I am conflicted.

Kinja'd!!! "Anima" (anima)
07/02/2017 at 20:38 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 3

On the one hand this guy has a point.
On the other hand, his truck and warning light are obscured from traffic by the truck he is towing and he chooses to move down the truck on the traffic side instead of the non traffic side.


DISCUSSION (3)


Kinja'd!!! Urambo Tauro > Anima
07/02/2017 at 22:00

Kinja'd!!!2

In Michigan, there are a couple of rules that they’ve been working on educating drivers about. One is “move over or slow down for emergency vehicles”, and the other is “speed limit 45 where workers present”. It strikes me as odd that these are worded so differently. Besides, why should it matter who is on the side of the road? Despite the inconsistent wording, I think that these rules convey the same idea, and it should apply to more than just emergency vehicles.

As vague as “slow down” is, I like to think that when the road in question is a highway or freeway, 45 mph (as shown on the constructions signs) is pretty much what they’re looking for. (Obviously, they’re not asking you to speed up to 45 through a downtown or residential area, so there’s more to it than that...) But wherever the hazard may be, moving over is by far the more favorable option. After all, the use of the word “or” tells me that if you can move over one full lane’s width, that’s a safe enough distance to avoid having to slow down at all.

As far as this video is concerned, I don’t think the visibility of his flashing lights should even be relevant. ANY vehicle that’s stopped so close to the roadway is a good enough reason to exercise the same amount of caution that you would give an ambulance. Really, the only times that I feel comfortable maintaining freeway speed next to a stopped car is if I can see one of those abandoned vehicle tags on it.


Kinja'd!!! OPPOsaurus WRX > Anima
07/02/2017 at 23:14

Kinja'd!!!1

i’d blame it on the design of the tow truck. It looks like he keeps going to the controls on the traffic side. the controls should have been located on the other side of the truck, then he wouldn’t have to go out there at all.


Kinja'd!!! facw > Urambo Tauro
07/02/2017 at 23:58

Kinja'd!!!0

Yeah, I’m always bothered by move over laws that apply to emergency vehicles only. If anything, a regular driver who is not trained or used to that scenario is in greater danger. A police officer may have more risk due to greater exposure, but for any given pass, they should be safer than an ordinary person. There’s no reason to carve out special protections for them, they should just apply the rules for every stopped vehicle.