What Day Is It?

ODOT Traffic Volume Report

Did I shower today or was that yesterday?

When did this all start? February? That feels like ancient history.

March ended without March Madness. April started with Arizona Bike Week and the Laughlin River Run being canceled.  May graduations were canceled.  Friday happy hours have been called off indefinitely.  For those who still remain employed, but working from home, daily cues like commuting, rush hour traffic and socializing after work have disappeared

Workdays blur together, and weekends are just weekdays with fewer obligations. I know I’m not going out today so, it’s just, every day is today.

The good news…

On all major interstates in the Portland metro area, traffic is down 46% from levels last year, according to a report compiled by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Interstates 5, 405, 84 and 205 are all seeing significant traffic declines. For example, average speeds on I-5 northbound during what used to be the afternoon rush hour were up to 60 miles per hour in the most recent week of figures. Back during the week of March 1, the average rush hour speed there was 33 mph.

I-5, in particular, is seeing the most significant declines of metro-area freeways. The average weekend traffic was down 64% for the most recent full week of data available (March 30-April 5). State officials compiled the data from 38 traffic monitoring locations across 13 freeways and highways in Oregon.

The number of car crashes has plummeted due to lower traffic volumes.  However, evidence is beginning to emerge that absent traffic jams during the coronavirus crisis, many drivers are getting more reckless.

Speaking of reckless…

Pavel Vasilyevich Krechko

The latest example in Portland, Oregon happened on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 3:34 p.m., East Precinct officers responded to the intersection of Southeast 148th Avenue / Southeast Powell Boulevard on a report of a traffic crash involving a motorcyclist.

Investigators learned that the suspect, Pavel Vasilyevich Krechko (19-year-old), was involved in a minor traffic crash on Southeast Powell Boulevard just west of Southeast 148th Avenue and was fleeing from that traffic crash when he then crashed into a motorcycle head-on killing Brandon Cody Reid (32-year-old).

Krechko, fled the scene immediately (a 2nd time!) after the crash and abandoned his vehicle.  Investigators responded to Krechko’s residence in Troudale, Oregon where he was taken into custody about an hour later. Krechko initially denied being involved in either crash, and said his car had been stolen a few hours earlier. But, police said he eventually confessed to crashing and fleeing both scenes.

Krechko was arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, one count of Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver (felony), one count of reckless driving, and one count of Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver (misdemeanor).

Now for the MOST important part of this post, which should wipe away that stupid smile on Mr. Krechko’s booking photo!

Senate Bill 810 became effective January 1, 2020.  It was signed into law back in June, 2019, and modifies the definition of “vulnerable user of a public way” to include persons operating or riding on a moped or motorcycle.  The law (801.608, “Vulnerable user of a public way”) enhances penalties for motorists who kill or injure motorcyclists, as well as other vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, highway workers or bicyclists.

It is very distressing to write about this type of idiotic negligence.  My hope is that Oregon taking this important step to protect motorcycle riders by significantly enhancing the penalties against careless and criminally negligent drivers will slow down people making bad choices.

Photos courtesy of ODOT and Portland Police Bureau

Oregon Crash Statistics & Reports    |    Invest in yourself and Stay Sharp HERE!

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Spike In Motorcycle Accidents Mar Oregon Summer

I know there are ongoing activities to promote motorcycle safety in Oregon.

Yet, my observations riding around the Portland metro area is that we just don’t see as much in the way of highly visible – “in your face” – awareness programs this year.  Maybe I’ve missed the billboards while concentrating on and trying to navigate the highway ruts/grooves from all the road construction?

I’ll tell you what I have noticed…   Several motorcycle crash reports from Oregon State Police and articles in the Oregonian.  It’s sad to say, but when I see a motorcycle accident in the paper, that’s increasing awareness!  Some might even debate that reading about motorcycle accidents provides a better deterrent than a motorcycle awareness campaign could accomplish.

What do you think?

When there is an accident, the motorcycle community wants to know what happened.  Why and who caused it?  But, more often than not we’re left speculating about what led up to the accident, or second guessing the police report.  Follow up seldom occurs and accurate conclusions are challenging to get.  I truly dislike blogging about these disheartening events, but over the last 4-weeks we’ve seen a spike in accidents.  All motorcyclists were wearing helmets and below is a brief summary:

1. June 17 –  John Edward Tomer was eastbound on Highway 26 near milepost 46. For an unknown reason, the motorcycle traveled across the westbound lane where a witness in another vehicle slowed to avoid it. The motorcycle continued off the highway into a ditch and hit a tree bordering the north side.  Mr. Tomer was pronounced deceased at the scene.
2. June 21 – Terry Brateng stopped his motorcycle with two other motorcycles on the right southbound shoulder of I-5 near milepost 194 underneath an overpass next to a concrete shoulder barrier to shelter from a passing heavy rain shower.  After getting off his motorcycle, Brateng was walking around the front of the motorcycle when he was struck by an automobile driven by Kaitlyn Inman which failed to drive within a lane.  Brateng was seriously injured and remains in Sacred Heart Medical Center.
3. June 23 –  Stephen Anthony Williams was on Highway 37 about 8-miles southeast of Highway 97 and collided into the passenger side of a dodge van turning into a private driveway.  He was air lifted to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend where he died of injuries.  The van’s driver, Glen Harvey Jr was arrested for criminally negligent homicide and DUII.
4. June 24 – On Highway 19 west of Spray, Randall Upshaw was found by a passing motorist in the highway along with a dead deer.  Upshaw was deceased and the preliminary investigation indicated a collision between the motorcycle and the deer.
5. July 3 – Robert Irving Floding died from injuries suffered during a crash on June 10th.  This was the 19th traffic fatality in Portland in 2013
6. July 5 – An adult male crashed his motorcycle in the 1400 block of SE 10th Avenue in Portland and was pronounced deceased at the scene.  A medical condition was being reviewed.  No names were released.
7. July 9 – A Roseburg couple, Kenneth and Linda Minshew were critically injured on Highway 138E two miles west of Tokette when the motorcycle traveled off the highway and struck a tree.
8. July 11 – A fatal motorcycle crash on SE Milwaukee Avenue just south of McLoughlin Blvd.  Damian Gerold Waytt was traveling at high rate of speed on a Kawasaki ZX6 and failed to negotiate a partial right turn and went off the road.  Video HERE.  This was the 23rd traffic fatality in Portland in 2013.
9. July 11 – Jacob J. Godfrey was found lying in berry bushes several hours after an overnight motorcycle crash off Highway 194 (Monmouth Highway) and 3-miles east of Highway 223.  The Yamaha motorcycle traveled off the highway and when Mr. Godfrey didn’t come to work the next morning friends went looking and spotted the mark on a road side tree, stopped and heard him call out for help.  He was reported in fair condition.
10. July 16 – A motorcycle and dump truck were involved in an accident on Highway 229 at milepost 21 near Siletz. For an unconfirmed reason the motorcycle operated by John Hausmann and with passenger/wife Angela Hausmann crossed the center line and collided with the truck.  Their injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.
11. UPDATED:  July 19 — A reckless motorcycle was traveling eastbound on Highway 30 in excess of 100 mph and tried to eluded OSP.  The trooper tried to stop the motorcycle rider, but he failed to yield to the trooper’s emergency lights and siren, then continued on eastbound.  Iosif Savitskiy eventually crashed into a yard in North Portland and was arrested.  Video HERE.  Another idiot giving motorcycle riders a bad name…

My condolences and sympathies go out to the families and friends of these riders.

There are many reasons for the spike in motorcycle accidents and clearly we can’t shove all the blame onto distracted automobile drivers.

Given the high number of riders who will be out this weekend packing the roads for Run21 and the National BMW rally, I wanted to remind riders… please just pay attention and ride safe.

Photo courtesy of lifemoresimply.blogspot.com

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Optimizing Your Traffic Ticket Experience

We’ve all been there.

The riding posse jostles out of a parking lot or a fuel stop and spills out onto the freeway.  The front of the pack has merged onto the freeway as everyone behind must speed up so, we twist open the throttle and try and catch the front of the pack.  Everyone is doing the same thing.  Some cars are smart enough to let us have our way and some are not.  Then you glance down at the speed-o-meter just long enough to see it somewhere north of 70 mph and as the eyes return up to the front you glimpse a red/blue flashing light in the mirror.

Speaking of traffic enforcement…  in the state of Oregon, twenty-four hours a day, the Oregon State Police (OSP) issue traffic citations.  In fact, OSP issues a citation approximately every 2.6 minutes as they hand write more than 200,000 citations annually.  And after a copy is given to the person stopped by the trooper, copies are hand-delivered to the local court and another copy to the respective OSP field office.  It doesn’t stop there as transcriptions of a single citation will occur at the field office into the OSP Records Management System and again at the circuit or justice court.

Clearly all this “processing” leads to a considerable number of resources being dedicated to capturing information on the citations for the respective court system along with a certain percentage of transcription errors.

Enter the OSP Mobility + E-Ticketing Program.  A program which developed an electronic citation process to more efficiently move a citation from the law enforcement officer’s hand to circuit and justice courts all across the state.

Aren’t we lucky to have such visionaries cheerfully remove our wait burdens during the ticket processing?

The program started back in January 2011 when the OSP began exploring alternatives as part of a series of technology-based projects to transform how OSP troopers work and how the Department conducts daily business. The Mobility + E-Ticketing Program was successfully rolled out earlier this year as 39 circuit courts began moving from the delivery of handwritten citations to electronically receiving citations in “twitter speed” from the scene of the traffic stop.

It’s all about improving efficiency and automating the tedious act of an officer issuing a traffic citation.  OSP consulted with the Oregon Justice Department (OJD) and the Chief Justice of Oregon to ensure legal compatibility with all state statutes. And, multiple agencies and vendors worked collaboratively to deliver a fully integrated solution that automated OSP systems and helped the courts. By developing an electronic citation process that could be used by all law enforcement agencies across Oregon just think of the utilization metrics and nifty cost saving stats.  With a “we look forward to seeing you frequently” mind-set, E-Ticketing also helped implement the OJD Courts ePay process, allowing offenders to pay citations on-line within 24 hours instead of being involved in a process that could take more than 3 weeks to resolve.

The OSP Mobility +E-Ticketing Program cost approximately $2.5 million including hardware, software, equipment, installations, and other related costs.  The state used a federal grant to upgrade technology and installation of in-patrol-car computer systems. The mobile computers give troopers immediate data sharing capabilities with other law enforcement agencies while they are involved in a stop.

So, the next time you twist the throttle, know that the nice folks at the OSP, OJD and Trial Court collaborated to deliver you a citation efficiently with the intent of helping you move along to your destination as quickly as possible – of course within the legal posted speed limits!

Photo courtesy of OSP.

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Never Say Never

A bowl hair cut, peering eyes and scores of people running all around nervous and looking exhausted.

And you thought the title reference was about Justin Bieber’s 105 minutes of fame adolescent screams where he tries to prove he’s just a regular guy in 3D!

Glock Model 22

Unfortunately, I’m talking about the recovery rate of weapons stolen from or lost by law enforcement.

There it was in my inbox… a newsflash from Oregon State Police — an OSP detective conducting a follow up investigation who went into a unisex restroom at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center and placed their handgun (a Glock model 22(Black)) in its holster inside the restroom.  The detective left the restroom without the holstered handgun, but didn’t notice it missing until after leaving the hospital.

Oops!

If we lived in South Africa no one would even take note of this incident.  According to this report, the police in that country lost more than 3,000 firearms in 2010.  So many in fact, that the police have wittingly or unwittingly become a major supplier of weapons to the country’s criminal underworld.

So, I won’t get my panties in a bunch, because I know mistakes happen.   You may even remember back in 2000 a Gresham policeman had 4 guns, including a MP-5 machine gun stolen from his home.  He was a member of the department’s Special Emergency Response Team who was allowed to keep automatic weapons and the thieves targeted his place.  They were caught.

Timing is everything and it’s not been a stellar start in the new year for law enforcement.  We have this lost gun/rest room incident.  Add to that the 16-year veteran police lieutenant from Redmond (Larry Prince) arrested in Coos Bay accused of selling firearms and other stolen items while he ran the armory.  And then we have the 3 deadly encounters between military vets and law enforcement over the last 5 months.  Anthony McDowell.  Thomas Higginbotham.  Nikkolas Lookabill.

Not to be influenced, the ever thinner Oregonian thought it was perfect timing for a pro-law enforcement editorial proclaiming that the time has come to admit that “we” made a mistake in 1980 and for the public to fix it… by voting for a constitutional amendment to restore primary funding of the state police to the gas tax.  If approved in November it would redirect $93M in gas taxes to fund OSP patrols over the next two years.  Most ballsy given all the negative news on law enforcement!  I half expect Portlandia‘s dreamy and absurd major Sam Adams to hold a press briefing any moment to announce a ban on high-capacity magazines and proclaim how that will prevent crime from ever happening again.

Here’s, my question… would any of that $93M go toward training officers or is this all about a ‘show of force’ with a bunch more shiny new “radar’ed up” Dodge Chargers and officers decked out in SWAT attire looking to pull over motorcyclists doing 7MPH over the speed limit in rural Baker County?  Yeah, I’m still bitter about that one!  How is it funded after year two?  Is it always an ever increasing burden on the few(er) employed people in the state to fund rising costs for PERS, health plans, benefits, etc.,?  Does this make sense to claim there is 365x24x7 coverage in remote parts of the state?

But I’ve really gotten off track now and will step down from the soap box.

If you find the missing gun you are encouraged to contact Sgt. Jon Harrington at: 503.731.3020 ext. 258.

Photo courtesy of Glock.

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Saluting Valor

Selfless courage at the moment of truth…

All bomb technicians in America go through the Redstone school, which is the only one of its kind in the U.S.; there is another similar school in England.  Located on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL the school is a joint Army-FBI effort which has been involved in training members of the 468 law enforcement bomb squads across the nation.

Why is this relevant?  A couple of years ago I attended a reunion from when I was stationed on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.  The reunion was held just down the street from the Redstone Arsenal.  I was able to tour several of the military facilities and remember the heat/humidity.  But, I’ve digressed.

The bomb disposal community is an elite and tightknit group.  They even have a special badge the technicians wear which symbolizes the closeness.  This week William Robert Hakim, a senior trooper with the OSP was honored at an annual memorial ceremony held by the Army-FBI Hazardous Devices School (HDS) where his name was added to the memorial wall.

Mr. Hakim, an eleven year veteran was killed in the line of duty a year ago when an explosive device detonated at West Coast Bank in Woodburn, OR.  The blast killed Hakim and Woodburn Police Captain Tom Tennant.  It also critically injured Police Chief Scott Russell.  Mr. Hakim was a graduate of the HDS school and taught other law enforcement officers about arson and bomb investigations.

Within a couple of days, Mr. Joshua Abrahm Turnidge (32) and his father, Bruce Turnidge (57) were arrested.  You can view the probable cause document which outlines the case against them HERE.  It’s an interesting read if for nothing else than the chronology of the events which led the arrests.  Evidence at the fathers property found Tovex, a highly-explosive gel which is routinely substituted for dynamite.  Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.  The trial is expected to start September 2010.

A bomb explosion and the severity of the crimes in Oregon stunned many.  I wanted to remember Mr. Hakim on this one-year anniversary.  My condolences to his family.  Mr. Hakim is survived by his wife, Terri, and their 19 year old daughter and 17 year old son who attended the ceremony.

Photo courtesy of the HDS Memorial

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