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| Home Front: Politix |
| Firetruck Accidents On the Rise In District |
| 2007-04-01 |
| D.C. firetrucks are involved in an average of two traffic accidents a week, forcing many out of service when they should be responding to emergencies, city officials say. Most crashes are minor -- fender-benders or swipes of parked cars -- but officials are concerned about the potential for serious trouble. In the last fiscal year, 20 people were injured, including nine civilians. No one was killed. ...Hoping to reverse the trend, the District is putting a stronger emphasis on training. The city recently began training rookies on a $760,000 driving simulator akin to a high-tech video game. It has a seat that bounces like an amusement park ride when the driver goes over a virtual speed bump or curb -- or crashes into a tree. Experienced firefighters will take turns on the simulator, too. More at link... |
| Posted by:Dave D. |
| #8 #3 Zen - Love the pic. A friend of mine was a cop in D.C. many years ago, and told me of seeing a picture in the Post once of a similar scene (yes, the firefighters made sure the hose was leaking) with the added pleasure of a cop with his foot up on the bumper, writing a ticket. 'Course, he also once was directing traffic with a lit flare in his hand and it "accidently slipped" out of his hand, flew through an open car window, and landed in the back seat of the car that had just tried to hit him.... :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-04-01 22:33 |
| #7 My brother's had to do that a couple of times. He always makes sure the cops lay the hundred dollar ticket on them too. He always tries to be around when the owner shows up... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-04-01 22:12 |
| #6 I was in the San Mateo DMV getting a license renewed once. I asked one of the DMV officers why there were so many people with drivers licenses that did not know how to drive. He dryly informed me that knowing how to drive was not a prerequisite for obtaining a license in the state of California. |
| Posted by: Natural Law 2007-04-01 21:07 |
| #5 Note the broken glass? Bet there's a leak in the hose, too. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-04-01 14:15 |
| #4 zenster, that is a classic i have nevcer seen vefore. At least the firemen where smartasses about it |
| Posted by: sinse 2007-04-01 14:10 |
| #3 I'm with you, Jonathan. Here in Silicon Valley, emergency response vehicles almost have to ram impeding cars out of the way. I make a point of always pulling in behind other drivers who readily get out of the way and salute them afterwards if I can. Needless to say (then why say it?), that doesn't happen too often. In a similar vein, here's an amusing photo of a BMW parked in front of a fire hydrant: |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-01 13:38 |
| #2 Nobody with any sense drives in the District unless they absolutely have to; I'm willing to bet that most of these fender-benders are the result of DC drivers deciding that they didn't feel like getting out of the way of an emergency vehicle. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2007-04-01 12:42 |
| #1 They should do the same with DC Metro buses, before more people get killed. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2007-04-01 00:41 |
