COUNTERMEASURE
Objective: To prevent accidents when parked, by anticipating the hazards involved and knowing how to safely avoid them.
Description: Parking on, or partially on, a travel lane creates a hazard. This is especially true at night. On congested metropolitan streets, drivers expect to see parked vehicles in their lane and are usually ready to react and avoid them. On rural and high-speed roads, drivers do not expect to see vehicles parked in their lane. Their attention level may be lower and they may not be able to react quickly enough to avoid a collision.
Questions for Management:
1. Have your drivers ever been trained regarding safe parking procedures? How? When? By whom?
2. Do you know if your drivers are practicing safe parking procedures?
3. Do you ever have qualified personnel ride with your drivers to assess safe driving habits?
4. Are your vehicles equipped with required emergency warning devices?
5. Do drivers know how to set up triangles?
6. Do drivers know where to place triangles?
7. Does the entrance to your terminal provide sufficient space to park off the roadway?
Maintenance Checks:
• Clean vehicle, especially rear.
• Tail light and flasher operation.
• Emergency reflective triangles and/or flares stored in vehicle.
• Battery condition.
Driving Tips:
• Always try to park your vehicle off the road altogether. Even leaving a small portion of your vehicle on the travel lane creates a serious hazard.
• If you pull off onto the shoulder, turn on your flashers day or night. At night, drowsy drivers who see only tail lights on your vehicle may follow you onto the shoulder thinking you are still moving.
• If a sudden breakdown or other emergency forces you to park on a travel lane, turn on your flashers immediately. Then set up reflective triangles at the proper distances immediately. If you have a cell phone, call for help. At night, this is an especially hazardous situation for both you and other drivers, be extremely careful.
