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Question of the Quarter

If you could create a piece of equipment to carry with you on the job, what would it be and what would it do?

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“I would create an electronic battery operated safety vest.  It would have light weight LED strobes in the front and rear of the vest and be rechargeable in the truck.  It would flash front & rear to advise motorists that the HELP driver is getting in & out of the HELP vehicle to perform an assist.”

Roll Rite Towing, NYSDOT H.E.L.P. Operator, Long Island, NY

“I wish that I had a way to set flares from my truck automatically as I pulled up to a blocking incedent. At night, we (officers and service personel alike) have to set flares in the dark, a dangerous task. Placing them automatically from the truck would help to solve this problem.”

Joe Soubie, Arizona Highway Patrol

“Something that does not happen everyday, but often enough to be a concern, is a vehicle loses the whole wheel, due to stud, lug nut, or some other mechanical failure, which leaves you with a car with one corner sitting on the ground.  You cannot push or drive the vehicle without doing some serious damage to both the vehicle and the roadway.  If I could create one piece of equipment, it would be something along the lines of a dolly that you could somehow lift the failed corner of the vehicle, enabling it to be safely moved to the shoulder.  Since 99 times out of a hundred, it happens where the vehicle cannot clear the roadway, this would allow the safety workers to quickly clear the travel lanes. Currently, in our area, we have to wait for the local law enforcement officials to arrive, then they have to wait for the wrecker to be ordered and arrive.  During peak hours this could result in lane closures of more than an hour, sometimes much more.  A dolly like I have described would make the lane closure much shorter, as we usually beat the law enforcement officer’s to the scene.”

Mark Taylor, Safety/Training Coordinator, Dallas County Sheriff’s Department’s Courtesy Patrol

“I would like to see a device that could pick up roadway debris and place it in the service patrol vehicle without the driver having to get out of the truck.”

Gaetano Francese, Freeway Operations Manager, Florida DOT

Back to Safe Highway Matters: Fall 2011

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