Slow down and let’s get there

 

By Clint Shepard

Clint Shepard

This isn’t your typical work zone incident story. Our crews are the ones on the scene when an incident happens to help with traffic control and keep things moving safely through the area. But the same rules of slowing down and paying attention in a work zone apply to an incident area.

 Last July I was doing traffic control just north of El Dorado Lake for an accident that had happened earlier. It had been raining all day so there was a lot of moisture still on the road.

 I had been there for about 15 minutes when a kid who had cruise control on hydroplaned as he approached me. Because we were on a curve, I don’t think he saw me until the last second which caused him to crank his wheel and spin out. As he spun, his passenger side hit my back passenger side bumper practically ripping the side of his car off.

 After we made contact, his car went into the ditch. But because his cruise control was still on and he was unconscious, he came back up on the road and hit the barrier wall, which finally stopped him.

 He was incredibly lucky it happened the way it did. Lucky he was the only one in the car. Lucky his airbags deployed.  Lucky he was able to walk away from two collisions with only a concussion when nothing was there to protect him when he hit the barrier wall.

Driver's vehicle

I feel lucky too. I was only thrown into the steering wheel of my truck and had some back pain. Had he hit me square in the back of my truck, he probably wouldn’t be here, and it could have been worse for me too.

When he came to a stop, I got out to check on him and a lady came running up who happened to be a nurse. She was able to stay with him while I began traffic control again to keep oncoming traffic moving through the area. It was definitely a right place at the right time moment.

With my truck wrecked on the outside shoulder, his car against the barrier wall and being on a curve, it was really important to keep traffic moving carefully through the area, especially since I didn’t have my typical lights to alert approaching drivers. It was a dangerous situation until a trooper was able to arrive and assist with his lights.

Shepard's truck

The reports later stated that based on the skids, he was probably going around 80 miles per hour. When you’re going that fast, things can happen in an instant. One curve can change everything. 

This incident isn’t as unique as it may seem. Our guys talk all the time about how people aren’t paying attention to the road, whether we’re shutting down lanes for road work or working an incident like this. People are more focused on filming an incident or what’s on their phone than slowing down and driving safely. We’re out here risking our lives and don’t want to get hit or work an incident you were involved in.

People overestimate their ability to multitask while driving – whether it’s in weather conditions, a work zone or even on a normal day. I don’t know when the last time I truly saw people’s eyes instead of the back of their phone. My biggest message to drivers is to just pay attention and use good judgement. We all want to get home. So slow down and let’s get there.

 

Clint Shepard is the Highway Maintenance Foreman for the Kansas Turnpike in Cassoday.