VIRGINIA SAYS MOVE OVER WHEN YOU SEE THOSE FLASHING LIGHTS

See those flashing emergency lights up ahead on the side of the road?

Well, take notice, take action and slow down and move over. It's the law. And failing to do so could cost you a $2,500 fine and up to one year in jail.

As First Sgt. John Noel of the Virginia State Police's Fancy Hill office says, "The side of the road is our office, our work area; and we'd like to make it safe. Because at the end of the day, we want to go home to our families, just like anyone else."

Section 46.2-921.1 of the code of Virginia has been on the books for six years. The code requires that any driver approaching a stationary emergency vehicle „Ÿ police cruiser, firetruck, ambulance „Ÿ on the side of a road and displaying emergency lights should move over to the passing lane if safely possible on highways having at least two lanes for traffic proceeding in the same direction. In any circumstance, drivers must slow down to an appropriate speed to ensure safe highway conditions and proceed with caution. Failing to do so is a Class I misdemeanor.

Should property damage occur as a result of failure to obey the law, the driver could lose his or her license for one year. Things get steadily worse for the offender if personal injuries result. Gov. Tim Kaine just tightened up the statute by signing legislation that specifies that the law applies to emergency vehicles that are completely out of the driving lane and off to the side of the road as well.

The Virginia State Police has stepped up its "Move Over" campaign since Trooper K.S. Chapman was severely injured in Smyth County in February. A drunk driver smashed into his patrol car while parked on the side of a road during a routine traffic stop. Three new highway signs informing drivers about Virginia's Move Over law and subsequent penalties have now been positioned along Interstate 77 and 81 to be visible to motorists entering the commonwealth from Tennessee, North Carolina and West Virginia.

Closer to home, Rockbridge County emergency services personnel have also been the victims of drivers who are seemingly oblivious to the outside world as they hurtle down the highway. Just ask Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department Chief Richard Spangler and other Glasgow EMS providers about how it felt to "run for your lives" up the bank in the median strip last December as cars skidded out of control in icy conditions, resulting in a pickup truck slamming into the rear of the department's command vehicle. Spangler had pulled onto the grass in order to aid a motorist with a flat tire.

"I knew everyone was driving too fast," Spangler recalled. "I tried waving to people to slow down and put my foot out on the road to let them know it was just all black ice. People just waved back, talking the whole time on their cell phones. I-81 is just not safe anymore for fire and rescue personnel."

Just as irritating to Spangler are the people who slam on their brakes, "Just like there isn't anybody else on the road so they can gawk and hang out the windows to take pictures with their cell phones." But that's another topic for another day.

The Natural Bridge Volunteer Fire Department also had an engine hit on I-81. This time it was a pickup truck hauling a gooseneck trailer, driving too fast once again, that jackknifed, slamming into the rear of the engine. Fortunately, there weren't any firefighters in its path. If you really want to see some incredibly frightening footage, try searching YouTube online for "move over." What are those drivers thinking? Or not thinking?

Virginia State Police public information officer Sgt. Bob Carpentieri said the state police are trying to get the word out to the public through the new Move Over campaign. "Right now, we're trying to educate the public about the law before we start making a lot of arrests," Carpentieri said. And it's not just for the police officers' and EMS personnel's safety either. "It's also for the safety of the people who've been stopped," Noel said.

Lives have been lost and careers have ended for the professionals and volunteers who put their lives on the line for our safety because somehow drivers have failed to heed the flashing, pulsating, multi-colored strobe light show on a stopped emergency vehicle or police car. "People need to remember that driving takes work, and constant focus," Noel said. "Drivers just can't go along like they're on autopilot."