SCOTT'S LAW: OFFICIALS TRYING TO MAKE ROADWAYS A SAFER PLACE FOR ALL
The District 8 trooper was assisting a tow truck on Interstate 474. He had just gotten back into his squad car and put on his seatbelt when a semitrailer stuck his vehicle. "I'm lucky to be standing here today," Finn said at a press conference Wednesday. "I know I would have been hurt much worse or killed if I was not wearing my seatbelt."
Finn's squad car was totaled, and the officer had to go through rehab for six months before returning to work under restricted conditions. The driver of the semi pleaded guilty to violating Scott's Law, received a $1,500 fine and is still under supervision.
Scott's Law requires Illinois motorists to slow down and change lanes when approaching an emergency vehicle on the roadways. The law was named after Lt. Scott Gillen of the Chicago Fire Department, who was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver while assisting at a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway in 2001.
Jay Keeban, commander of the ISP Region 4, said more than 19,000 violations of Scott's Law have been cited since its inception. More than 4,800 have occurred so far in 2007, with 21 squad cars being hit and seven officers being injured.
The main reason for Scott's Law is because many of these accidents were avoidable and did not need to happen, Keeban and others said. "I've attended a lot of funerals I shouldn't have had to attend," said State Fire Marshal Dave Foreman. Foreman said the problems stem from everyone being in a hurry when trying to get somewhere. Drivers often get irritated when they are slowed on the highway, he said.
Laws like Scott's Law are designed to protect law enforcement, firefighters, tow truck companies and anyone else working on roadside, said David Phelps, assistant secretary for the Illinois Department of Transportation. "This group of people put their lives on the line every day far more often than our minds can even imagine," Phelps said. Laws often are named after lost people because it keeps their memory alive and puts a face on the law.
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