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Two cops injured in motorcycle accidents on Warren Street this morning

The first, off duty, on his own motorcycle, in a collision in front of 301 Warren St.; the second a few blocks away in another collision while responding to the first. Unknown conditions as I type.

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The Globe quotes a BPD spokesperson to the effect that both officers "appear to be okay." Which is a relief.

One hopes, however, that the cluster of recent accidents involving the Boston Police - almost certainly a mere statistical anomaly - will nevertheless lead to a reexamination of policies involving emergency response, and their enforcement. The second of these two crashes evidently took place as a fellow motorcycle officer of the Special Operations division sped to the scene of the first crash. We don't yet know whether that second officer exceeded posted speeds or otherwise disregarded the rules of the road. But it may well be a vivid illustration of the basic fact that the risks incurred by high speed response often outweigh its returns.

All drivers overestimate their own competence and their degree of control over the conditions they encounter - road surfaces, other drivers, weather. But drivers who not only view themselves as professionals and experts, but are also exempted from the ordinary rules of traffic safety, are at particular risk. The problem is less the policies that their almost total non-enforcement. And the people who tend to suffer the most are the officers themselves.

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Or is it just that you have seen them reported on the news more recently?

And it wasn't too clear from your post, but you are aware that emergency vehicles can legally break every single traffic law (except pass a school bus). They must do so "safely" but they can do it.

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Pete-

It's immaterial, I think, whether we've seen a cluster or merely a cluster of coverage. Either way, it presents the same opportunity.

Emergency vehicles can break most traffic regulations while responding to an emergency. (Even then, by law, they're supposed to come to a complete stop at a red light or stop sign, and a few other rules apply.) In practice, they're highly prone to abuse that privilege for their own convenience - parking illegally, making illegal turns, exceeding posted speed limits, and otherwise flouting the law with impunity. The worst offenders are the State Police, who without any basis in law, authorize their troopers to speed as a matter of course. If they feel that's necessary to fulfill their duties, they should get the law changed. And that's not just true of officers who are on duty. It's at least as true of those who are not performing any public task. Indeed, the first of the two incidents this morning involved an off-duty officer on his motorcycle. I have no idea who was at fault in this particular instance, but it's not unusual for off-duty cops to rely on the professional courtesy of their colleagues.

There's also a world of difference between what officers are authorized to do when necessary, and the frequency with which they do it. Which is my primary point. It's in their own best interest to take reasonable precautions when responding to emergencies. The adrenaline is flowing; they're driving in a manner that may be unpredictable to others on the road; they're prone to make mistakes or to suffer from the mistakes made by other drivers. The emphasis is typically on responding to a call as fast as possible; indeed, departments release statistics on speed of response and pressure officers to cut down response times. And I'm questioning whether that's actually in anyone's best interest, or whether a delay of an additional few seconds might sometimes make everyone safer.

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Except I don't see that many state police cars violate the law like you indicate.

And I would say in general, Massachusetts police are pretty safe compared to other states when it comes to pursuit and emergency policies.

And I've never heard police departments question response times. That's a fire department statistic. The only time a response time issues comes up is if the police delay a long period of time and a supervisor needs to know why.

EDIT: The first crash was a Boston Police officer on his personal bike off duty.

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You must not drive in the left lane on the Pike much. It's almost a guarantee that I'll be doing 75 in the hammer lane and still get overtaken by a Statie...who thankfully just wants me to get out of his way and not pull me over just for going fast.

I can't even recall the last time I was doing 75 and actually overtook a Statie on the highway...ever.

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I was once passing on a car legally, on the left, on the pike, and I was doing about 70 to do so. A car caught up behind me, flashing his high beams at me, while I, frankly, was speeding and successfully passing another car.

I didn't think much of it, and wasn't going to speed up any faster to get to the right lane, until the car behind me flashed his roof bar at me, and I realized it was a state cop doing about 85 when he caught up with me. Once I successfully pulled to the left lane, he continued on his way at 85 in the left lane, with no lights, and no intentions of pulling anyone over or responding to a call.

Massachusetts state cops speed EVERYWHERE on the Pike. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say I've never seen a state cop that wasn't stopped doing less than 80mph on the Pike.

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Not do the Staties speed down the Pike, but they will ride your ass while doing it if you don't get out of the way quick enough. Excessive speed is dangerous enough, but toss in riding the bumper of the car in front and it's a disasterous accident waiting to happen.

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"Except I don't see that many state police cars violate the law like you indicate."

I was nearly run over by statie on the Jamaicaway who, at a traffic light whose ONLY PURPOSE is for the pedestrian crossing (and ONLY triggers when someone pushes the button!), blew through it at speed on the right-most side of the road. He was pulling over someone for speeding. They had made it through the light, but he didn't.

No siren- just his light bar. And because of a couple of SUVs legally parked leading up to the intersection and the way the road is curved+banked, there's little way to see approaching traffic until you step out into the road. And because it was the middle of the afternoon, there was no way to see light from the light bar on surrounding objects.

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It was very dangerous and one of the most dangerous things I've ever seen a cop do.

But in general I don't notice state troopers being reckless all the time as people here are indicating. But I do know about troopers on highways tailgating in the left lane. I have seen that happen a few times.

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I used to drive the pike regularly, and it seemed every trip I'd get passed by at least one statie, who, as others describe, zoom up behind people and tailgate them. My personal favorite was the statie who was headed eastbound right around the area of the westbound service area near Natick. Roars by, tailgates everyone, etc.

I swear on a stack of bibles that when I passed by the eastbound service area, he was stopped at the little donut drive-through.

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the original incident involved an off-duty officer who was riding their personal motorcycle. Which means the fact he is a Boston cop is totally irrelevant to the circumstances of the crash.

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Initially it was simply reported as "2 Boston cops in accidents on same road (1 responding to the other)" and did not mention what kind of vehicles were involved or if they were on or off duty at the time.

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That's a fairly bold assertion, given that no one (at this point) has any information about the circumstances of the crash. As I pointed out above, even off-duty officers enjoy a high-degree of functional impunity when it comes to traffic laws, particularly within their own jurisdiction. Whether that played any role in this unfortunate accident, I would submit, it's far too early to say.

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And I go on the Mass Pike about once a month or so. I guess I really never noticed them that much.

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once you get out past worcester pretty much anything goes as long as you arent weaving in and out of lanes. i've had staties on my bumper doing 85 just trying to get me out of the way. love the pike, just dont speed between newton corner and copley.

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True. But watch out when you hit New York.

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BPD tweets a cop on detail at Bennington and Leyden was "struck in foot by MV" and taken to the hospital.

Also, thanks, folks, for adding updates to the original post about the Roxbury incident. That's what you get when I post a breaking story like that and then leave for a few hours for a meeting.

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Protect our cops! Use civilian flaggers.

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Very nice.

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