Hi Rowley
If you had a need to place your vehicle as the fend-off vehicle then you
were right.
The Police were in theory wrong but without knowing their specific roles I
wouldn't like to comment. I have seen them set up in all sorts of ways.
Example, the first vehicle is facing inward with wheels turned in, the
second vehicle is in a normal position inside cones (officers communicating
with control have a better chance of surviving a rear impact than a side
impact if positioned normally) and so on. It really depends on how many
vehicles they have and the circumstances of the RTC.
Generally if there is one Police vehicle they would normally position as you
did.
On the other hand - as a (para) medic I would not place my vehicle before
the RTC but after it. It is in the 'safe zone'. The added benefit is that as
soon as there are enough resources and you are no longer required then you
can shoot off without the potential for being blocked in by other rescue
vehicles, leaving the traffic jams far behind.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rowley Cottingham" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2004 9:01 PM
Subject: Fend off
> Found an RTC on my way home from Leeds on the M1 yesterday. Not a major
> problem, but I noticed that the Police parked in fend off opposite from
> what I
> thought was correct.
>
> The injured car had ended up in Lane 3 entirely. I stopped behind it
> with my car
> angled towards the central reservation and with the wheels turned also
> towards the
> central reservation. This meant that if the car was struck from behind
> it would deflect
> safely to the barrier and not into passing traffic in lanes 1 and 2.
>
> However, the Police car angled everything the OTHER way, so that it
> would be
> pushed if struck towards the other two lanes. Who was right? Why?
>
> Rowley Cottingham.
>
> Consultant in Emergency Medicine.
>
>
>
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