Truckers and troopers have at least one very important thing in common: When the weather makes the going tough, the tough have to keep going. But, as the clips in this highway patrol edition of the Dash Cam of the Week show, when the roads are bad, professional driving skills are all the more important.
The Minnesota State Patrol recently posted dash view of a tractor-trailer skidding out of control, executing a 180-degree spin and reverse parallel parking on the shoulder of highway—right between two squad cars. Hollywood stuntmen couldn’t pull this off. The MSP used the video remind motorists to move over.
“When a Trooper is parked by the side of the road during a snowstorm or other adverse weather conditions, helping change a tire or assisting a vehicle that has spun into a ditch, other vehicles on the road can lose control on the ice or lose their way in the whiteout,” says a MnDPS blog post. “The result? Since 2008, 190 squad cars have been struck while parked by the side of the road—three of them in 2017 so far (and we’re only three weeks into this year)! As a result, 53 Troopers have been injured since 2008.”
Multiply those numbers by 50 states, and it’s a serious problem.
The Kansas Highway Patrol recently sent out a similar message on Facebook, posting a video of a tractor-trailer losing control, crossing the median, and forcing a trooper off the road.
“Please SLOW DOWN and gauge the road mile by mile. Just because it's not icy where you are, does not mean it may not be icy 20 miles down the road. Again, if you don't need to drive please STAY HOME,” the post says. “#BeSafe.”
We couldn’t agree more.
