State Highway Patrol Troopers Involved in Seven North Carolina Car Accidents a Week During 2009
According to ABC11, state records report that North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers were involved in an average of seven car accidents a week last year, which averages out to about one motor vehicle wreck a day. Traffic crashes ranged from deadly auto accidents to minor rear-end collision.
During a talk with the local TV channel, NC Highway Patrol Sergeant Jeff Gordon said that with 1,700 troopers driving 43 million miles and with many troopers in their vehicles for up to 12 hours a day, it is no wonder that troopers have a higher chance of getting involved in a North Carolina car accident than other drivers who don’t spend as much time on the road. Gordon says that most trooper vehicle accidents couldn’t have been prevented. Investigators, however, say that even though 70% of trooper-related crashes were classified as “non-preventable,” nearly 30% of the traffic accidents could have been avoided.
ABC11 says that in 2009 and 2008, the state Highway Patrol paid almost $703,000 in North Carolina car accident compensation to people involved in collisions with troopers. Three people died last year in accidents involving troopers. One person was the target of a police chase while the other two drivers were innocent bystanders. According to state records, last year troopers crashed 31 motor vehicles during police pursuits.
Police Pursuits
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 360 people die in police pursuits annually. According to USA Today, innocent bystanders account for one-third of these fatalities. This figure doesn’t take into account the bystanders who are killed within seconds after a police chase has ended.
It is important that police troopers obey traffic laws, give warning in the event that they are driving faster than the speed limit or disregarding traffic lights, and take steps not to hit pedestrians or other vehicles.
Deaths lead police to question high-speed chase policies, USA Today, April 23, 2010
NC Highway Patrol averages 7 wrecks a week, ABC11, May 19, 2010
Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Highway Patrol
PolicePursuitWatch.org
