NEW PUSH FOR SAFETY ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

Nursing a few sore muscles, Eagle County Sheriff's Deputy Brad Rosenbauer knows first-hand how dangerous it can be working on interstates and highways." Ambulance and state personnel do work outside their vehicles and have vehicles going by them at 70 miles an hour plus everyday," said Rosenbauer. Saturday, he was on the lookout for speeders just west of Vail, when he clocked a speeding car going 87 miles an hour in a 60 mile per hour zone. The speeding car hit its brakes, then hit Rosenbauer's patrol car. He says had he been outside he wouldn't be at work on Sunday. "I'm lucky to be here and glad I wasn't outside the vehicle," said Rosenbauer. It's one of several similar accidents that now have the Eagle County Sheriff's Department asking motorists to move over a lane when they see emergency personnel on the side of the road, and if they can't move over they're asked to slow down. It's always been common courtesy to give those on the side of the road a little extra room, but after Eagle County Sheriff's Deputy Tim Camero had a close call of his own back in 1997, he knew things had to change. "I was working an accident at two in the morning when I got rear ended by a three-quarter ton heavy duty pick up truck coming out of Dowd Junction," Comero said. So Camero went on to help make moving over or slowing down a law. He decided moving over a lane or slowing down needed to become a law. Two years ago Colorado made it so with the "move over law."

"Governor Bill Owens has signed into effect the move over law which again now states any emergency personnel working an accident scene or traffic on the shoulder, all other vehicles must move away from that vehicle and give us the extra lane to help us out," said Camero. The problem is, most drivers are not aware of the law. So staring Thursday, the Eagle County Sheriff's Office will begin a big push to make the public more aware of that law, in an effort to keep accidents involving sheriff's deputies like Rosenbauer from happening again. "We're asking them to help us while we're helping others," said Rosenbauer.