From the tone of her voice, I could tell that this was not a normal call from a constituent in need. It was clear that she was scared and I could be her last hope. A wife, a mother and a caregiver for a husband no longer able to provide for his family. A distracted driver in a work zone had inexcusably struck her husband, and now they were buried in bills and strapped with overreaching bureaucratic red tape from insurance assistance. Simply slowing down and pulling over into the outside lane would have avoided all of the uncertainty that she now faced.
Fast forward. It was a typical sunny summer afternoon, and I was halfway through my short commute home from my Cabot office. A car was stalled in the proper lane of the state highway I have traveled to and from my office for over 20 years. In front of the stalled car was a roll back wrecker and a young man just trying to earn a living. He was doing his job. He was tasked with removing the stalled vehicle, as quickly and safely as he could, so that afternoon commuter traffic wouldn’t be detained. His attention was on his professional responsibilities. A county law officer was attempting to direct traffic one at a time around the obstruction. I watched as the young man had to leap onto the bed of this work truck and avoid a crushing collision due to a distracted driver in a controlled traffic environment. Inches separated job and life. I thought about the call I had received just a few weeks earlier from that scared spouse. I imagined this young man had a spouse at home and maybe children. They expected him to come home that day. He was close to never coming home again.
Fast forward. It was a dusky evening on I-59. We were headed south after watching a victorious win at Baum Walker Stadium. Traffic was moving steady as Hog fans were happy about the win over Tennessee. We had passed through the Bobby Hopper Tunnel still talking about the big hit of the game. Up ahead in the distance the flashing blue lights on the outside shoulder gave warning. We all slowed and moved to the inside lane, except for the one coming up from behind. As the car flew past me, I noticed the driver, phone in hand, watching some type of video. His screen glowed through his very tinted windows. As our brave Arkansas State Trooper was performing his duties, little did he know that he was about to be inches from a traumatic scene. The driver never slowed or moved over. Our man in blue almost didn’t go home that evening.
For too long now, I have witnessed over and over scenes just like the three mentioned above. Laws have been passed, but human behavior hasn’t changed. Unfortunately, the data continues to grow. We are working together to make a difference. We are working together to make sure that those calls stop, that lives are saved and hard-working Arkansans get to go home at the end of their shift.
I am grateful for the following teams that have joined me to try to do something about this.
Arkansas State Police
Arkansas Department of Transportation
Arkansas General Contractors
Arkansas Trucking Association
Arkansas Highway Police
Arkansas Towing & Recovery Board
Arkansas Ambulance Association
Slow down, move over and save lives. Together we can change the direction of the data, one less distraction at a time.
Rep. Brian S. Evans (R-Cabot) currently serves as the Speaker of the House for the 95th General Assembly. He is the president & CEO of L&L Freight Services, Inc. an Arkansas based 3PL.
