Dallas City Council approves QuikTrip funded safety vehicles for freeway emergency scenes

Dallas, Texas – Dallas officials have agreed to install four more vehicles that will block traffic to assist keep police officers and other emergency workers safe on some of the city’s busiest roads. The Dallas City Council approved the purchase of the Ford F550 cars last week. They were paid for by a contribution from QuikTrip. The vehicles are meant to protect rescuers at collision scenes and other situations on the road.

Each truck has unique safety gear, like an LED arrow board that tells drivers where to go and a crash attenuator on the back that is made to absorb the power of a crash. These features are intended to reduce the danger faced by personnel who must operate in active traffic lanes on freeways and major thoroughfares.

The agency initially used blocker trucks in 2023, after Officer Mitchell Penton was killed while responding to a freeway crash in 2021. Before the program started, officers commonly used patrol cars or fire trucks to manage traffic. This often took important vehicles out of service and caused expensive damage when secondary crashes happened.

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According to City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, the most recent donation is part of QuikTrip’s long history of supporting public safety in Dallas. The organization has already paid for the building of a reality-based training village at the police academy and given more than $200,000 to Assist The Officer, a group that helps law enforcement families with money and counseling.

Blocker trucks have been utilized at more than 1,200 incidents since they were first put into operation, and they have already been in multiple accidents without causing any harm to rescuers or spectators. Every patrol division that oversees interstate corridors will now have access to one of the protective vehicles, thanks to the latest additions.

Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux urged drivers to slow down and give emergency vehicles enough room to operate. Under Texas law, motorists must move over or significantly reduce speed when passing active scenes, with fines reaching up to $1,250 for a first violation.