EMERGENCY VEHICLE SAFETY IS CRITICAL

If an emergency vehicle is parked on the side of the road with its lights flashing, Louisiana law requires motorists to move over.

But, officials say that few people actually heed the statute, which aims to protect emergency responders from being struck by passing cars.

"Louisiana law requires drivers approaching such a situation on an interstate or other multilane highway to slow down and safely merge into the lane farthest from where the emergency vehicle is parked," said Col. Jim Champagne, with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, in a news release. "In the case of a two-lane road, the driver must slow down to 25 miles per hour or to the posted speed limit, whichever is lowest. In both cases, the driver can proceed to the posted speed limit as soon as it is safe to do so."

The law applies to all emergency vehicles. Trooper David Anderson, a spokesman with Louisiana State Police, said several troopers have been hit on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge as a result of people not paying attention.

Anderson said motorists should constantly be looking two- to three-tenths of a mile up the road when possible. That way, a trooper parked on the side of the road would not come as a surprise.

According to Champagne's letter, more officers die in the line of duty in traffic-related incidents than any other single cause. Orlando Rolon, operation manager for Acadian Ambulance, said it can be very scary for a paramedic to be on the interstate trying to save someone's life and have a car pass so close by.

Rolon said paramedics wear safety vests so that they are more visible to the public, but heeding the law would further ensure their safety.

Along those lines, Lt. Craig Stansbury, spokesman for the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, said drivers need to focus on the road ahead of them and pay less attention to what's happening on the side of the road, which has been nicknamed "rubbernecking" and can result in additional accidents.