NATIONAL GROUPS COME TOGETHER IN SUPPORT OF MOVE-OVER LAWS
It happens nearly every week somewhere in the USA: A police officer on a traffic stop is struck by another vehicle — often fatally. Since 1997, more than 150 law enforcement officers have been hit and killed by motorists along the nation's highways.
All but 10 states have traffic laws requiring drivers to either move over into another lane or slow down when approaching officers on a roadside. Most drivers aren't aware of "move over" laws or think they apply to moving over for approaching emergency vehicles, law enforcement officials and safety advocates say.
The National Safety Commission, the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Association of Police Organizations on Monday launched a public education campaign to press the point.
"We discovered that while these laws are in effect in 80% of the states, 70% of the nation's motorists are completely unaware that they exist," says National Safety Commission president Ken Underwood, citing a national poll the group sponsored. His organization operates online traffic safety courses.
"This is a significant safety concern," says Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, which represents about 238,000 members, many of them state and local police officers. "With the Fourth of July coming up and the summer driving season, there will be more people on the roads."
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Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Terrence Sheridan last month halted the long-standing practice of troopers stepping out of their cars to wave down and stop speeders on interstate highways, spokesman Greg Shipley says.
He had been studying the issue since taking command June 6 and made the change after Scott Wheeler, a Howard County, Md., police officer, was struck and killed while standing outside his cruiser trying to stop a car for speeding.
Phil Seguin's son, Ryan, 23, a police officer in Florida, was struck and killed last year while on a traffic stop. He's working to get stiffer penalties for drivers who ignore move-over laws. "It's just a senseless, tragic death," Seguin says.
Penalties for failing to obey move-over laws vary broadly, from arrest to fines. In Mississippi, where a move-over law took effect Sunday, violations are a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $250 or up to $1,000 if the law-breaking driver causes property damage or bodily injury, says Lt. Steve Gladney of the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
He says troopers and police officers face danger every time they make a traffic stop. "Not only do you have to watch the vehicle you have stopped, but you have to watch the other drivers, too," he says. "If everyone will obey this law, I certainly think there will be lives saved."
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