Time to enlighten Dave. Some questions about driving the mean streets with idiots all around.

This crude drawing above is not by a second grader, but penned by the proprietor of STATter 911. The sad fact is that it is actually a second, improved version after Firehouse.com’s Susan Nicol Kyle made fun of my original version, drawn while on the floor of Firehouse Expo.

It is a diagram of Engine 26’s collision on Friday while responding to a box alarm at 7th Street and Longfellow Street, NW. It is based on the description given to me by DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Alan Etter.

The most important information about the crash we need to relay is that the two injured parties, the officer of Engine 26 and the car’s driver, have both been treated and released. The reason I have gone to the extent of providing a visual aid is that I found the details of this accident interesting. So did some fire service veterans I discussed it with in Baltimore.

The driver of the car that was struck has been charged with failure to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle. In discussing this and writing about it, I am without the benefit of the statements of the drivers and the witnesses to the collision. But on the surface, without knowing any extenuating circumstances, some people thought this could have been a close call for police on placing charges.

The driver of the car was northbound on 5th Street, NW, a two-way street. E-26 was westbound on Longfellow Street, NW, on a portion that is one-way eastbound.

It is a short cut I have seen other fire equipment use many times as crews travel west on Longfellow Street from the main drag through this part of town, Missouri Avenue. Measuring the Google Map below, it appears to cut off about 300 feet from the trip and gets rid of two sharp turns. Essentially instead of having to travel the hypotenuse and one leg of this right triangle, you are taking a straight shot on the other leg (that may be all I remember from high school geometry and I am not sure even that is correct).

Alan Etter says the maneuver also appears to meet department guidelines that allow trips the wrong way on one-way streets that are a block or less.

The intersection is controlled by one stop sign for eastbound traffic on Longfellow Street approaching 5th Street.

According to Etter, Engine 26 hit the car when the fire engine came into the intersection.

I have some questions about this collision. It isn’t about the legal aspects of who should be charged and why. In fact, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that the driver of the car is absolutely in the wrong and there are good, solid grounds for the charges.

My questions are much more general and don’t just apply to this wreck. The questions aren’t about what is legal or correct under department policy. It is more about what is practical. I throw them out there, not having the answer to the questions, but looking for your input.

It is a given how distracted drivers are these days with cell phones, GPS and countless other electronic devices. When I watch the stupid things done by civilian drivers interacting with emergency vehicles I am amazed there aren’t more collisions. It is hard enough to get them to get out of your way when you are coming the right way down the street. So how do you expect them to find you when you pop out of a place where traffic normally wouldn’t appear?

Aren’t you putting a great deal of confidence in people who are driving their cars with their heads up their …. (think of a place where you recently saw fireworks being shot from)?

It is been many, many years since I drove emergency vehicles. I thought it was bad then. It is clearly much worse now. So enlighten me on your thought process as you handle situations like these.