At a recent council meeting, Lamont regional fire chief David Zayonce reported traffic accidents on County roads had almost doubled in the past year.
“There was a dramatic rise in traffic accidents between 2018 and 2019,” he said.
“What is alarming is how many accidents we responded to.”
In 2108, the department responded to 41 accidents but that number climbed to 70 in 2019.
He said, on a daily basis, as he travels around the county, he sees drivers speeding and not driving to the road conditions.
“Our weather is very unpredictable,” he reported. “And when driving, those road conditions should really be paid attention to. Snow and blowing snow can make for very unsafe driving conditions.”
Zayonce said when he’s driving in his fire vehicle, which does has roof warning lights and striping, he sees people drive cautiously until they realize he’s a fire vehicle and not a police vehicle and then they pass him at an excessive rate of speed.
“I’m always passed on the highway once someone realizes I’m not a police vehicle,” he said.
He states people should realize if he’s driving to the road conditions in an emergency vehicle, then other drivers should follow suit.
He added in the past week alone, he had seen two vehicles go into the ditch due to blowing snow and perhaps not driving to the weather conditions.
He adds people have to slow down when emergency crews are working on the side of the road and this is often not happening.
“You can not fly by us at high rates of speed,” he said. “That is extremely dangerous for our firefighters trying to do their jobs at an accident or other emergency scenes.”
Read THE REST OF THE STORY below in the full February 12 edition of The Lamont Leader!
John Mather
