Get troopers out of harm's way

On Friday, April 5, the Daily Herald published an editorial titled "How many troopers must be injured or killed before we learn how to drive?" How about "How many troopers have to be injured or killed before we learn how to keep them safe?"

When a trooper pulls over a motorist, cars fly by. If it's during a busy drive time, officers could be passed by more than a car each second. So if it takes 15 minutes to pull someone over, check their license and insurance and write a ticket, they could be passed by 1,000 cars or more.

The governor's and the state police's solution is to put another trooper at the scene who will pull someone over if they don't slow down or give space to the trooper during his or her stop. If another trooper is nearby to protect the first trooper, and pulls someone over, that's one car they pull over. What about the other 999? If this were a real solution, we would need a line of troopers ready to pull over dozens of cars.

Find a real solution. The simple concept is to get the trooper out of harm's way. Why can't they change procedure and tell the offender to get off at the next exit and write the ticket there? Why can't the state pave a small area every five miles 30 feet off to the side of the road with a concrete divider and get the police and the motorist off the shoulder? There are other options, too. Instead, their solution is to double the cost of writing a ticket, and put another trooper in harm's way.

Jim Gallo

Elk Grove