VIRGINIA’S “MOVE OVER” LAW IS WIDELY IGNORED

A law designed to protect law enforcement officers on the highway seems to be widely ignored. The so called “move over” law requires motorists to move over to a lane when they see police along the right shoulder of the highway. But it seems not everybody is following the law.

In the last 10 years, 150 law enforcement officers have died in traffic related deaths nationwide. On Wednesday, a State Ttrooper in our area was hit by a car after responding to a vehicle fire on I-95. The ‘move over’ law is only about 5 years old and says as long as its safe, drivers must move over at least one lane, and slow down, any time they see flashing blue lights.

“In the wake of Trooper Middleton being struck two nights ago, we're using that opportunity to appeal to motorists a sense of what's right and wrong, and its absolutely right to move over a lane to the left or right," says Sgt. Tom Cunningham of the Virginia State Police.

But whether some drivers still don't know the law or just choose to ignore it, it appears compliance is nowhere near 100 percent. As we photographed our report, car after car failed to move over. As we watched, of the hundreds of cars driving by, we found that 7 out of 10 cars that could have moved over safely didn't.

“Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised,” says Sgt. Cunningham. “It’s discouraging that we don't have 100 percent compliance, because it is a matter of life and death." State Police say they're strictly enforcing the law and while it is a misdemeanor, it’s as serious as a DUI or reckless driving charge.