The arrogance of government agencies again demonstrated

A few months ago, an Oregon driver hit a National Park Service (NPS) ranger serving as a flagger in a highway work zone in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming.

Cowboy State Daily, a Wyoming online newspaper, recently published an article on the legal cases around the incident. It is an excellent article, and based on good research explaining the complexities of the case. (Increasingly rare in mainstream or alternative media alike.)

The above photo accompanied the article, and it is quite interesting. Many of us here at TPOL do work zone safety training for various companies and a few government agencies, which includes training flaggers.

The picture of a flagger for the article features a NPS Ranger. (Based on her uniform sleeve patch.) (And admittedly, as assumption that the flagger’s pronouns are “her” and “she” in the still highly Woke NPS.)

What is very interesting is that this flagger is violating federal regulations. That cute wide-brimmed hat she is wearing does not meet the standards for safety on highway work zones that have federal funding. The MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) as required by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires that flaggers wear a high-visibility (blaze orange) hard hat when in the work zone and highway or road. Some states even require 10 square inches of retroreflective material (like those stripes on her vest) on the hard hat.

We here at TPOL are not familiar with NPS regulations but would not be surprised if a similar requirement did not exist. And obviously, road work in a national park is being done using at least some federal funds.

If the NPS is not bothering to properly train its employees and not following federal regulations, then the NPS is demonstrating a lack of concern for safety.

Perhaps, like so many other government agencies, they consider themselves above the law and regulations. Wearing the proper PPE (personal protective equipment) like vests, hard hats (of the proper color and visibility), using the proper paddles, and other requirements are intended to protect the safety of both the traveling public and the workers. 

Indeed, it raises questions about this entire case. The Oregon driver claims that the flagger (a man, not a woman as shown in the picture) literally jumped in front of his vehicle. This is his defense against the charge of “assaulting a federal officer.” If the NPS cannot train (and enforce its training) its rangers to work safely as far as wearing PPE, perhaps the NPS training is deficient in other ways.

Flagging is a dangerous activity: each year people are killed and many more injured each year throughout the States.  Being a federal employee does not bestow invulnerability, nor a waiver from safety rules and regulations.  Unfortunately, some federal agencies – and the NPS is frequently guilty of this – and some federal employees are arrogant and lord it over other people, companies, and even States.

To put it bluntly, government agencies and officials naturally grow more arrogant as we give them more power. This has been the case throughout history, and is the case today around the world. If we are fed up and want to reduce government arrogance, we must reduce government power – and hold them accountable to every jot and tittle of the law they claim to enforce “for our own good.”

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