RAPID CITY, S.D. POLICE SAY MOVE OVER!

When you see a vehicle on the side of a road with flashing lights, state law says you must move over to the far lane if you can. If you can't move over you must slow down. That's a rule many motorists are not aware of. Thursday Rapid City police pulled over an estimated one hundred vehicles and handed out warnings.

If you can't get into the far lane or if you're driving on a two lane road, you must drop your speed by 20 miles per hour. Being pulled over is a learning experience for some motorists. A driver who was pulled over for passing a police car explains, "I did not realize it was twenty below on a two-lane road like this."

The purpose of Thursday's operation is to make people aware of the law. Not to hand out tickets. An approach Police Officer Jason LaHaie favors. "I think going about it this way is a fair way of doing business. It keeps our rapport with the public up better that we're out trying to educate the public not just penalize them."

Motorists don't seem to mind the lesson. "I think it's a very good thing to slow people down and to cause less accidents," said Joseph Muldon.

Hopefully a safer day on the road for officers and motorists alike.

The move over law went into effect in South Dakota in 2003. Currently 40 states have the same law.