South Dakota: Highway Patrol's 'Move Over' campaign is Friday
In honor of Law Enforcement Memorial Week, the South Dakota Highway Patrol will be spending Friday teaching drivers about the Move Over Law. This is the first time the Highway Patrol has conducted a statewide "Move Over" campaign.
“We want to send out a strong message to the public about the law,” said Col. Craig Price, superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. “Highway Patrol troopers and other law enforcement officers have been injured when their vehicles were parked on the edge of the roadway and were hit by other vehicles that did not move over."
In 1980, Trooper Steve Hoffman was killed after he was hit by a passing truck while performing a traffic stop. The statewide campaign will start at 6 a.m. and end at 10 p.m., Highway Patrol spokesman Tony Mangan said. Troopers will stop and ticket drivers who do not slow down and move over for law enforcement and emergency vehicles.
Drivers on an interstate or four-lane highway are required to move to the farthest lane from an emergency vehicle that is on the shoulder with flashing yellow or amber lights. Those driving on two-lane roads or highways are required to keep their speed 20 mph below the posted speed limit when passing by an emergency vehicle with yellow lights on the shoulder. Lastly, drivers are required to stop when approaching an emergency vehicle with red lights and continue on only when it is safe to do so.
“This is a safety issue and not just for law enforcement," Price said. “Those emergency responders, construction workers, Department of Transportation employees and others who are working on our highways are in danger if vehicles don’t move over for them. At the end of the day, we want everyone to safely go home to their families.”
Related Links
Links provided with these articles were active and accurate as of the posting of the article to ResponderSafety.com. However, web sites change and the organization hosting the page at the link may have moved or removed it since this article was posted. Therefore, some links may no longer be active.