Indiana: State trooper says not enough drivers obey Indiana’s Move Over law
Three Indiana state troopers are going to be okay after they were involved in three separate crashes Friday night. It’s a reminder of the dangers they face and why you need to be extra careful and help keep everyone safe. After the three crashes Friday, there’s an important message Indiana State Police has for you.
“If you see an emergency vehicle or a disabled vehicle, change lanes or reduce your speed below the speed limit because it will save a life one time,” said Trooper Roosevelt Williams. Trooper Williams has been with the Indiana State Police for three years and, he says, there have been a lot of close calls in that time.
“If ten cars pass me, you may get one or two of them that may slow down below the posted speed limit to pass you,” Williams added. Our crew saw some of those while with Trooper Williams during a traffic stop on I-65 southbound near Keystone Avenue. A silver car and a black bus went by going an estimated 55 mph.
“It’s a scary position because when I’m looking in my rear view mirror seeing a car approach at a high rate of speed wondering if he’s gonna veer right or veer left and hit you because he’s not paying attention,” Williams said. Indiana’s Move Over Law requires to you to move over if you see emergency lights on a police car, ambulance, fire truck, highway incident response vehicle, highway maintenance vehicle, utility service vehicle or a tow truck. If you can’t move over, you have to drop your speed 10 mph below the posted limit, not what you’re driving. Another hazard troopers face is drivers not getting out of the way when the lights and sirens are on.
What you’ve just read is probably a small fraction of the dangers troopers face and there are lot of them. “I have several close calls, probably every day is a close call,” Williams added. Fines can be substantial and you risk losing your license if you’re caught disobeying the law.
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