В Айове водитель проехал на красный свет из-за путаницы на обходе стройки

TAMA COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) - A close call caught on a Tama County sheriff’s squad car dash camera is highlighting concerns about drivers missing stop signs as construction detours send more traffic onto unfamiliar roads. Tama County Sheriff Casey Schmidt was driving on Highway E36 near Clutier when a vehicle traveling north on Highway V18 went through a stop sign and directly into his path. Schmidt stopped the driver and issued a citation for the stop sign violation. He said the driver appeared to be confused about where they were going. “In talking with the driver of that vehicle, there was some confusion on where they were going,” Schmidt said. “We have had a lot of people, especially since Highway 63 has closed, have been dealing with the brunt of detour traffic.” The sheriff’s office said it has received multiple complaints about drivers failing to stop at the intersection. Schmidt said construction projects and road closures throughout Tama County are also putting more drivers on roads they may not normally use. The official Iowa Department of Transportation detour for drivers heading north out of Tama County sends traffic along Highways 30 and 21, but Schmidt said some drivers instead follow GPS directions that take them onto other roads. Tama County resident Stephanie Kupka knows those roads well and said she recently experienced a close call of her own. Kupka was driving home from her daughters’ softball games one night when she noticed a semi approaching an intersection. She said the truck did not appear to be slowing down, so she hit her brakes before reaching the intersection. “I put on the brakes before he got there and he completely blew through the stop sign,” Kupka said. “And the chills that ran through me knowing that if somebody else that didn’t know the area, they would have been killed that night.” The sheriff’s office is reminding drivers that GPS can help them navigate unfamiliar roads, but it does not replace paying attention to stop signs, intersections, other vehicles and changing road conditions. Law enforcement officers are working to patrol areas seeing increased detour traffic, but Schmidt is also urging drivers to practice defensive driving. Even when a driver has the right of way, he said they should watch what other vehicles are doing and be prepared to react if someone does not stop.