> That's the usual situation for first responders, who usually try to block as little of the road as possible but often don't have enough shoulder space.
Actually, from talking with friends who are first responders, many times they will park fire trucks, etc so that they are blocking enough of the road to protect the first responders and the victims. The last thing you want is to have another car come and crash into first responders or victims of the initial accident. That is why they will deliberately park the truck at an angle to protect the people.
Exactly this. We'll place the heaviest apparatus 'upstream' of the event and in a way that 'encourages' cars away from the incident.
Larger departments or those dealing with busier freeways have even started re-purposing older engines with water ballasts and attenuators as 'blocker' engines.
Actually, from talking with friends who are first responders, many times they will park fire trucks, etc so that they are blocking enough of the road to protect the first responders and the victims. The last thing you want is to have another car come and crash into first responders or victims of the initial accident. That is why they will deliberately park the truck at an angle to protect the people.