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February 07, 2007
Calling Out-of-State Readers
The Boston Globe today reports that hundreds of state cops make more than the Governor, mostly because this is the only state where there has to be a policeman waving traffic around a construction site, rather than a civilian or an orange barrel.
But this bit made me wonder:
John Coflesky, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, defended the detail pay, saying that having officers at construction sites instead of civilians enhances public safety.
"With us, you get a cruiser, someone with the ability to stop and issue citations, someone with a radio," he said yesterday. ". . . A cruiser -- that deters people from going past a flag man at high rates of speed. The purpose behind this is to protect the people working at construction details. . . . A flag person -- they just don't have the same clout."
I know I have readers out of state, so let me ask you this: Do you find that cars are always slamming into construction workers? Do you find that drivers race by SLOW signs and civilian flaggers, possibly with a jaunty Ignignoktesque flip of the finger, confident that no one will impede them? Is there carnage on the highways of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that could be prevented if only a trained professional were standing nearby?
Oops, I just read the next paragraph:
A 2004 study by Suffolk University's Beacon Hill Institute, examined data from details at construction sites in 103 cities and towns and found that the state has the worst accident rate in the country measured by property damage and the second worst measured by bodily injury.
The study apparently was only about local cops and not Staties. But still. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the day they invent an orange barrel that can drink coffee and entertain the construction workers, this problem will solve itself. In the meantime, I'd like to see our State Police spending less time standing by the side of the road, and more time scanning the infrastructure for wayward cartoon characters.
Filed Under: Boston | Permanent Link, Comments (9) | Linking Blogs
Comments
hey man... why do you always pick on Wisconsin? Anyway... I would like to add that you live in a state of perpetual construction- therefore the driving folk probably don't notice big orange cones anymore, let alone slow down for them. Orange cones for you are like the yellow dotted line for everyone else.
ps- I can't wait to read the first installment of your Survivor Blog. It's like Christmas morning! If only the people of LOST could meet up with Survivor- that would be good.
Posted by: cherylann | February 7, 2007 11:35 AM
Honestly? I picked two states where I know I have regular readers.
"you live in a state of perpetual construction"
I want that on a T-shirt.
Posted by: michael | February 7, 2007 12:01 PM
Out of state, and yeah, seems pretty safe here without the cops. In Boston, I always thought it was like a movie with cops watching all the construction. On the other hand, Boston has more daily road construction than any place I've ever seen. Here, the pipes weren't laid down in the 18th century, so they usually work pretty well!
Posted by: Abby | February 7, 2007 02:19 PM
It's like I think every time I drive through Connecticut (which is always always ALWAYS under construction) - this place has been here for 300 years; aren't they finished yet?
Like the great man said, "Waterbury wasn't built in a day"
Posted by: michael | February 7, 2007 02:38 PM
you have to enjoy his unnecessary over-emphasis, though. apparently people with radios have more clout than people without radios. i've never really thought about it like that before, and am curious if anyone in the world ever had, before he said that.
Posted by: Andy | February 7, 2007 04:40 PM
I'll volunteer to serve as your New Hampshire liaison, and report on the carnage as I see it unfold before me.
Translation: Don't expect to hear from me much.
Posted by: Bruce | February 7, 2007 05:07 PM
I remember an old statistic, who knows where or when from, that even though MA has more accidents than other states, it has fewer serious injuries and fatalities in auto accidents. This statistic surprised me, until I remembered that MA has more hospitals than the British lines in the Crimean war (work with me here) and it starts to make sense.
Posted by: Josh | February 8, 2007 12:54 AM
*Shout out* to Beantown's number one news and information suppliment! (hearts)--- Thats how we roll here in PA. "Ignignoktesque"??: priceless (applause).
Posted by: Laurie | February 16, 2007 01:28 PM
I am a cop in MA and work details. I looked into the Globe Articles quotation of statistics. They dont hold up at all. Check NHTSA statistics, Mass fatalities are nearly the lowest in the nation; the writer may have an agenda and is twisting statistics to make a point. Having cops there is safer, provides more cops on the road to respond. The critics dont mention that replacing us $40 an hour traffic cones will see our replacements be $27 an hour prevailing wage workman. So you saved 1/3 of the cost of details; if accidents do go up (they will) you will also see more insurance premiums. What will you save in the long run ? Well without details, the cops wont be making white collar salaries and make it into the upper middle class.
Posted by: archie | February 19, 2007 05:27 PM
