The Prince George’s County (MD) fire chief is speaking out about two recent incidents that have damaged emergency apparatus causing them to be placed out of service for an extended time and unavailable for emergency responses.
消防局长马克·巴舒尔（Marc Bashoor）表示：“随着由于手持式通信和信息技术的出现，随着我们的高速公路越来越拥挤和驾驶员的不重视，我们对交通事故发生的响应者和工人安全的关注从未有所更大。”“虽然涉及工人的次要事件可以采取多种形式，但是当我们在巷道现场工作时，当我们的急救人员和设备不专心或分心的驾驶员撞击时，它们通常会发生。”尽管分心可能在这些崩溃中发挥了作用，但警方的每一个事件中也对酒精成为一个因素的可能性也被调查。
Two fire engines, large pieces of apparatus that carry water, hoses and personnel to scene of fires and other emergencies, have been involved in separate incidents recently that involved a civilian vehicle slamming into them as they were stationary on a roadway protecting personnel that were operating on a highway. Engines from Branchville and Greenbelt were providing barrier protection for firefighters, medics, police officers and civilians at the scene of highway motor vehicle crashes when these secondary incidents occurred. The Branchville engine sustained over $50,000 in damages on August 18 and the Greenbelt engine over $30,000 in damages on September 8. Each incident occurred on the Capital Beltway early on Saturday mornings, 4:15 am and 2:45 am respectively. Fortunately, no one was injured as a result of these secondary incidents.
In addition to laws banning the use of handheld devices while driving a motor vehicle there is also a new Maryland law that many motorists may not be aware of. The intent of Maryland’s ‘move over’ law is to provide an extra barrier of safety for firefighters, paramedics and police officers working along the highway. Drivers approaching from the rear of an emergency vehicle using visual signals while stopped on a highway should, if possible, “make a lane change into an available lane not immediately adjacent to the emergency vehicle. This movement should only be done if another lane in the same direction is available and the move can be made safely without impeding other traffic. If moving to another lane away from the stopped emergency vehicle is not possible, the law requires drivers to ‘slow to a reasonable and prudent speed that is safe for existing weather, road, and vehicular or pedestrian traffic conditions.”
违反“搬迁”法律的行为是一项主要罪行，罚款110美元，一分。当您不移动并参与崩溃时，罚款和点会升级。
Any opportunity that the public safety leaders have to enhance the safety of our personnel operating on incident scenes is a high priority. The Prince George’s County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department is proud to join with our emergency service partners in an effort to reduce and eliminate these types of incidents.
Do not use a handheld device (cell, email, text, etc) while driving, never drink alcohol or use drugs and drive and Chief Bashoor emphasized, “Any time you see an emergency vehicle stopped in the roadway with lights flashing; SLOW DOWN, MOVE OVER, and ABOVE ALL, STAY ALERT! The single most important thing you can do to protect yourself and others is to pay attention behind the wheel. Help us avoid yet another needless tragedy — slow down, move over, stay alert.”
The Fire/EMS Department is a strong advocate for safety of our personnel at all times. Fire Chief Bashoor wants personnel to continue remaining safe by providing barrier protection when appropriate and being vigilant about their situational awareness.
