Motorists are

being urged to use caution around accident and crime scenes on local roadways.

On several

occasions, emergency personnel have almost been struck at accident scenes

Department of Fire and Emergency Services. This month alone, emergency

personnel in several states were struck and killed by oncoming vehicles.

Motorists should

slow down whenever they approach a scene where red or blue lights are

flashing, Nelms said. Also, drivers should look for a law enforcement

officer to give directions, said Maj. Wayne Hannah, who heads up the traffic

enforcement division of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

"People

need to make sure they understand what the officer wants them to do,"

Hannah said. "Make eye contact with the person controlling the traffic

and make sure your understand their signals."

When it's dark

and/or rainy outside, motorists should use even more caution as they near

the scene, Hannah added.

To make themselves

more visible, emergency personnel are using reflective orange vests at

accident scenes, said FCDFES Chief Tom Bartlett.

"Motorists

just need to be aware of what's going on," Bartlett said. "We're

doing our part, but we're asking folks to do their part as well and slow

down."

Often times,

the motorist's attention is diverted from the road to the accident scene,

Bartlett said. Drivers need to pay attention to the road instead, he added.

"An increasing

number of people try to hurry up and get past the scene," Nelms said.

That has put more emergency workers in peril, he added.

The greatest

difficulty for emergency workers is when they have to walk across four

lanes of traffic to get to a scene, Nelms said. Although they try to park

on the same side of the road as the emergency scene, sometimes several

trips need to be made across the road to bring special equipment to the

scene, Bartlett said.

"They're

trying to focus on the patient and at the same time they have to be extremely

alert," Nelms said.

Deputies from

the Fayette County Sheriff's Department typically direct traffic at accident

scenes in the county. But for added protection, emergency vehicles are

parked along the road to serve as a barrier to protect accident victims

and emergency personnel, Nelms added.

To keep traffic

flowing, the roads aren't shut down both ways unless its totally necessary,

Nelms said. For example, there are some cases when a helicopter is needed

to transport a critical patient quickly, and there might be no other place

for it to land other than on the roadway.

"We're

not blocking a lane or the whole road for the fun of it," Hannah

said. "Our goal is to get traffic moving as soon as possible, but

sometimes it takes a while."

Drivers should

also use caution not to disturb the crime scene and stay out of a lane

when it's blocked by an emergency vehicle, Hannah said.

Above all,

the golden rule is to pay attention and refrain from being distracted

while near accident or crime scenes, officials said.

Hannah recalled

being clipped by a vehicle while directing traffic at a scene. He had

turned around briefly to survey the situation when a female motorist breezed

past, grazing his elbow.

She stopped

and told Hannah what she had been doing.

"I was

just putting on my makeup," she said.

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