Highway Heroes Save The Day!  By  JerryScript (Read 1,053 times)

That's great that they saved the dog from a vehicular demise. That little pooch was fast!

That's what makes these guys, and that lady, heroes. Saving a life, human or animal, while putting your own safety at risk, no better definition of hero I can think of!

You could be found guilty of public endangerment for doing that as others have been. You have to consider more than just the animal but the other drivers on the roadway who could crash when you run after a dog or other small animal on a street. If one of the bikers had fallen over the barrier and into the path of traffic in the express lanes there could have been quite a pile up with a large human toll which is what the laws the police will be enforcing are trying to prevent.

Yes I care for animals and have pets of my own and its wonderful that they were able to rescue the dog however they potentially risked more than their own lives in doing so.

My wife would risk killing all the passengers in her van and anyone in her path to save even a squirrel and she can't understand that when you get behind the wheel your primary obligation is to your passengers along with other people on the roadway and adjacent areas.

You have to consider what you are risking when you put other people in danger as people live 70 to 80 years or so. When you endanger a minivan full of say six 10 year old children to save an animal you are risking potentially 480 years of their collective lives to save the remaining 5 or so years of an animals.

Even when rescuing a person the first rule in our responder training is to make the scene safe and only proceed if your action at an unsafe scene puts only you yourself or only those that agree to accept the unsafe situation at risk.

They were very fortunate that no drivers lost control and crashed trying to stop for them.

I was watching a TV show that covered similar yesterday and it was a police officer that had to be physically restrained by a senior officer when he was about to step out in front of expressway traffic to go out after a dog on the roadway. The senior officer just shook his head and said no when the younger one looked back exasperated. The dog survived unharmed and they took him to the vet for a checkup afterwards.

Responsibility has much to do with it. We are all responsible to/for others be it other people on the road or family members who we provide support, safety and lodging to. You can't act impulsively or rashly and need to consider your primary responsibilities when others are depending on you. It's putting aside self for the welfare of those in your care regardless of what your gut impels you to do. Still take action but do it safely.

If you have no one and you aren't putting others at risk that is different however most need to consider these things before acting on an impulse to rescue an animal or especially a possession such as a cell phone:
www.dailyherald.com/article/20140729/news/140728431/
www.cnet.com/news/man-dies-after-jumping-into-icy-river-to-retrieve-cell-phone/#!
www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/30/china-two-people-die-phone-toilet-septic-tank
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/jenna-betti-killed-train-phone_n_4895628.html
www.nydailynews.com/new-york/helping-family-escape-fire-queens-man-dies-retrieving-cell-phone-article-1.418646
archive.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=50404

I never ran into any cows on the highways around KC, but I did find myself incredibly lost when attempting to find Lansing the first time I drove there to visit my parents years ago. I made a wrong turn somewhere between the turnpike exit and Lansing, ended up asking directions from a nice man in an orange jump suit. Found out later I had driven right through a minimum security work farm, but that man in the jump suit was still as nice as could be, even the criminals are kind in Kansas!