OTA Dispatch Issue 2, 2022

9 www.ortrucking.org Issue 2 | 2022 (b) Reduce the speed of the motor vehicle to a speed that is at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180. (B) On a two directional, two-lane highway, fails to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle to a speed that is at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180. ` 2. A person is not in violation of the offense described in this section if the stopped motor vehicle is in a designated parking area. ` 3. The offense described in this section, failure to maintain a safe distance from a motor vehicle, is a Class B traffic violation. [2003 c.42 §2; 2009 c.198 §1; 2010 c.30 §17; 2017 c.305 §1] When you see a vehicle pulled over to the side of the road by police, or a vehicle being attended to by a tow truck, or any similar situation be prepared to take the steps outlined in this statute. Of course, in many instances being able to safely follow these directions will require an attentive driver looking ahead for any such situation in order to have adequate time to react by changing lanes or slowing as is appropriate. Failure to obey this law can cost drivers as much as $355 bail on a citation; however, the costs of not following this simple directive can be immensely greater when measured in terms of human life. From 2015 to 2019, 12 people were killed in Oregon while they were standing outside a disabled vehicle. According to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, in 2019, 44 emergency responders were killed in the U.S. while working on roadway incidents, 14 of whom were tow truck operators. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says from 2011 to 2016, 191 deaths were reported in the motor vehicle towing industry. That’s 43 deaths per 100,000 workers, which is 15 times more than all other U.S. private industries combined. “Tow truck drivers are usually the last ones on the scene after all the other emergency vehicles have left,” said Christian Gruber, a driver for Roseburg Towing. “So, there’s not much out there to protect us, and unfortunately the end result is that tow truck drivers end up getting killed more often.” Gruber says even a split-second distraction while driving could mean life or death for tow truck drivers. That brings us back to my prefacing comment, i.e. the kind of heightened awareness I am suggesting requires more than a cavalier attitude of routineness and more of purposeful effort to go above and beyond in attentiveness and in actions to prevent the tragic incidence of death and injury. OTA and its regulatory partners are available to attend driver safety meetings and share this message with drivers. Be purposeful in ensuring that you and your drivers are sharing the roads responsibly. Be safe out there.

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