By: Dayna Roselli
Today I woke up to the sounds of thunder ( at about 1:30 in the morning ) … then the sounds of hard rain… it just kept pouring and pouring… I thought to myself, "wow, I haven’t heard it rain like this in ages!" Usually when it rains… it’s there, then it’s gone. But this was steady. I couldn’t sleep, knowing the commute would be a mess, there would be flooding to cover, and it was also the first day of school for Clark County teachers and kids. What a morning it was going to be!
Anyway, my commute was fairly easy…. I ran into one large puddle of water that was difficult to see becauase it was so dark… other than that, I made it in successfully!
Of course, we had to cover the storm first… the flooding, the the swift water rescues, the truck and car accidents, homes hit by lightening, etc. So that was the priority. The pictures that came in from our live crews and Skywitness 8 were amazing. The water rushing, the cars being pushed against fences and stuck in the water… some streets looked like rivers.
We are always suprised and shocked to watch cars drive right through the flood waters on live television. The water is up to their car windows! Who would think it was okay to do that?
Obviously, many of them get stuck…. then we have our emergency crews running around to help them. I find this to be a problem because there are other things happening that some people can’t help… like the home that was struck by lightning.
Think about that next time… if you think you can drive through… you probably can’t. And, if you get stuck… one of our city or county emergency crews might be helping you, instead of being somewhere where the danger was "unpreventable!"
Posted by Dayna Roselli
It seems that some people either just don’t think about what they’re doing or simply don’t care that they might put their own lives and the rescuers’ lives at risk (especially for something preventable versus a true crisis).
I drive a small car now which makes it hard to drive through even puddles but even when I had an SUV, I wouldn’t have driven through a foot of water! Not only does it ruin your car but it isn’t worth the risk — I’d rather call the office and tell them I’m running late!
Comment by Daly — August 27, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
I think that it’s not just that the people here don’t pay attention when they’re driving in rain, I don’t think they are properly trained on HOW to drive in rain. I grew up in the mid West so driving in rain is second nature to me. Almost no one here knows how to actually handle driving in rain; they either slow to a crawl or drive like it’s nothing. The first step the state needs to take is teach driving in school again rather than thru a company so that people are taught properly.
Comment by Jodi — August 30, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
YA! There is a lot of peaple that Drive me crazEEEEEEE, when they send what I feel is DUMB questions about traffic issues regarding our little city of Las Vegas. I have seen our growth For the past 38 years and have learned that progress takes time. It amazesis me that peaple from Elswhere!!! don’t comprehend this concept of growth! P.S.I think The Las Vegas IDLE EXPRESS! is a good term to use for any of our freeways that get backed up for any length of time. such as the 95-15-515-215-93-summerlin ETC. By The way! I feel You and your team do a great job for us that do live and work and rely on our highway systems.
Thank You; Ken
Comment by Ken — October 30, 2007 @ 3:53 pm