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Motorists undeterred by barricaded roads
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - October 01, 2008)
Motorists undeterred by barricaded roads
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
With five main roads having to be barricaded in Munson after high winds blew over trees and power lines in the area Sept. 14, township crews ran into some other problems.
Munson Fire Chief Bernerd Harchar said the fire department and road crew were called on to handle the simultaneous closing of Sherman, Mayfield (Route 322), Rockhaven, Auburn and Bass Lake roads.
While cones, barricades and road-closed signs went up along those routes, many drivers were not paying heed, he said. "People decided not to honor the signs and just drove over them. We had to pull one of our road-closed signs out of the Notre Dame fence."
Even downed wires did not stop drivers from continuing on the closed roads, Mr. Harchar said. "There were people driving over wires and under wires."
While traffic citations were in order, he said, he had a bigger worry. "Somebody is going to get hurt pretty bad. The road blocks didn't do much good," he said.
It is a behavior that Mr. Harchar has seen before, he said. When a truck took down a wire along a township road in the past, firefighters blocked the entire road with a firetruck, he said, but motorists drove around the truck, into a culvert and continued on their way.
Geauga County Engineer Robert L. Phillips said those drivers are playing with fire. He said many of the downed wires are hot, and they generally carry 220 volts, if not more, which is enough to easily kill someone. The rubber tires on vehicles are no protection from electrocution, he said.
The behavior is similar to those who continually take chances when they drive through high water, despite the numerous warnings that are issued, Mr. Phillips said. People in vehicles with high clearance believe they can go through, but there can be hidden dangers awaiting them, he said. The force of running water can erode a roadway, and that can be hidden from drivers' view, he said.
He fears that people will not learn their lesson until tragedy strikes, he said.
Such behavior is prompted by a desire not to be inconvenienced, Mr. Phillips said. "People will complain about the shortest detour in the world as they will the longest. And it's frustrating to those who work in my field and the fire and police departments."
He said road and safety officials close roads for a reason -- to protect those who travel them. "It is the goal of everyone to provide information that's beneficial, so people can get to where they're going safely," Mr. Phillips said.
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