My friends, it seems like we are beginning to have a real impact upon certain areas of our country. Respondersafety.com is getting information requests from all over North America. Members of the Emergency Response Safety Institute are serving on a variety of committees that will have an impact upon improved safety in the months and years to come.

Steve Austin sent me an email the other day speaking about our successful training session in Newport, Pennsylvania. 60 people attended and received our six-hour training session on safety highway operating procedures. This course is designed for firefighters, police officers, EMT's and all others who are interested in protecting their emergency responders on the highways. It is indeed pleasing to see that people know about us and are responding to our message of highway safety.

On another note, we want to share a great success story that comes to us from the world of state-mandated move-over legislation. Word of this great new effort comes to us from the great state of Tennessee where a number of state lawmakers are trying to raise fines for violating Tennessee's "move over," traffic law from $50 to as much as $500.

The widow of Trooper Todd Larkins was at the announcement on Wednesday March 15. Todd Larkins was killed last summer when he was struck and killed by a tractor trailer as he was conducting a traffic stop. His widow is thankful these companies are helping to make people aware of the law. Drivers who violate the law face a $50 fine. But lawmakers are pushing to increase the fine. Last year 340 violators were ticketed.

They are being strongly supported by the state trucking association which working to raise public awareness of the law, which was enacted in 2004 to improve safety for emergency workers. The law requires drivers to move over a lane if there are police, emergency or service vehicles on the shoulder of the road. If drivers cannot safely move over, they are required to slow down until they pass the site.

Representatives from the Tennessee Trucking Association explained what some of its members are doing to raise awareness of the law. Nashville-based M-S Logistics is putting signs on its trailers touting the law. Association official Doug Cook, of Chattanooga-based Covenant Transport, said his company is promoting the law in messages in its facilities and on a company television network. Dennis Bailey of Wal-Mart said posters explaining the law are being displayed in the retailer's Tennessee stores.

"This law shows respect for those folks out there who are giving their all to serve the public," Col. Mike Walker of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Wednesday. Two law enforcement officers and a state Department of Transportation worker have been killed while working on the highways since the law took effect, he said. Walker said there were 340 motorists ticketed for violating the law last year.

"The Move-Over Law is an important resource in safeguarding the lives of the men and women who work along Tennessee's busy highways and interstates," said Gerald Nicely, Interim Safety Commissioner, who also serves as Commissioner of the Department of Transportation. "The truck drivers who travel our roads are highly visible. I am pleased to see the Tennessee Trucking Association joining the effort to protect our workers."

All of us here at Respondersafety.com applaud the action of the wise people in Tennessee who see the problem and are working to raise the public's awareness of this important law. It is our belief that the public must be educated as to the important role they play in this critical area.

We need to support and encourage efforts like this. Even if we were to train every emergency responder in North America, our folks would still be at risk from those people in society who are unaware of their impact upon our world. Rest assured that we will continue to work in this area of laws and legislation. Take care and stay safe.