LITTLE ROCK — Often when an emergency occurs, there are people - police, fire and ambulance personnel, in particular - who are running into danger while everyone else is running away.

Saturday night, an accident occurred in town that could have had far more dangerous consequences than it did. A police officer rushed in and helped remove the occupants of a car (as did some bystanders) and another officer ran into the building to cut off the gasoline pumps to prevent further damage.

While most people in town are sleeping soundly in their homes, police, deputies and troopers are patrolling their jurisdiction to keep their communities safe. Other emergency personnel jump and run when their pagers go off sending them out to an emergency.

Many times, when emergency personnel are working beside a roadway, drivers turn to look, sometimes causing another accident.

That happened just this last year at the curve near Jac’s Ranch on Arkansas Highway 72 between Pea Ridge and Bentonville. There had been an accident, the cars were pulled off the road, but the people driving back slowed to look and a three car wreck soon followed and the trooper and other emergency personnel had another accident to work.

Since 1999, there have been 164 law enforcement officers struck by vehicles according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

In 2003, Arkansas law makers adopted the Move Over or Give A Lane law requiring motorists to move over when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road. A similar law was passed in 2006 in Missouri. In all, 43 states have passed similar laws, but many drivers continue to be unaware of the law.

People complain about speeding tickets, but they don’t stop to consider the reason for speed limits and the enforcement of those laws.

Speed limits are set considering the roadway and surrounding area to keep drivers and pedestrians safe. Slower speed limits are required in more congested areas.

When an emergency vehicle is stopped beside the road, usually with flashing lights on, the law requires other drivers to give them a wide berth. If circumstances prevent moving into a far lane, then the drivers are to slow down considerably to avoid causing another accident.

◊◊◊Privilege & Responsibility

Driving is serious business. Teens usually can’t wait to get their driver’s license and join the ranks of “independent” drivers on the roads. They usually believe they’re invincible and too often take lightly the constant precautions imposed on them from their parents and other adults.

Elderly drivers are reluctant to give up their driver’s licenses and sometimes continue driving beyond a safe range. There’s something in people that craves the independence allowed by getting behind the wheel of a car and going anywhere one wants.

A gentleman from out of town who has a suspended driver’s license (imposed by the court system because of medical conditions) chose to get behind wheel of a car and drive to town, then drive around town. A medical incident occurred resulting in him hitting and knocking over a gasoline pump, causing a fire, hundreds of dollars of damage and hours of work by many emergency personnel.

With every privilege comes responsibility.

That is a difficult lesson for each of us, but an imperative one.

Driving is serious business.

Drivers are prohibited from texting while driving because their attention is diverted, but I clearly remember being at an accident scene that was apparently caused by a young mother attending to her small child while trying to drive. Several people were seriously hurt and one died.

◊◊◊Fatalties decreased in ’08

In Arkansas, there were 649 traffic fatalities in 2007 and 600 in 2008, for a decrease of 8 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Transportation Board.

According to the 2008 NHTSF report, among the fatalities, there were 372 drivers, 106 passengers, 68 motorcyclists, 45 pedestrians, 5 pedalcyslists and 4 other.

Of those, the largest percentage were from the 25- to 34-year-old age range with 99 from that category.

Others by age category included:

◊Six were under 5 years of age;

◊7 were 5 to 9;

◊17 were 10 to 15;

◊81 were 16 to 20;

◊60 were 21 to 24;

◊84 were 35 to 44;

◊87 were 45-54;

◊77 were 55-64;

◊46 were 65 to 74; and

◊36 were 74 or older.

Arkansas ranked 13th of the 50 states in pedestrian fatality rates with 45 pedestrians killed - 1.58 percent of the population.

Of the persons killed, 65 percent did not register a blood alcohol content. Six percent had a BAC of .01-.07; 28 percent had a BAC greater than .08 and 34 percent had a BAC greater than .01.

◊◊◊The Arkansas Give-A-Lane law

2003 National general crash statistics:

◊53 percent of police officer related deaths are traffic related.

◊More than half of fatal crashes occurred on roads with posted speed limits of 55 miles per hour or more, while only 25 percent of property-damage-onlycrashes occurred on these roads.

◊In 2003, 42,643 people lost their lives in motor-vehicle crashes. Another 2.9 million were injured.

Most states have a law similar to the Arkansas Give-A-Lane Law. Each state’s law varies in some degree, but the intent is the same. The idea is to safeguard the lives of innocent motorists, pedestrians, emergency personnel and law enforcement officers.

Arkansas law requires that all motorists passing a stopped emergency vehicle on a multi-lane highway displaying flashing lights or emergency equipment shall slow down and move into the farthest lane away from the emergency vehicles.

They shall remain in that lane until they have safely passed all vehicles involved in the stop, crash or incident. If a vehicle is unable to safely move over due to existing traffic, they must safely reduce their speed.

Emergency vehicles include law enforcement vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances and other related vehicles.

This law also includes wreckers or tow trucks that clearly display visible and operable flashing lights.

Arkansas law allows officers who observe a violation of the Give-A-Lane law to obtain information from the vehicle’s license plate and mail a citation to the registered owner. The violator need not be stopped at the time of the violation.

So please, be courteous and drive safely.

This information has been taken from the National Highway Safety Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)/International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Operations Kids National Curriculum and the Traffic Occupant Protection Strategies (TOPS) Curriculum.

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Editor’s note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County. A native of Louisiana, she moved to this area in 1980. She has nine children, three sons-in-law and two grandsons. She can be reached at [email protected].

News, Pages 4 on 04/06/2011