"Move Over" Law Not Being Followed in Virginia
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 320
The law is on the books in 48 states, but 71 percent of
Americans are unaware of its existence.
According to law enforcement officers, the need for
motorists to be educated about the “move over law” has reached a critical point
after four Virginia State Police troopers sustained personal injuries over the
past three months from drivers who failed to slow down or change lanes.
Recently on Interstate 81 near Blacksburg when a VSP road
officer had to leap into his cruiser and across the driver’s seat in order to
avoid being hit by a tractor-trailer. The truck jackknifed after slamming into
the trooper’s vehicle.
In that same week, an officer of the Tennessee Highway
Patrol was hit by a motorist from Florida
while working traffic on his motorcycle at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in
Coffee County, Tenn. The trooper sustained injuries to his shoulder and ankle.
In February, Trooper K.S. Chapman sustained serious personal
injuries along a stretch of I-81 in Smyth
County when a drunken
driver struck his cruiser as he was sitting in it on the shoulder of the road
following a traffic stop. He currently remains on medical leave.
There are laws in place in both Tennessee
and Virginia
for the protection of roadside officers.
In Virginia ,
if a driver fails to change lanes or slow down in order to accommodate an
officer working an accident or issuing a ticket may be charged with a Class 1
misdemeanor, which carries a punishment of fines of up to $2,500 and possible
time in prison.
A Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the Florida-based
organization Move Over America, which is underwritten by the National Safety
Commission, showed that 71 percent of people polled were not aware of the “move
over” laws.
There have been 151 officers killed in roadside accidents
because of motorists who do not merge into another lane or slow down since
1997.