{"id":2274,"date":"2012-08-14T11:02:27","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T15:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=2274"},"modified":"2012-08-14T11:02:27","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T15:02:27","slug":"florida-highway-patrol-responds-to-fdle-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinblueflorida.com\/?p=2274","title":{"rendered":"Florida Highway Patrol Responds to FDLE Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Florida Highway Patrol has come out swinging against the highly critical report<\/a> published by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in April regarding the series of fatal crashes on the I-75 stretch of Paynes Prairie.\u00a0 Mainstream media outlets bludgeoned the FHP over what the press saw as mistakes in the Patrol’s smoke\/fog response on January 29, 2012.\u00a0 Six crashes involved 24 vehicles, resulting in 11 deaths and 46 reported injuries.<\/p>\n

In the wake of mounting criticism and 13 wrongful death lawsuits against it, the FHP investigated and published its own report of the incident response<\/a>, which involved not only the FHP, but the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, Alachua County Fire Rescue, Florida Department of Transportation, and Florida Forest Service.<\/p>\n

In its defense, FHP mitigates the finger-pointing by noting that in addition to the requested presence of other agencies and closure of the road, six additional troopers and a shift commander were called to Paynes Prairie that night.\u00a0 The decision to reopen I-75 was made by the on-scene shift commander, Lt. John Gourley.<\/p>\n

Back in April, I aired out my opinion<\/a> that the driver of a vehicle is ultimately responsible for its safe travel.\u00a0 The FHP Report echos this:<\/p>\n

“The FDLE report addresses the policy, procedures and training relative to this event.\u00a0 Driver behavior, which was not addressed, contributed to the crashes.\u00a0 Drivers of vehicles are responsible for adapting to roadway conditions, including weather, in accordance with Florida Statutes.\u00a0 The investigations of the crashes that occurred during the 4:00 AM hour determined that the smoke rapidly reduced visibility and, in response, some drivers stopped in the roadway.\u00a0 Despite the presence of Fog\/Smoke warning signs, some drivers did not take proper precautions and slow their speeds to prepare for reduced visibility.\u00a0 This reaction to environmental conditions warrants additional outreach for driver awareness.\u00a0 Also, drug\/alcohol use was confirmed on the part of several of the drivers.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am certainly sensitive to the tragic nature of the crashes.\u00a0 At the same time, an objective assessment of such a series of multi-vehicle collisions must hold the drivers responsible for their actions.\u00a0 The FDLE report did not do this.\u00a0 The MSM seized upon the FDLE report to vilify the FHP.<\/p>\n

I’m glad to the the Highway Patrol clear the air.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the damage was done and the perception that law enforcement agencies can predict and prevent all tragedies was reinforced by a skewed investigation, ignorant news articles, and an abdicated sense of personal responsibility.<\/p>\n

Randall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Florida Highway Patrol has come out swinging against the highly critical report published by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in April regarding the series of fatal crashes on the I-75 stretch of Paynes Prairie.\u00a0 Mainstream media outlets bludgeoned the FHP over what the press saw as mistakes in the Patrol’s smoke\/fog response on January 29, 2012.\u00a0 Six crashes involved 24 vehicles, resulting in 11 deaths and 46 reported injuries. In the wake of mounting criticism and 13 wrongful death lawsuits against it, the FHP investigated and published its own report of the incident response, which involved not only the FHP, but the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[407,349],"tags":[262,444,260,261],"class_list":["post-2274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-politics","tag-fatal-crash-i-75","tag-fhp-fdle-report","tag-florida-highway-patrol","tag-lt-john-gourley"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t