Flagger stops, well, nothing after car breaks down on I-405
Jun 3, 2015, 1:32 PM | Updated: 2:17 pm
There wasn't construction where southbound I-405 and State Route 527 meet, but that didn't stop one man from putting on his reflective vest and hardhat, and getting to work on Wednesday. (Image courtesy of WSDOT)
(Image courtesy of WSDOT)
There wasn’t construction where southbound I-405 and State Route 527 meet, but that didn’t stop one man from putting on his reflective vest and hardhat, and getting to work on Wednesday.
The man caught the attention of employees of the Washington State Department of Transportation as they cycled through traffic cameras at about 7 a.m.
“We were wondering why…,” said Mike Allende, a spokesperson for WSDOT.
The man was standing out with his stop sign for about 20 minutes.
As it turns out, he wasn’t trying to actually stop traffic, just trying to warn drivers of his broken down vehicle, Allende said. He assumes the man works as a flagger in the area.
“He felt it was a safety precaution to keep traffic away, I guess,” Allende said.
An incident responder from WSDOT drove out to meet the man and tell him to put the sign away, Allende said. A tow truck removed the car.
The Washington State Patrol did receive a call about it eventually, Trooper Mark Francis said. WSDOT ended up handling the situation, however.
The man should not have been standing there with a stop sign, Francis said. It could be considered interfering with traffic.
