Another IL trooper killed by semi .

A car is going to stop where it stops...cop really doesn't have much control over the driver of the car. If the car is speeding in the left lane, and the cop lights them up to stop them HOPING they make their way across a few lanes of traffic to stop on the ramp that's a half mile or so up the road, but instead they pull all of the way off the road on the left....you're saying that cop should be fired?

Like I said, a vehicle stopped on the left is visible to oncoming motorists sooner than a vehicle stopped on the right. The officer can exit his vehicle away from traffic. The officer can approach the driver on the driver's side safely to better conduct his business with the driver...better chance to smell alcohol on the driver's breath, etc. if you are standing right next to them as opposed to being on the opposite side of the car. Not to mention, most traffic is traveling in that right lane already, so a traffic stop made on the left requires that less drivers make lane changes in order to give space to the officer. But you think that should be illegal? I don't understand that at all, considering that other than it being "abnormal", it is actually safer for all involved.

 

i was taught when you see blue lights, coming from any direction, EVERYONE is to slow down and pull to the right

when did that change?

 

Traffic in the left lane is also more likely to be speeding which would be the cause for the stop to begin with. So, a driver then has to choose whether to navigate his way across however many lanes there might be to his right (and wonder if the cop is going to add lane change violations to his list of possible charges) or simply pull over on the left side of the road. And yes, more traffic SHOULD be in the right lane...which is to be used except for when passing...so the left lane SHOULD be relatively empty to begin with. So either a few cars see what is going on up ahead, adjust their speed, and move to the right, or a lot of cars see what is going on a lot later (because they can't see around that car ahead of them to see what is going on on the right shoulder...line-of-sight) and suddenly panic as they hit the brakes (accordion effect) as they try to find a gap to move over into in a significantly shorter distance. Yes, they do have to re-enter traffic in the "faster" lane, but they are also re-entering traffic in the less crowded lane, and if everybody is doing what they were supposed to the lane SHOULD be empty by the time they are pulling back in. Sure, the paved portion of the shoulder is narrower, but as long as they pull over completely out of the travel lane, that shouldn't make any difference. Most of the roads I drive on have no shoulder on either side. Should cops simply stop patrolling those roads since there is no "safe" shoulder to pull onto?

Pulling over onto the right shoulder is "normal". It is what you typically see. That doesn't mean that the left shoulder is unsafe....just that it is not typically what you see. Arguments could be made either way as to which is safer for those involved in the traffic stop, as well as which is safer for those still trying to use the road. In either case, though, too many people drive with their heads up their own rear ends that safety on the roads is seldom more than an illusion anyway. All you can really do is deal with the situations you see and quit worrying about the things you have no control over.

 

wow

you included interstate traffic in my comment

do i have to spell out every exclusion? maybe when you drink coffee, you needed that instruction that said "careful, this liquid is hot"

 

I would like to know how all these posts figure into a Rogue trucker that obviously cant read SEVERAL road signs posted along I-294 that prohibit truck travel in the 2 left lanes. This guy was riding in the far left lane and killed this trooper who was parked on the shoulder, kind of the area where most law enforcement emergency vehicles park awaiting calls Read the signs and comply to the Freakin laws!

 

Just released on this:

A truck driver involved in a crash that killed an Illinois State trooper allegedly fell asleep at the wheel before the accident.
Trooper James Sauter died last month after a semi-tractor trailer slammed into his squad car.
It happened in the southbound lanes of Interstate 294 near Willow Road in Northfield Township.
According to a police report obtained by the Sun-Tmes, the trucker fell asleep, veered off the road and hit Sauter’s car which was parked on the shoulder.
The truck driver has not been charged in connection with the accident but a state police spokeswoman says they’re still seeking charges.

Read more: http://wgntv.com/2013/04/26/report-...d-to-crash-that-killed-trooper/#ixzz2RcimQfKd
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http://wgntv.com/2013/04/26/report-driver-falling-asleep-led-to-crash-that-killed-trooper/

 

So I guess some of the clueless cop haters in this thread will now come back and say that somehow troopers should have some kind of system insuring that truckers that are in the wrong lane will not be taking a snooze while behind the wheel. And if the trucker does decide to take a power nap while tooling down then road, then all troopers (once again, officers that enforce traffic situations) should be parked in the middle of a corn field at least thirty miles away from the interstate in order to insure that they do not become the new guard rail for said trucker. Sheezz.

 

you cant read the signs if your eyes are closed from sleeping

now, was he on elogs or not?