Ohio: Ohio officials remind motorists to move over for roadside workers

Mowing grass or cutting brush might not be high-stakes work for most, but for transportation workers charged with these tasks while hundreds of cars and semis whiz by at 70 miles per hour, it’s a job that can be deadly. Ohio Department of Transportation roadside workers are consistently reporting that vehicles aren’t moving over or slowing down, even though it’s the law, said Jack Marchbanks, ODOT District 6 deputy director.

“What I have heard from our highway workers is that they’ve had to dive out of the way, that they have been sprayed with debris,” Marchbanks said Thursday. “These are things that alarm and should trouble everybody.” Ohio’s Move Over law requires motorists to shift over one lane when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights on the side of a road. If it’s not possible to change lanes due to traffic or other factors, motorists must slow down.

The law was enacted in Ohio in 2004 and applied to law-enforcement, emergency responders and tow operators. It was amended in 2013 to include all roadside workers, including construction and maintenance crews, after an ODOT worker was struck and killed on Interstate 71 in Delaware County.

Troopers with the State Highway Patrol were on hand Thursday morning on Interstate 70 in Madison County to make sure vehicles moved over for an ODOT crew clearing brush on the roadside, but fortunately didn’t have to cite anyone.

“We are taking this step and reminding the public that these (workers) are precious human beings. They want to get home to their families just like we do,” Marchbanks said.

Two weeks ago, a trooper was struck and killed on Interstate 90, west of Cleveland, while conducting a traffic stop. Last month, the patrol released a video of a trooper being struck by a car near Chardon in Geauga County. That trooper’s injuries weren’t life-threatening.

Between 2011 and 2015, more than 10,000 tickets were issued for violating the Move Over law, according to statistics from the patrol. During that same time, Ohio patrol cruisers were involved in 67 crashes that appeared to be related to the law.

“While we do our best to be aware of our surroundings, it’s very difficult to always monitor the traffic that’s coming up behind you,” said Sgt. Anthony Pearcy with the patrol. “We’re relying on the motorists that travel the highways across the state to ensure that they’re paying attention.”

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