Michigan: • It's the law: Move over when police, tow and emergency personnel are working on the shoulder of the road

On the highways of Michigan, cars and semi-trucks travel more than 70 mph, and for police officers, sheriff deputies and tow truck operators working on the shoulder of a highway, the reminders of how dangerous the job is are constant.

“The sound you hear as a car go by tells you how dangerous it is,” Michigan State Police Lakeview Post Commander Kevin Sweeney said. “You can feel the wind shift as the semi-trucks go by.”

In 2001, the Michigan State Legislature passed a law requiring drivers to slow down and move to the other lanes if possible. However on a given day on I-96 you won't see everyone get over or slow down - even if they have room - when tow truck operators or law enforcement on the side of the road.

Larry Bussell of Bussell's Automobile Towing has been in the towing business since he was a 16-year-old. Since that time, he has had lots of close calls and been involved in one injury that changed his life.

One January morning in 2008, Bussell was hooking up a vehicle on the side of a street. He was between his truck and the vehicle hooking the car up when a car traveling 57 mph hit the parked car and crushed him.

“It was a clear day, no snow. It was almost like summer,” Bussell said.

The driver said she was on a cell phone talking when the accident happened.

“I'll be in pain the rest of my life,” Bussell said. “I've had two back surgeries and I have to go to the pain clinic regularly to get treatment.”

His father was also clipped by a car on a winter night in the 1980s and Bussell said he's lost numerous side mirrors due to people not giving his tow truck enough space.

“The car hit dad and kept on going,” Bussell recalled.