Canada: Ontario Provincial Police long weekend blitz includes 'move over' law

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will take advantage of the mass exodus expected this Civic long weekend with another safety blitz. Not only will the OPP be cracking down on the usual driving dangers – speeding, distracted driving, not wearing a seatbelt and driving while intoxicated – officials will be raising awareness of the province’s “move over” legislation.

Family members of fallen OPP Sgt. Margaret Eve spoke out on Friday to drive home the real importance of obeying the move over law.

Sgt. Eve, a 14-year OPP veteran and a mother of two, was conducting a roadside stop on a stretch of Highway 401 in Chatham-Kent in June of 2000 when a truck slammed into her cruiser, propelling the vehicle into her and two other officers.

“It started like a pretty normal day in our house, up early, Marg getting ready for work, I doing the same,” her husband John said at a news conference on Friday, recalling that tragic day. “In the early afternoon of that day, the day darkened. It darkened in a hurry.”

Sgt. Eve was rushed to hospital where she died two days later.

“For two days, family and friends hoped and prayed, and Marg fought for her life,” John said. “We lost a wife, a mother, a sister, an aunt, a friend and I lost my best friend.”

“The affects of these tragedies are so far reaching – family, loved ones, friends, co-workers, the general public. Everyone is affected by this and affected for such a long time,” he continued. “The saddest part of all this is that they don’t have to happen. These incidences are completely preventable.”

The “move over” law requires all drivers to slow down and proceed with caution when passing an emergency vehicle parked on the side of the highway with its lights activated. If the highway has more than one lane, the law also requires all drivers to move over leaving at least one lane between their vehicle and the parked emergency vehicle, if it can be done safely.

“Emergency workers need to be able do their job with the confidence that other motorists are aware of their obligations and are doing their part to keep them safe,” Chief Supt. Chuck Cox explained on Friday. “We want all emergency workers to make it home safely at the end of their shift.”

Failure to obey the law can mean a $2,000 fine and three demerit points.

The law was enacted across the province in 2003. Since 1989, five OPP officers have died when they, or their vehicles, were hit by other drivers.

“These deaths could have been prevented if the motorists had slowed down and safely moved over one lane,” Cox said.