ON the weekend there was a minor accident where a passing motorist stuck a NSW Fire and Rescue pumper which was parked on the side of the Great Western Highway with its emergency flashing lights on.
Fire trucks are those big red things with the flashing roof lights, even small children can recognise them.
Multiple police and firemen, some wearing breathing apparatus and holding hoses, were attending to a trailer that was on fire on the side of the road.
Obviously if people drive past an incident and see smoke or action, they want to know what is going on. It is human nature.
In this instance a motorist, not paying attention to his driving, was trying to see what the firemen were doing and had a minor crash.
This natural interest is commonly referred to by police and emergency services personnel as rubber-necking.
Motorists should take extra care when they see police and other emergency vehicles at the scene of an incident. In this accident there was only minor damage but it could have easily been a fireman or policeman who was struck and seriously injured.
If you see emergency vehicles at a job and you are driving past, you need to take extra care. There will be men and woman on the ground trying to do a difficult job.
Sometimes it will be a routine job, other times they will be desperately trying to save someone’s life or property. Traffic is dangerous to work in, and the last thing emergency personnel need is to be knocked over by someone not paying attention.
Take care when driving.
My Comment:
The Firefighters Union (FBEU) has been campaigning for some years to have legal speed limits reduced to 40km/hr. The NSW Govt and relevant agencies (FRNSW/RTA) have all let this continue to slide. Emergency service workers need protection on our roads. On;y a 40km/h RTA road rule can help that.
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