Woodstock drivers endangered

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
January 3, 2010

At 3:05PM today a Woodstock Police car blew through a stop sign at about 40MPH with red lights and siren operating. The squad car was eastbound on South Street, down the hill past the Bundling Board B&B and never slowed down at the stop sign at Madison Street. The squad car continued across the intersection and through the tunnel.

Shortly after that a second squad car, being operated more safely and prudently, drove east on South Street toward Madison Street, also with emergency equipment in use.

It is imperative that officers slow down through intersections. In fact, the state law requires them to operate their vehicles "against" traffic control devices in such a matter as to be able to avoid a crash. Had a car crossed South Street on Madison or from Lake Avenue, there would have been a really bad crash this afternoon.

Officers are allowed to proceed against a red light or stop sign, but they must do so safely. There are several statutes that they are required to observe when operating with emergency equipment.

Today it was completely unsafe! Arriving a few seconds sooner at a call is not worth the risk of a bad crash (or any crash) and injury to others as well as to the officer. Command personnel must take charge of their officers and train them so that at no time in the future will they drive as that officer did today.