not seeing , another accident

[peter lena 8,413]

was just out ,  just up the road from me is a  4 way , traffic  cross, elevated approach , my side , woman drove right into stone wall , other side , cop had his unit parked in lower blind area of  traffic flow , so traffic was blind to situation . suggested to cop to  move his unit , to a  high road  point , gave me a sneer , just after that  , car coming , blind to  problem, was  hard on brakes / skidding , almost hit  police car . just sayin , pete 

[ri702bill 8,039]

The cop should have assessed the situation a bit more - perhaps hurried to check on the driver??

No need to make a bad situation worse.....perhaps he was waiting for "backup" to bring the coffee & donuts...

[Ed Kennell 37,282]

I have a lot of respect for our law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs.   Unfortunately bad decisions are sometimes made.

Last week we had two local fire trucks collide sending six firemen to the hospital and destroying equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

 

[Handy Don 11,820]

2 hours ago, peter lena said:

gave me a sneer

The badge doesn’t add common sense.

 

1 hour ago, Ed Kennell said:

Last week we had two local fire trucks collide

Couple years ago a local firefighter (also a police officer) was out “practicing” driving the department’s tanker truck. Took a turn too fast and rolled it. He was unhurt and luckily no other cars or property were damaged, but the truck was totaled. $500,000 to replace.

Edited July 23 by Handy Don

[JoeM 7,870]

Think that is bad, check out the Secret Service! 

The best of the best!

[Handy Don 11,820]

2 hours ago, JoeM said:

Think that is bad, check out the Secret Service! 

The best of the best!

This will become a case study for every law enforcement college degree.

Former presidents get a basic security detail but NOT “presidential” security.

Presidential candidates get a more enhanced level, but still not “presidential” security.

It has long been known that there is no such thing as absolute or airtight protection.

President Clinton jokingly referred to the White House, probably the single most protected spot, as “the crown jewel of the federal penitentiary system” yet there have been breaches even there.

Edited July 23 by Handy Don

[adsm08 1,801]

7 hours ago, peter lena said:

was just out ,  just up the road from me is a  4 way , traffic  cross, elevated approach , my side , woman drove right into stone wall , other side , cop had his unit parked in lower blind area of  traffic flow , so traffic was blind to situation . suggested to cop to  move his unit , to a  high road  point , gave me a sneer , just after that  , car coming , blind to  problem, was  hard on brakes / skidding , almost hit  police car . just sayin , pete 

 

 

About two years ago I was on my way home from work when I came on an accident. Traffic was stopped going the other way, tow trucks had all their flashy distracting lights on, and the lady cop who was directing the scene was standing right in front of the cab-over Chevy box truck that was facing me with his high-beams on.

 

I couldn't see her through the glare from the Chevy's lights and almost hit her because she was on the yellow line. She was mad at me for almost hitting her, but didn't take kindly to the suggestion that she have the box truck turn his lights off so that on-coming traffic could actually see her.

 

In fact the only reason I was on my brakes at all ( I was already only going about 15 or 20 mph) was because one of the tow truck drivers crossed the road and I saw him as he fully blocked the Chevy's head lights. If it hadn't been for that I wouldn't have known there were any people on the road.

[ri702bill 8,039]

5 hours ago, Handy Don said:

was out “practicing” driving the department’s tanker truck. Took a turn too fast and rolled it

A fully loaded Tanker is nothing to take lightly -  loaded to the max with a cargo that can and will shift according to the baffling (or lack of it) inside... HIGH center of gravity  AND a stopping distance probably 3X or 4X that of empty...  Strap in & enjoy the ride!!!!

[953 nut 54,156]

Many years ago I was a volunteer fireman in a small town. Standard operating procedure for any ambulance call was to have our small pumper also respond to provide a safety barrier for the ambulance crew. We never left a driveway until the pumper had both lanes of traffic stopped.

[ri702bill 8,039]

Our local full time Fire Department Station is about a half a mile away, BUT the Rescue truck is at the Central Downtown  Main Station 3 miles away.

Over the years, we had to call for a Rescue service, but Engine 4 was always here first - I'd tell thm "Engine 4 is first to the door, to access and get control, the Rescue shows up just to transport, after taking a stroll..." Great folks at Engine 4...

 

Engine 4 met an untimely demise about 10 years ago while fighting a fire downtown one night. A wood frame building on a corner that housed 2 businesses caught fire, a second alarm was sounded due to the close proximity of occupied houses. The neighboring City sent their high pressure pumper and was on the other street - the water jet tore thru the upper floor, directly filling the air intake of Engine 4. Hydrostatic lock, the motor was done for. - she was out of service....

I had occasion to go to the Town Garage a few years back to drop off some items - what was left of Engine 4 after being stripped of any servicable parts lay in in weeds, awaiting the scrap truck. I made a point of going over to her and put my hand on the hood and said "Thanks for your Service. Well done".

[Mickwhitt 4,400]

The highway is a very dangerous place on foot. Being at the scene of an incident demands a whole lot of common sense and the ability to make sure everyone stays safe.

Most young cops don't have that level of common sense, heck some of them still get dropped off at work by their parents!

That said I did used to get a lot of "Advice" from folk when on cordon duty at a scene and not all of it was as useful as some of that spoken about previously. 

One time I was closing a main road where a guy had been killed by a car, his body was still in the carriageway to allow forensic examination.  He was way out of view of the cordon. 

A woman stopped to ask, no tell me, to let her through as she needed to get to her mother's house. I politely declined, explaining there had been a serious incident.  She persisted saying she had to get through. I established her mum did not live within the cordon area and suggested she find an alternative route. She persisted again, saying she didn't know the area and simply had to drive down this stretch of road and that all I had to do was lift a little bit of tape for her.

I declined again and advised her to leave. She was a persistent little bugger and again insisted there was no other way for her to go.

I offered to radio my colleagues pull the body out of the road to allow her to pass, buy warned her not to drive through the blood if she possibly could so they could put it back where it came from before the coroner arrived.

Totally missing the heavy sarcasm in my voice She thought that was a smashing idea and put her car in gear. I shouted at her that reverse was the only gear she needed and that if she didn't vamoos immediately I would engage in a different duty and arrest her for anything I could think of. She left rather sheepishly and never acted on her threat to have ne sacked for my lack of empathy for her plight. 

 

[adsm08 1,801]

On 7/23/2024 at 7:16 PM, ri702bill said:

A fully loaded Tanker is nothing to take lightly -  loaded to the max with a cargo that can and will shift according to the baffling (or lack of it) inside... HIGH center of gravity  AND a stopping distance probably 3X or 4X that of empty...  Strap in & enjoy the ride!!!!

 

This is also why cargo ships with granular payloads list and sink so often. Under certain conditions a payload of granular solids can behave like a liquid, and then suddenly resolidify.

[peter lena 8,413]

@adsm08  yesterday , while driving past the submarine base in groton ct , north bound , saw a person on a motorcycle , with an X across his / her chest , light colored jacket , looked strange , it was strange , the X were his / her arms crossed , riding the cycle with no hand control  !  you can't fix stupid  , pete

[Handy Don 11,820]

3 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

This is also why cargo ships with granular payloads list and sink so often. Under certain conditions a payload of granular solids can behave like a liquid, and then suddenly resolidify.

Reinforces the method of dividing a hull or tank into several separate segments, each of which can be filled to the top with no room for shifting or else left empty.

Brings to mind the hard-learned lesson that the water spray “cleaning” systems installed on early crude oil tankers to rinse the tanks could generate static electrical discharges that ignited residual vapor in the tank--similar to lightning in a thunderstorm. The explosions broke the ships’ backs and they sank quickly with considerable loss of life. 

[peter lena 8,413]

@Handy Don  many moons ago , just off the jersey coast , we stopped for a cooling stream soak on the way home , of course no a/c , lucky to have a fan . was noticing a tanker was just off shore , " cleaning / flushing tanks " lots of fling water spray . another think that  also happened in that era , in the same area , was bull shark attacks , salt / fresh water  capable , obviousely , did not have a clue at the time , typical 1950 s , not a clue era . also no seat belts , lucky to have made it thru , pete

[adsm08 1,801]

8 hours ago, peter lena said:

@adsm08  yesterday , while driving past the submarine base in groton ct , north bound , saw a person on a motorcycle , with an X across his / her chest , light colored jacket , looked strange , it was strange , the X were his / her arms crossed , riding the cycle with no hand control  !  you can't fix stupid  , pete

 

I see that a lot. That and guys standing up and letting go of the handle bars.

[peter lena 8,413]

@adsm08  forgot about  the seat standers , there are a couple of those on our main road , of course no helmet  , but then again , there is not much to protect .  that ground / grinding impact , should be pretty scary , pete

[adsm08 1,801]

23 minutes ago, peter lena said:

@adsm08  forgot about  the seat standers , there are a couple of those on our main road , of course no helmet  , but then again , there is not much to protect .  that ground / grinding impact , should be pretty scary , pete

 

I've never been on a motorcycle, but I got into some interesting wrecks on my bike when I was younger.

 

Probably the most preventable, and the one that should really have done me in if any would, was the time I was coasting down the big hill by my house, leaning back, hands in my pocket, and I reached up and tapped the hand brake with my foot.

 

That was.... not the smartest thing I could have done.

[Handy Don 11,820]

2 hours ago, adsm08 said:

That was.... not the smartest thing I could have done.

Sometimes we’re just lucky and live to tell about it, eh? 

[Beap52 716]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Sometimes we’re just lucky and live to tell about it, eh? 

I figure that even bone-headed things we do are part of our education--School of Hard Knocks-if you will. Most of them are as import for our survival as learning some nonsensical fact that a well intending teacher was hoping I'd learn and retain.  I learned early in my construction career that you don't walk on 2x6 ceiling joists until they were properly nailed in place.  Fortunately, the garage floor had not been poured yet and mother earth was there to catch me!

[peter lena 8,413]

@Beap52  many moons ago , NYC AS A KID , sunday afternoon raining , coming back from a movie , we were  walking over a recently framed 2 story house , slipped fell , on to a pile of new  wood trim , nail went right thru my left foot , and quickly out , quickly got home , did a first aid cream wipe down , as bet as I could . kind of  a regular , related scratch as a kid . saw some of the very last , street corner / bus stop , mini  park tree/shade related  areas , disappear . pete