ISP plans special Move Over Law patrols statewide April 14-20
PUTNAMVILLE -- In 1999 Indiana was the first state to pass a law requiring motorists to move to an adjacent traffic lane, or reduce speed by 10 mph below the posted speed limit, if unable to change lanes safely when driving past a stationary police, fire or ambulance emergency vehicle stopped along the side of the road.
Over the years Indiana's law has been expanded to include stationary recovery, utility service, solid waste haulers, road, street highway maintenance vehicles, as well as a stationary survey or construction vehicles when displaying alternately flashing amber lights.
Indiana's law was originally crafted and passed as the result of the death of ISP Trooper Andrew Winzenread who was killed in April 1997 while assisting a stranded motorist on I-74 in Dearborn County. Now every state, with the exception of Hawaii, has some form of a Move Over Law.
But in Indiana too many emergency vehicles are still being struck by inattentive or distracted motorists. And in neighboring Illinois, three state troopers have been struck and killed since the beginning of 2019.
As part of a joint Move Over Law traffic enforcement project Indiana will be working with six state trooper law enforcement partners in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia during the week of April 14-20, Indiana State Police at Putnamville have announced.
During that time motorists can expect to see additional patrols looking for distracted driving violations which often lead to motorists failing to move over when they approach an emergency vehicle stopped roadside or at a crash scene.
Some violations associated with Driving While Distracted include speeding, following too close, drifting from lane to lane and failing to signal turns or lane changes.
It is not the goal of the Indiana State Police to simply write tickets. ISP encourages and desires voluntary compliance with traffic laws to ensure the safety of the public as well as the safety of public safety professionals. Historical enforcement of the move over law reveals about 50 percent of persons stopped for the violation receive a written warning, but citations are issued for particularly egregious violations of the law.
To learn more about Move Over Laws in other states, visit https://www.moveoveramerica.com/.