Tennessee: Dickson first responders, utilities crew: ‘Move Over’
Local law enforcement, public works and highway patrol officials are asking that you remember to “Move Over” when their vehicles are on the shoulder of the road or stopped in a lane.The local effort is part of a broader effort by the state Governors Highway Safety Office to continue to remind motorists to to move over in such instances. The law’s possible life-changing effects reverberate in Dickson County when local Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Todd Larkins was killed nearly 10 years exactly on July 8, 2005 while in the process of an I-40 traffic stop.
The stop was made in Dickson County. After exiting his vehicle, Larkins was struck by a tractor-trailer who failed to move over. Larkins is survived by his wife and daughter.
Move Over Law
The “Move Over Law,” which passed in 2006, is a part of the “Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicles Law” (T.C.A. 55-8-132) and requires motorists to move over into the adjacent lane of traffic, when safe to do so, or alternatively to slow down for emergency vehicles. In 2011, the law was expanded to include utility service equipment to the list of vehicles for which motorists are required to either slow down or move over.
Tennessee was the 30th state to establish a move over law which creates a safety zone to protect police, firefighters, other emergency personnel, and utility workers.
The penalty for violating the “Move Over Law” in Tennessee is a maximum fine of up to $500 and possibly up to 30 days in jail.
Operation of vehicles and streetcars on approach of authorized emergency vehicles.
The “Move Over” campaign was created to raise awareness of the move over law, and protect state troopers and others whose workplace is often the side of a busy highway.
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