Something needs to be done, but what?

For the second time in the past four months, the intersection of CTH A and CTH E in the town of Holway was the scene of a horrific crash. On Saturday morning, William Cahoon, 36, of Medford, was driving a newly purchased quad axle dump truck to property he owns in the town. He was heading west on CTH A and as he came to the intersection with CTH E saw a red full-size pickup truck heading south that appeared to not be stopping for the stop sign. A collision between a dump truck traveling at highway speeds and another vehicle is not something anyone wants to imagine, let alone attempt to pick up the pieces from afterward. Cahoon reacted to avoid the collision. He braked hard and swerved. Dump trucks have a lot of mass behind them and are not known for their maneuverability. As shared by his wife, Michelle, on social media, his brakes locked up. He ended up in the ditch on the southwest corner of the intersection with the truck rolling. Unfortunately Cahoon was not wearing a seat belt and got tossed around inside the cab of the truck and was ejected from the truck and was found with his head pinned under the fuel tank. The incident could easily have ended in tragedy, but Cahoon got lucky that there was a memorial UTV ride that had stopped at the A&E Tavern. She wrote, “Due to their quick actions about 30 people rallied and lifted the entire truck back on its wheels and off his head.” The vehicle Cahoon avoided hitting left the scene and as of now the driver remains unknown. Rescue crews arrived and Cahoon was airlifted to Wausau Hospital with multiple severe injuries. He has a long road of recovery ahead. This is not the first crash at the CTH A&E intersection, and unless action is taken, will not be the last. The intersection already has rumble strips, flashing lights and flags on the stop signs on CTH E. Drivers either just ignore the warnings and blow through the intersection, or as law enforcement notes, drivers pause and head through the intersection with the sort of rolling stops that are common on sparsely-traveled rural roads. Something more needs to be done to stop the crashes, before the community’s luck runs out and a tragedy occurs. A petition has been started calling on the state to convert the intersection into a roundabout. With an estimated price tag of $1 million, a roundabout is an expensive option. While there is an emotional argument to be made that you can’t put a price tag on people’s lives, the harsh reality is often far different as finite resources chase after an unending list of priority projects. Others have suggested switching the stop signs to be on CTH A as a solution, noting that the north-south traffic on CTH E seems to have the most issues with obeying the law and stopping at the intersection. Switching the road stop signs will likely cause more accidents than it would prevent. Something needs to be done. Like so many issues, it comes down to personal responsibility. You cannot control what other drivers are doing on the road, but you can use additional care that you are not contributing to the problem. Come to a full stop at stop signs, use proper turn signals, slow down, wear your seatbelt and approach every intersection like it is uncontrolled. There is no magic wand to wave and make the safety issues at this and many other dangerous intersections go away. William Cahoon is alive thanks to the heroic efforts of bystanders and emergency personnel. Next time the community may not be so lucky. The solution to making the roads safer for everyone, rests on each one of us every time we get behind the wheel.