FACE IT: Report Slides: Trooper Crashes on Roadway While Responding to Reckless Driver Complaint – Kentucky

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
• Description:
  On June 23, 2015, a 23-year-old state police trooper was fatally injured when he lost control of his vehicle in a curve and was struck by an oncoming tractor trailer. The trooper was responding to a complaint of a reckless driver whom Dispatch had advised was traveling ahead of him. Using his cell phone, the trooper called Dispatch to get an update on the location of the reckless driver. As the trooper entered a curve in the road, he lost control of his patrol car, which rotated counterclockwise, and crossed into the path of oncoming traffic. Seeing the out-of-control patrol unit, the driver of an oncoming tractor trailer applied his brakes and steered toward the shoulder in attempt to avoid crashing into the trooper. The patrol unit had spun approximately three-fourths of a full rotation, placing the driver's side door in front of the oncoming tractor trailer as the collision occurred. The trooper died on impact. Contributing Factors: Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: 1. Vehicle speed; 2. Use of a cell phone while driving; 3. Roadway conditions and/or weather. Key Recommendations: NIOSH investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences: 1. Law enforcement agencies should establish and enforce standard operating procedures for the use of onboard vehicle equipment and other electronic devices, such as cell phones, when operating vehicles. 2. Law enforcement agencies should establish and enforce standard operating procedures for the maximum miles per hour over the posted speed limit a law enforcement officer may use when responding to a call. 3. Law enforcement agencies and training academies should emphasize the driving skills of matching vehicle speed with roadway and environmental conditions. 4. Law enforcement agencies and training academies should consider including in the training curriculum techniques for managing adrenaline surge. 5. Departments of transportation should consider the use of supplemental traffic control devices in addition to the minimum specified by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUCTD) to warn motorists of upcoming curves. The full version of this report is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/in-house/L201602.html. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergency Responders Law Enforcement Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Accidents Drivers Emergency Responders Fatalities Law Enforcement Workers Motor Vehicles Police Officers Region 4 Training Traumatic Injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Structure Fire: Arson
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Law Enforcement Officers (LEO)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHLEO201602RS
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066791
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, LEO 2016-02, 2023 Jan; :1-9
• Contact Point Address:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation, Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch, Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, 1000 Frederick Lane, M/S 1808, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505-2888
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20150623
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f1f6adb767053516b9bcef2b8f0eb82e99321c504e0c87881310ed8879e2def2281ea737c2c148ec083d0baa010886d26145ceeb701abb07a7af013f1c59fef6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228549/cdc_228549_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 805.33 KB ]