MOVE OVER LAWS ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION

CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute General Counsel Howard Cohen Esq. comments on the desired outcome of Move Over Law enactment. We firmly support move over laws.  The vast majority of citizens, we know, wish to do the right thing and abide by that principle in the way they live and act.  It may seem intuitive to us, as emergency responders, that folks brushing past us on the highways pose grave dangers, and that they ought to both move over and slow down upon coming upon us.  We know, however, that this is not intuitive to ordinary drivers.  It is fundamental that drivers be educated, and perhaps the most effective way to do this is in the guise of a move over law, by which drivers actually face some consequence in the event they disregard it.  Move over laws with strong mandatory public education components are better still, and it is even more ideal when these laws are well-covered by local media to help convey the message to the public.

That being said, we likewise acknowledge that move over laws are merely supportive to the effort to reduce struck-by incidents, they will not eliminate them in-and-of themselves.  Move over laws will help educate the bulk of citizens who wish to do the right thing how to appropriately react in proximity to stationary emergency vehicles, and as such they should, over time, lead to a generally safer operating environment for emergency responders working on roadsides.

But move over laws will not likely have any impact on impaired drivers, dozing drivers, distracted drivers, the occasional malevolent driver who intends to strike someone, and various other categories of drivers.  Moreover, we recognize there are other limitations by which move over laws may have limited effect, such as where an incident scene may be just around a sharp curve, on the far side of a steep hill, or along a fog-shrouded road where visibility is minimal.  Particularly with respect to both these categories of drivers and to challenging road conditions or circumstances, personal responsibility and the lessons we preach remain the key to self-preservation.  Responders must never let their guard down, for operating at roadside environments -- though a necessary part of the job -- will NEVER be entirely safe.  Emergency responders can dramatically swing the safety odds in their favor through commonsense approaches such as:  (1) carefully positioning their vehicle at an incident to minimize their exposure and to create a safety zone in case a vehicle strike should happen; (2) wearing appropriate retro-reflective safety apparel to enhance their visibility to oncoming drivers; and (3) by being constantly vigilant of road conditions around them.