COBB COUNTY, Ga. — With back to school fully in session, more drivers are on the road for the morning commute. That also means the possibility of more crashes, some of them major.
Triple Team Traffic’s Mike Shields helps you navigate your commute every 10 minutes on Channel 2 Action News This Morning from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.
This week, Shields got a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into cleaning up crashes.
“The most dangerous part of it is working on the interstate,” said Chris Welchel with Marietta Wrecker. "We have a lot of distracted driving, impaired driving. When we’re out there working and people are running 70, 80, 90 miles an hour, there’s no room for error."
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The crew at Marietta Wrecker showed Channel 2 the equipment they use to clear crashes. The list includes chop saws, chainsaws and air guns for moving tires, as well as the 500-gallon fuel tank capacity for dealing with spills.
Clean-up crews are on call 24/7, responding to accidents day or night, rain or shine.
“Christmas, your birthday, we’re gonna be there all the time,” Dewayne Griggs said.
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When they arrive, the clock starts ticking.
“Once we get on scene and it has released us, we have 90 minutes to get the roadway open, from white line to white line,” Josh Whisner explained.
If the clean-up takes longer, the crew loses a bonus that the state pays them to move quickly. So even when it feels like you’ve been stuck forever, crews are working as fast as they can.
It only gets worse when people pile up the risk.
“I’ve been out there and watched people have secondary accidents and thirds and fourths while we are on scene. It’s distracted driving,” Griggs said.
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