My personal survey of the wrecks I managed or attended in my career (enough that I didn’t bother to count them anymore) indicates that a number approaching 90% involved an intoxicant (frequently alcohol, sometimes other mixtures) and/or fatigue. Around 5% were not quite ready for the road new drivers and a very small percentage were mechanical failures with the remaining wrecks just people being people (DOH!) i.e. pure accidents. Note: I only went to wrecks that were serious, not simple fender benders so this non-scientific data is already skewed. I also maintain that mechanical failure is preventable if one is a careful driver/owner.
If my numbers are correct; there IS an element of crime in most of the wrecks I attended. Only a few were distracted driving; many were speeding and most involved illegal or excessive product usage (again, illegal). Less than a dozen were truly weather related (couldn’t see the road was flooded type of accident which amounts to too fast for conditions). Well more than plenty were felony stupid.
Outrage? Outrage is for amateurs. I would actively (and legally) make sure that THIS driver was placed behind the wheel for any LE involved and it would make my WEEK to see some of them hooked and booked. My crews knew this and we treated the involved appropriately but often with the goal of getting them off the road. We don’t like seeing folks hurt and impaired drivers are the worst.
I’d LOVE to take some judges on a ride along so they could see why penalties should actually be enforced, not blown off.
Given enough exposure, it isn’t hard to trace a wreck backwards to find the causes; they leave plenty of evidence (well, ok, we caused significant damage on a rescue, but even that’s traceable evidence). There is AMPLE opportunity for exposure to gain experience because there are plenty of wrecks. The MAIT is among the best we have for just that reason; they’ve seen plenty.
Retired now; I’m feeling MUCH better and I don’t miss the job at all. This kind of wreck is a potential career ender for the responders; you don’t always get to leave it at the scene. MAIT carries the same burden and it’ll eat you up over time. But it provides closure and answers some of the questions for those left behind, like “What happened?” It rarely answers the “Why”.
I’m not saying that any of this was the cause of this accident (I don’t have the facts or first hand view), but there is a high chance that some impairment is involved or too much speed for conditions on an unfamiliar road. I will submit that NAFTA has increased the accident rate because some of the imported drivers are, well, potentially licensed but not up to our standards.
Prayers for the involved and their families; there are no winners.
Rick
From Kim Noyes
Accidents interest me more than crime as they are in some ways more tragic and while being usually less outrageous (with some exceptions) given the lack of criminal intent (in most cases).
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