When
you’re out on the roadway for a living, you hear, see and sometimes even
experience scary moments.
My
name is Kenny Olson and I’m a Roadway Striping Foreman. I’ve been with KTA for
12 years and I have had more close calls on the roadway than many would think.
Just last summer, I had vehicles hit at two different times while painting
roadway lines.
 |
| Kenny Olson |
One
of these was in Wichita on the entrance ramp from the K-96 plaza. We were
painting the white line on the right side, early in the morning when a driver
came down the entry ramp way too fast.
Because of her speed, she wasn’t able to
move out the way in time and hit the corner of our attenuator (the crash
cushion hooked at the back of a truck) and then bounced and hit the guardrail.
She was lucky she didn’t hit the truck again after that, but rather carried all
the way through the right of way.
The
other happened up near Lecompton where the road goes from three lanes to two.
We were on the right with the striper when, for a reason I still don’t know
today, a semi-truck locks up his brakes while in the left lane. His cab cut
between the attenuator truck and the truck ahead of it, and jack-knifed.
The
trailer whipped so fast that it hit the attenuator sideways and ended up back
in the roadway, blocking traffic. The driver just backed up and drove away!
Luckily a trooper caught up to him at a service area soon after.
These
are just my two most recent experiences, but there’s been so many more. From a
vehicle not paying attention and actually driving between the barrier wall and
our striping machine to another driver purposely driving into the grass and
back up onto the road to avoid driving through the work zone. Nothing surprises
me anymore, and that’s the sad reality.
We
can take as many safety precautions as necessary, making changes to safety
procedures, but ultimately, drivers need to pay attention. People are in such a
hurry, on their phones, or even having a dog on their lap licking their face
(yes, that was a real thing I saw once on the road). Leave sooner. Watch the
roadway signs. Pay attention.
The split second between decision and action can mean life, injury or death. You have chosen a dangerous career and I respect your willingness to put your life on the line daily to make our roadways better. I agree distracted driving is a major problem, but also know that accidents happen. It is good to know all the safety measures in place to lessen that possibility.
ReplyDeleteGlad you stayed safe. Your experiences are a good reminder for travelers to SLOW DOWN in work zones.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experiences on the highways! People need to be more aware of the dangers that they place others in due to their actions.
ReplyDelete