
Speeding Remains
Big Factor In Traffic Fatalities 6/24/05
Trooper who
made Move Over ad is hit by SUV that didn't
"Move-Over"
Laws Help Protect Public Safety Personnel
COMMON SENSE CAN SAVE BIKERS
LIVES
A St. Pete Times Editorial
Published May 4, 2005
The growing popularity of motorcycle riding can be accompanied by
deadly consequences as three fatal accidents in nine hours on Pasco roads
illustrates.
George Stephanou, 40, of Wesley Chapel bought his 2002 Harley-Davidson
Sportster a week ago. The next day he lay dead on Fox Wood Boulevard
after slamming into a mailbox when he lost control of his motorcycle,
attempting to negotiate a slight curve in the road. Stephanou was not wearing a
helmet.
Neither was Adam Long, 22, of New Port Richey, who died just after
midnight Friday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa about eight hours after he
swerved his Honda motorcycle to the left to avoid a turning car on Little Road.
However, he could not miss hitting a Buick entering Little Road from
San Miguel Drive.
Wearing a helmet improves the chances of survival in an accident, but
it is no guarantee, as the third crash demonstrated. Justin Feagles, 23, of
Port Richey, who wore a helmet, died after his motorcycle collided with a
car at Regency Park Boulevard and Cay Drive about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Motorists must be aware of the growing number of motorcycle riders with
whom they share the road. Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Larry
Coggins Jr. urged drivers to use caution. Motorcyclists "are there,
they do share the road and motorists need to watch for them," he said.
Indeed. In the first 18 months after the state rescinded the mandatory
helmet law on July 1, 2000, motorcycle registration climbed 19 percent
to more than 433,000, according to a state study. Crashes increased 16
percent to 8,215 and fatalities went from 284 to 404, a 41.7 percent jump.
Motorcyclists give a litany of reasons for not wearing helmets: They
impair peripheral vision, they are hot, or they restrict the ability to talk
on cell phones. Other riders just like the feeling of the wind in their
hair.
Are any of those reasons good enough to risk death, or even more
commonly, permanent brain damage that destroys the ability to take care of
oneself?
Motorcycles are increasingly popular, with higher gasoline prices
considered one of the reasons. There is disagreement about whether
death rates are rising because there are more people riding motorcycles or
because more people are riding without helmets.
Enthusiasts cite their own statistics, including the boast that
eliminating the helmet law helped spur more than $1.2-billion worth of
motorcycle
sales, sales tax collections and registration fees within the state
between 2000 and 2003. The emphasis on dollars and cents over common sense,
however, fails to account for loss productivity and higher medical
costs from increasing deaths and injuries.
A state study found that injuries to motorcyclists who did not wear
helmets were more serious and more expensive to treat than those to riders who
wore helmets.
It is often said that government cannot legislate common sense. It
makes good sense for motorcyclists, who could in the blink of an eye wind up
on the hard pavement, to protect their heads with helmets. However, many
riders don't and even would argue that their nonsensical choice is a
good one.
Motorcyclists need to make additional choices to improve their chances
of having a safe ride: Drive within the speed limit and drive defensively.
These common sense choices will improve their own chances of enjoying
their hobby for many more years.
TWO KILLED AFTER DEADLY ROAD RACE
By SALLY VILLARREAL
HIGHLANDS TODAY
June 20, 2005
svillarreal@highlandstoday.com
SEBRING -- Two Avon Park residents were killed in the early hours of June 19 in
what the Florida Highway Patrol is calling a “speed competition.”
Daniel Mercado, 20, of Avon Park, and his passenger, Irenesse Mercado, 19, of
Avon Park, were pronounced dead on the scene after Daniel Mercado lost control
of the car he was driving and hit a palm tree. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, Daniel Mercado was
engaged in a “speed competition” with Luke Alexander Zapata, 19, of Avon Park,
at around 2:15 a.m. Sunday morning.
The two drivers were heading north on State Road 17 when Daniel Mercado drove
over a set of railroad tracks and became airborne. Once the car landed in the
southbound lane, Daniel Mercado lost control of the vehicle. The car traveled
onto the west shoulder of the road, spinning counter clockwise, and crashed into
the tree.
Zapata and his passenger, Fernando Alberto Schmidt, 19, also of Avon Park, were
unharmed.
According to the report, no charges have been filed to date in the incident.
This story can be found at: http://www.highlandstoday.com/MGBQ8X1X5AE.html
Jun 22, 2005
By ROBERT NAPPER
rnapper@highlandstoday.com
|
|
Highlands Today photo by KATHY WATERS While Lake Placid Police Officer James Fansler writes a citation, Ernest Gelinas with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office waits to catch a driver who failed to "move over," Friday in Sebring |
SEBRING — Dozens of drivers got a pricey reminder Tuesday, June 21 that law enforcement in Highlands County expects them to “move over” as it operates on the side of the road.
It was a frustrating day for some drivers who were handed a $115.50 citation.
“I probably shouldn’t say anything right now. This is just crazy,” said one driver pulled over on U.S. 27, just north of the Agri-Civic Center.
Members of every law enforcement agency in Highlands County took part in the multi-agency checkpoint from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. The multi-agency task force set up the checkpoint to increase enforcement of the “Move Over Act.”
The law, which passed in Florida July 1, 2002, states that drivers must move over to the opposite lane if a law enforcement officer or emergency worker is conducting roadside operations.
Here is how the checkpoint worked:
One law enforcement officer would pull over a vehicle for a traffic infraction such as speeding. Then another would watch to see if drivers pulled over to the opposite lane or slowed down according to the law.
“It creates a safety barrier for officers as they work on busy highways and roads,” said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joseph Franza.
If it is not safe to change lanes, the law says, a driver must slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit for that area. If the speed limit is less than 25 mph, a driver must slow down to 5 mph.
A steady flow of sheriff’s deputies, FHP troopers and Sebring, Avon Park and Lake Placid police made their presence known as they pulled over dozens of semi-trucks, sports cars and pickup trucks, among other vehicles.
Officer James Fansler, of the Lake Placid Police Department, wrote three “move over” tickets before the first half hour of the operation was up.
“I think it is great. I have had several close calls in the past,” said Fansler.
Between writing citations, sheriff’s deputy Mitch Moore recalled a close call of his own.
“I have been in a situation where I was brushed by a car while I was working on the side of the road. I could have easily been killed. I guess you can say I was lucky,” said Moore.
Lake Placid Police Chief Phil Williams said he was impressed by how many people were making the necessary lane changes or slowing down for officers.
“I am seeing a lot of people doing the right thing, and that is great,” said Williams. “I wish we could pull them over too and thank them.”
Drivers will get
another chance to give law enforcement officer some room. There will be another
checkpoint operation Thursday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at a location that has not
yet been chosen, Williams said.
This story can be found at:
http://www.highlandstoday.com/MGB3CM5P8AE.html
Jun 24, 2005
Speeding Remains Big
Factor In Traffic Fatalities
By ROBERT NAPPER
rnapper@highlandstoday.com
National and state statistics show speeding is a major factor in many serious accidents.
SEBRING — The recent fatal accident in which two young adults were killed, in what law enforcement claim was an instance of street racing gone wrong, underscores that speed and automobiles are often a lethal mix.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Daniel Mercado, 19, of Avon Park, and the young mother of his child, Irenesse Mercado, 19, were killed early Sunday while Mercado was racing his Honda Civic on State Road 17, just north of Lake Letta Drive in Avon Park.
Investigations revealed the Honda went airborne after Daniel Mercado drove over railroad tracks and lost control of his vehicle. He was racing a friend in another car at speeds up to 100 mph, according to FHP Sgt. Gary McDonald.
Two studies released this year show that speeding is a major factor in fatal accidents in Florida and nationwide.
A study by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which compiles the latest crash statistics in the state, shows that more than 14 percent of all fatal accidents in 2003 were caused by drivers that are speeding. Of the 3,179 crash-related fatalities, 464 were caused by speeding.
The U.S. Department of Transportation released a study this month that shows similar statistics nationwide. Of all the fatal accidents in the country in 2002, one-third, or 13,713, were caused by drivers that were speeding.
"I say over and over that speed kills," said McDonald.
Alcohol, speed and fatal accidents are also linked:
In fatal accidents nationwide, 41 percent were driving under the influence of alcohol at a level .08 or higher, as compared to 14 percent of sober drivers, the U.S. DOT study said.
Alcohol-related crashes in Highlands County have also steadily been rising since 1999, until a dip in 2003 to 79, according to the Florida HSMV study.
The U.S. DOT study also shows that males are much more likely than females to be involved in a speeding-related fatal crash.
Traffic enforcement on U.S. 27 in Highlands County has been a constant concern as both vehicle trips and speed increases on the busy highway.
On Tuesday, members of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, FHP and Avon Park, Sebring and Lake Placid police departments took part in a multi-agency crackdown on the "Move Over Act," which mandates that drivers change lanes to provide room for law enforcement operate on the side of the road.
The operation was also an effort to slow drivers down as officers conducted intense radar work on U.S. 27 from the Agri-Civic Center south to U.S. 98. Rain Thursday prevented a second such operation this week in the area.
"We got a lot of feedback from our operation on Tuesday," said Lake Placid Police Department Chief Phil Williams. "Some people didn’t like it, but most of them had gotten a ticket. For the most part, it seemed like people were happy with any kind of increased presence on U.S. 27."
This story can be found at: http://www.highlandstoday.com/MGBVONSKBAE.html
Published September 1, 2004
Trooper who
made Move Over ad is hit by SUV that didn't
By Associated Press
Published September 1, 2004
FORT LAUDERDALE - A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was hospitalized after a sport-utility vehicle sideswiped his patrol car, less than two months after he was featured in a traffic safety campaign to prevent such accidents.
Trooper John Baker, 38, was pulled over Monday on Interstate 95, writing a report in his patrol car with the emergency lights on, when a Ford SUV veered off the road and sideswiped the car, said FHP Lt. Roger J. Reyes.
The SUV swerved back into traffic and hit a Dodge Neon, then stopped on the shoulder, the FHP said.
Baker suffered a bump on his head, sore muscles and injuries from flying glass. Three passengers in the Dodge suffered minor injuries.
Baker and his 9-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn, appeared at a July 1 news conference for the second anniversary of the state's "Move Over" law. The law requires drivers to move into other lanes or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles that are stopped on highways.
From 1996 to 2000, Florida drivers crashed into law enforcement vehicles stopped on roadways 1,793 times, causing five deaths and 419 injuries, according to the FHP.
The SUV driver, Stanley Midi, 23, of Lauderdale Lakes, was cited for failing to maintain a lane and for failing to obey the Move Over law, Reyes said.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/09/01/State/Trooper_who_made_Move.shtml
| June 16, 2003 "Move-Over" Laws Help Protect Public Safety Personnel Editors Column Quite a few states, and even Canadian provinces, have recently adopted laws intended to help protect police officers, fire and EMS personnel, and other emergency responders as they perform their missions on our nation's crowded highways. To ease emergency vehicle movement through congested traffic, most jurisdictions have long had laws requiring motorists to slow and move to the shoulder upon the approach of an emergency vehicle. The new breed of "move over / slow down" law serves another purpose, one that any police officer who has ever made a traffic stop or firefighter who has worked an accident scene while being buzzed by speeding traffic can easily relate to - to protect emergency responders while operating at emergency scenes. News stories abound about police officers and fire/EMS personnel who have been injured or killed in the line of duty when struck by moving traffic. Chicago fire lieutenant Scott Gillen was struck and killed two days before Christmas, on December 23, 2000, while working at an accident scene. Walking an ambulatory accident victim to their medic unit on a rain slicked Oklahoma interstate, paramedics Shawn Skelly and Shane Gilmore and their patient were killed when they were slammed into the ambulance by an out of control sports utility vehicle. While investigating an accident in January, 2000, Centerville, Ohio police officer John Kalaman and Washington Township firefighters Robert O'Toole and Charles Arnold were all struck by a vehicle sliding on black ice, leaving Kalaman and O'Toole dead and Arnold hospitalized in a coma for weeks. While performing traffic control functions as a fire police officer, veteran volunteer firefighter Joe Kroboth, Sr., was struck and killed as he directed traffic around an earlier accident scene on a Maryland interstate in 1997. During the course of a routine traffic stop, Indiana State Trooper Richard Gaston and the two occupants of the stopped vehicle - a grandfather and his 11 year old grandson -- were all killed, and Gaston's partner seriously injured, when their vehicles were struck by a tractor trailer in March, 1999. There are endless accounts of public safety personnel being struck and killed across the nation. Incidents resulting in death are dwarfed by the much larger numbers of injuries arising from similar incidents, while both of these categories are dwarfed by the even greater number of "close calls" experienced by virtually every seasoned emergency responder. But even with the large number of injuries and deaths attributable to "struck-by" incidents every year, they are not tracked by any formal, nationwide data repository or centralized record keeping systems. Many, in not most, of these incidents, particularly the close calls, are simply never reported anywhere. But what statistics there are tend to be startling. For example, "nine of the 29 Oklahoma troopers killed in the line of duty during the patrol's history were hit by drivers while investigating crashes, making traffic stops, or assisting disabled motorists." Emergency services personnel know to "watch their backs" when performing duties amidst traffic, and nearly everyone has heard of one or more of the legion of "struck-by" tragedies that have killed or seriously injured emergency services personnel, but the lack of validated statistics tends to mask the gravity this issue. As such, few large-scale efforts to systematically combat this problem have developed, and training is scattered at best. Because of the nature of police duties, which often involves frequent traffic stops and traffic direction duties, police curricula and education does detail the hazards of moving traffic and operating in its midst. Conversely, fire and EMS training and curricula have generally not placed great emphasis on these hazards. While they may slowly be garnering the attention of the fire and EMS community, they do not receive nearly the same focus as Federally mandated hazardous materials or blood-borne pathogen training, despite the fact that emergency responders may face these traffic hazards on a much more routine basis. Despite the lack of any major national focus on the hazards of conducting public safety operations amidst moving traffic, the rash of tragic incidents has served as a touchstone in a number of states for "move over / slow down" legislation. While referred to by a host of names in the 21 states in which they have been enacted (see reference table), they generally share a common approach by requiring motorists, upon approaching stationary emergency vehicles with activated emergency lights flashing, to either move to a lane at least one lane away from the emergency vehicle, and/or to slow down to a reasonable speed that is safe given the situation. Legislation in South Carolina, for example, was tirelessly promoted by paramedic James Garcia after he was struck and seriously injured in the line of duty while tending to the victim of a previous accident. The laws in South Carolina were in such a sad state of affairs at the time that there were no protections for responders operating at accident scenes, and Paramedic Garcia was actually determined to be at fault for being in the roadway where he was struck! Lt. Scott Gillen's death in Illinois fueled the passage shortly afterwards of legislation known as "Scott's Law," dedicated to his memory. Scott's law requires motorists approaching stationary emergency vehicles that have emergency lights activated to either change lanes to a lane not adjacent to the emergency vehicle, or, if that would be impossible or unsafe, to reduce speed to a speed safe for the road conditions. Violation of Scott's law can result in fines upwards of $10,000, and license suspension for upwards of two years. Ohio's "move over / slow down" law came about after the collision that took the lives of both officer Kalaman and firefighter O'Toole. Following his death, Kalaman's parents tirelessly advocated for the passage of such legislation to ensure that other emergency responders were better protected. Although its penalties are less stringent than Illinois' statute, allowing only for issuance of a citation, its move over/slow down features are otherwise similar to the Illinois' statute. The state maintains an excellent website promoting the law at: http://www.state.oh.us/ohiostatepatrol/MoveOver/MoveOver.htm Upon enactment, "move over / slow down" laws tend to be well publicized. Either because the laws have come on the heels of a recent tragedy, because there are vocal public safety advocates, or because these laws are somewhat unusual - or perhaps for all three reasons, frequent newspaper articles generally alert the public that the new laws are in force. But, the educational impact of this media coverage is muted by the fact that many drivers may not see the newspaper or television news stories about the laws, those who do may forget over time, and many drivers may come from either out-of-state or other regions without good media coverage. Nevertheless, it is this public education component which is, perhaps, the most important feature of these laws. It is one thing to ensure that motorists who strike emergency responders suffer consequences, but it is another thing entirely - and in reality, the most important goal - to ensure that no emergency responders are struck in the first place. The most effective way to ensure this is, therefore, not to simply advocate for the passage of "move over - slow down" legislation, but rather to use this as just part of a public education campaign. This lesson proves to be universal, hardly limited to the U.S. While speaking about similar legislation recently proposed in Ontario, Canada, Public Safety Minister Bob Runciman said "the intent of this legislation is to provide a platform for educating the public . . . [which] clearly aren't aware of what they should be doing when an emergency vehicle is pulled off to the side of the road." Ontario's legislation was proposed in late 2002, after the deaths of four provincial police officers, and countless near-misses, during the previous five years. Florida's "Move Over Act" has just taken effect, and offers a good model for public education. The act states that the "Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide an educational awareness campaign informing the motoring public about the Move Over Act," including promoting the Act in all newly printed driver's license educational materials. Florida officials also appear to maintain a good "struck-by" record keeping system, at least for law enforcement incidents, with the State Highway Patrol reporting a startling 1,793 crashes into stopped law enforcement vehicles between 1996 and 2000, resulting in five deaths and 419 injuries. Indiana's "move over" law was passed just weeks after the horrific accident that took the life of Trooper Gaston and two others. To ensure that the message gets out, one Indiana trooper "staples a copy of an [Indiana State Police] brochure explaining the law in detail to each warning slip he writes." Also promoting the new law, Indiana's Department of Transportation "has posted hundreds of signs, particularly along the state's borders, warning motorists about the move-over law." The State of Ohio adopted a similar approach, installing 75 signs along interstate highways, state routes, and U.S. routes throughout the state reading "State Law. Move Over or Slow Down for Stopped Law Enforcement and Public Safety Vehicles." No law, unfortunately, can protect all emergency responders. The nation's dedicated public safety personnel will continue to be confronted with their fair share of drunk, drugged, dozed, distracted, or dumb drivers, all aiming for them, intentionally or unintentionally, as they perform their duties to protect and serve on our nation's roadways. But "move over / slow down" laws, and the concomitant public education efforts, are at least one step to protect the protectors. http://www.respondersafety.com/editorscolumn/2003/mar1.html |