Fish truck debacle leads to new strategy for clearing crashes

SEATTLE — In March, an overturned fish truck on State Route 99 brought Seattle traffic to a standstill.

The mess took nine hours to clear, a debacle that could prove to be a turning point.

"It has changed our focus," said Scott Kubly, director of the Seattle Department of Transportation.

A new report for Mayor Ed Murray conducted by national experts says city workers and police officers need training to learn how to clear scenes quickly.

New thinking calls for officers to get vehicles involved in collisions out of the way, without worrying about damaging them.

"We used to protect property before we opened the road, now they're saying it's more important to open the road than to protect property," said Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole.

The report says the city needs to learn from the Washington State Department of Transportation, which has 39 incident response trucks in the region equipped with big bumpers to push cars to the side.

Experts say the city also needs an ordinance like the state law that protects highway crews from liability if a vehicle is damaged.

"It frees us up to do what we need to do to clear the road," said Morgan Balogh, of WSDOT.

The report also calls for reviewing city contracts with towing companies and creating a free tow program when cars break down on major routes.

Kubly said he's increased staffing in the city's traffic center, and will consider staging a response vehicle near the West Seattle bridge.

"We're going to implement all (the recommendations) that make sense for the city," Kubly said.

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