In my last visit with you, I spoke about how we needed to get back to normal. That is what our President was urging us to do, and it is what I felt we should be doing.

I am not sure how many of you have personally gotten back to normal yet, but from the flood of news links I have been receiving, the bad drivers of the world are back at work, and they are going at it with a fatal vengeance. We have seen reports of a great deal of death and destruction in the emergency services world around us during the past 30 days.

Last month, I spoke with you about the fact that "…With this increased demand for our fire, police, and EMS resources, come the dangers inherent in a higher level of responses. Primary among these is the potential for our physically and emotionally depleted emergency response people to lose their mental focus." In other words, pay closer attention to what you are doing. Tired people tend to make more mistakes.

My words were meant to boost your spirits and encourage you to pay closer attention to what you were doing. It has been my experience that overworked, fatigued emergency service workers tend to suffer a higher than normal rate of accidents. Unfortunately, it seems as though our fellow citizens are really going out of their way to run us down.

Here is a list of those incidents of which I am aware. Bear in mind that there may be countless others, the facts about which might be sent to me. That is why we ask you to tell us what is going on around the country.

The list includes:

• A New Jersey firefighter who was struck by a car while backing up a fire department vehicle into their station on busy Route #46 back in September died from his injuries just before Thanksgiving.
• An Ohio State Trooper was struck and killed by a motorist on Interstate 270.
• A Pennsylvania State Trooper was struck and killed by a motorist in early November.
• A Massachusetts Fire Lieutenant was struck by a hit and run motorist as he stepped down out of his rig at the scene of a fire.
• A Massachusetts State Trooper was struck and killed.

These are only the ones that I hear about from my network. There may be more incidents out west about which we have yet to hear. We need to be on guard. We need to take better advantage of the training and reflective clothing that is available. We must stop treating these incidents as part of a fatalistic approach to doing our duty. Nothing mandates that we serve as stationary targets for the bad drivers of the world.

We all signed on to protect and serve our respective communities. However, I do not recall being asked to be a boxing dummy for the nitwit drivers who are out there racing around our highways. Whether they are talking on a cell phone, applying a coat of lipstick, munching on a fast food lunch, or reading the daily newspaper, these fools are out there and they really do not care about you or I.

You and I have to work to make a difference. In the post 9-11-01 world, there we have witnessed an increase in highway traffic. The recent Thanksgiving holiday gave us a view of where the highway traffic statistics are headed. Each of the accounts we reviewed in the print media backed up the pictures we were seeing on television. People were choosing to move by car this year.

Even though statistics show that flying is still far safer than almost every other mode of transportation, people have shunned the airline industry. The fear of terrorist activity has heavily outweighed any other safety issues. The presence of armed troops has done little to assuage the fear created by September's terrorist attacks.

The airline travel statistics we reviewed showed a downward trend. Conversely, people were moving by car in far greater numbers. As a result, many highways that I normally travel were jammed. One report listed a 30-mile backup on the New Jersey Turnpike. Similar reports have been published that speak about many places around America where major highways converge and increased traffic created numerous jams and delays.

Lest you think that this has nothing to do with you and me, I suggest that it is a very important trend to monitor. An increase in automobile travel means that more people will be fighting for the already-limited space available on our highways and byways. It means that you and I may spend a bit more time ducking and dodging those lethal metal chariots piloted by our careless fellow citizens.

These are the same roads upon which you and I ply our trade as emergency responders. This means that we will either have to improve our level of safety awareness, and use all available training and equipment safeguards. Or else we will have to magically grow an extra set of eyes in the back of our heads. Frankly, I would rather go with the former, rather than the latter.

Our prayers and sympathies here at Respondersafety.com go out to the families and friends of those who have been killed on the highways of our great nation. The events of the past month have stiffened our resolve, and made us more certain that our mission here is critical. Please be careful out there.