| Tony Hartzel: Lane-clearing work more urgent Traffic growth means patrol is getting more drivers out of jams 02/11/2001 By / The Dallas Morning News Business is booming for Steve Poole.
That's not so good for Dallas County motorists.
Mr. Poole supervises the Highway Emergency Response Operator program, HERO for short. Last year, the program aided nearly 43,000 motorists, about double the number from 1999.
"We've been able to assist a lot more people. That's possibly due to the construction in the area," he said. "Areas without shoulders contribute to a lot of accidents."
Courtesy patrol programs such as HERO are expected to play a growing role in how North Texas handles its mushrooming traffic problems. A recent study by the North Central Texas Council of Governments found that from 1995 to 1999, the number of total miles driven in the area grew by 18 percent while the number of new roads or lanes grew by less than 2 percent.
The courtesy patrol, based at the Texas Department of Transportation, is expected to move to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department this year. Once the move is complete, the program will involve the help of the North Texas Tollway Authority, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Council of Governments.
The courtesy patrol has worked closely with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, which has begun looking at ways to clear accidents from roads more quickly.
"Our philosophy is to get the roads opened up and to get cars moving," Chief Deputy Danny Chandler said. "That reduces the likelihood of secondary accidents and helps minimize pollution."
The program has 26 employees and a $600,000 budget paid by federal clean-air grants. Many of the workers travel in pairs for safety, and each truck responds to about 15 calls for help daily.
The biggest problem areas should come as no surprise, though there has been a change at the top, Mr. Poole said:
LBJ Freeway/Central Expressway interchange – HERO workers responded to 106 accidents there last year.
Interstate 30 mixmaster area around Ervay Street and Interstate 45 – 99 accidents in a year, toppling the area from its long-held perch as the king of all traffic snarlers.
LBJ – Each cross street is listed as a separate location, but intersections with Marsh Lane, Hillcrest Avenue, Preston Road, Webb Chapel Road, Interstate 35E, the Dallas North Tollway and Skillman Street are listed among the worst, in descending order.
One improvement is that courtesy patrol workers, like deputies, have been recognized as having legal authority to move vehicles that have been involved in minor accidents off freeways. Motorists who creep past an accident scene and wonder why wrecks haven't been moved off the road may soon get some more relief.
"It's all about air quality," Chief Chandler said.
Helping stranded motorists is admirable, but the spate of recent accidents, including some deaths of good Samaritans, reinforces Mr. Poole's advice to let professionals handle the incidents.
Even their safety, unfortunately, is not assured.
Law-enforcement officers have died while trying to help stranded motorists. In 1996, courtesy patrol driver Johnny Banks was struck and killed as he helped a motorist on Interstate 30.
"We miss him every day," Mr. Poole said. "We do it because we want to help people. There's nothing greater than that feeling."
|
