Today’s question is from alert reader John of White Bear Lake. A few weeks ago, John was…

…making the short drive home from the Park & Ride. Going north on 61 in Maplewood, and it’s strangely congested. Get to Beam Ave. and there’s a car parked in the right lane. No hazards, no occupant. While trying to maneuver around the car, I see who I presume to be the owner returning with a plastic gas jug. Considering she had to walk about 3 blocks (one way with a jug full of gas) she was probably gone for 15-20 minutes. Car parked in the right traffic lane the whole time.

[The next day] driving into work — strange amount of congestion on 61 south nearing County Rd D. Light turns green, my lane doesn’t move. Cars start to work their way around another stalled vehicle. No hazards, but this time there’s an occupant on her cell phone.

First off, do people know what their hazard lights are for? Secondly, does no one get out and push their car out of the way anymore? Too dangerous? The amount of confusion caused by a parked car on a trunk highway seems much more dangerous to me then a couple people working to get the car out of the way.

Roadguy could see John’s point, but he also knows that walking or standing on — or even near — a major highway is a major danger. (Just the other day, another state trooper was hit during a traffic stop.) Roadguy contacted our friends at the Temple of Transportation about the matter, and he heard back from another John. This John works in “incident management” for MnDOT (the “Highway Helper” program now known as FIRST), and he offered this information:

It is certainly true that a stalled vehicle blocking a traffic lane presents a serious danger to other drivers. We recommend that if you see a situation like this to immediately report it to 911. We do not recommend trying to push a vehicle by hand for the simple reason that a person on foot is far more vulnerable than the belted occupants of a vehicle. Even a very low speed collision with a pedestrian can result in serious life changing injuries, if not death. The same collision between two vehicles, again with all occupants properly restrained, is far less likely to result in death or injury.

State Patrol and MnDOT FIRST units are equipped with push bumpers to allow them to push vehicles clear of the lane while the driver remains inside their truck or squad.

Also, please remind your readers that running out of gas is not a legitimate reason for stopping on the highway. You can be cited for a non-emergency stop and have your vehicle towed. Do not push your luck by trying to run to the last drop or that gallon of gas could be a lot more expensive then you planned! And don’t rely on the computers that some newer vehicles have that try to estimate how many miles more you can drive - I personally have heard the “but the computer told me I could drive 20 more miles” excuse several times.

In other words, the official take is don’t push your car, and don’t push your luck. But Roadguy wants to know your take — what have you done, or seen others do, with stalled cars on major roads? Share your tales and thoughts below.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 6:10 am and is filed under Good to know, Scenes and stories, WUWT?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.