Captain Jason Berry
Government and Media Relations
(360) 596-4010 – office
(360) 596-4015 – fax
http://www.wsp.wa.gov
*** For Immediate Release***
Date:
May 5, 2011
Contact:
Trooper Guy Gill
Phone:
(253) 606-1998
E-mail:
Guy.Gill@wsp.wa.gov
If It Moves, It Moves Off the Freeway
State troopers have reduced collision road closure times by 30 percent. Troopers have always worked hard to ensure closures are kept to a minimum. So far in 2011 they have been able to reduce that time even further in Thurston and Pierce counties.
Troopers are clearing roads faster by using their patrol cars to push vehicles out of the roadway and utilizing Washington State Department of Transportation (W.S.D.O.T) cameras to get pinpoint collision locations and information to improve response times. Troopers are also working saturation patrols in specific problem areas in a further attempt to reduce or eliminate collisions all together.
State Route 101 at the I-5 interchange in Thurston County is just one of the problem areas where we’ve seen a high number of blocking collisions. Targeted enforcement efforts in that area have definitely helped and have shown a 45 percent collision reduction year to date.
Sitting in traffic jams is not only frustrating for commuters but, for a lot of people who are transporting goods and services for a living, “time is money.”
Drivers need to remember, if you’re involved in a collision and your vehicles are still drivable please move them out of the roadway and onto the shoulder. If you’re able to communicate and arrange it with the other driver involved, try to move your vehicles completely off the freeway and/or state route by taking the closest exit ramp. Reducing the amount of time a road closed is a team effort. If we work together, we can keep blockages and closures to a minimum and keep traffic flowing smoothly.