Old North News

The employees of I-77 Mobility Partners probably know more about dangers on the highway than most people.

These employees are part of the Safety Service Patrol who help drivers when their cars break down or when they have to deal with a flat tire, according to a report by WBTV. Sometimes that means putting their own lives at risk.

“My truck has been hit twice in the last five years, and I’ve had one occasion where I had to go over a guardrail,” Chris Harris, lead technician with 1-77 Mobility Partners, told WBTV.

Harris said he likes helping people. That doesn’t always matter to other drivers, however, who sometimes show little or no concern for the safety of those on the roadside.

“I always say that every time a vehicle passes you, it passes you probably within one foot of death,” Gregory Freeman, another service patrol worker, told WBTV.

Drivers are unpredictable, especially when they’re distracted, and that puts service patrol workers in danger.

“We do see a lot of people come by us on their cell phones, just overtly not paying attention, blatantly not paying attention,” Harris told WBTV.

Distracted driving is a big contributor to injuries across the nation. Freeman guessed that 50 or 60 people who work for the Safety Service Patrol nationwide were hit because the driver was distracted, over the last three or four years.

Service patrol workers want drivers to put down their phones, slow down and move over when you see disabled vehicles on the side of the road, whether or not vehicles with flashing lights are on the scene.

When asked how he feels after work each day, Harris told WBTV, “I’m just happy the day is done; I get to go home and see the kids and get up and do it all again tomorrow.”