GEORGIA MOVE-OVER LAW DESIGNED FOR SAFETY
Earlier this week, incredible video of a driver slamming into an Oregon police officer stopped along the highway writing a ticket was shown on television.
It highlights the danger police officers face, not from flying bullets, but on the road.
It is why more and more states are enacting move-over laws -- like the one in place in Georgia. Everyone is accustomed to seeing dashcams catching the last moments of a failed getaway or some heroic rescue, like when police pulled a 21-year-old man from his burning car in Arkansas. But folks are not used to seeing images like the one from this week.
When police rewound the tape, they saw Hillsboro, Ore. Officer Clint Chrz at a routine traffic stop when a car hit his motorcycle, which then hit Chrz. The officer was thrown unconscious into oncoming traffic, where a motorist reacts quickly by blocking traffic, and helps save the officer's life.
"This is dangerous," Chrz said. "This is real out here." Five years ago, troopers scattered when a truck on Interstate 80 hit some ice and rolled over the median, only to be followed a few seconds later by a van with eight people inside which slammed into the truck, sending the trailer flying at the troopers.
Amazingly, most everyone in the truck, van and on the ground was unhurt. But often, police are not so lucky. Across America, almost 170 policemen and women have died in roadside accidents in the last decade, leading 43 states including Georgia to enact move-over laws .
The law in Georgia requires drivers to make a lane change if they see an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the highway. The hope is to hopefully avoid tragic surprise endings. If you cannot move over, Georgia's law requires you to at the very least, slow down. If you don't, you will face a $500 fine.
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