PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY FROM THE APRIL 17, 2007 MOVE OVER LAW PRESS CONFERENCE

Georgia's Move-Over Law was passed in the aftermath of growing numbers of police, emergency technicians and DOT workers being killed and critically injured during traffic stops, crash responses and highway construction projects here and around the nation.

"For years, Georgia law enforcement officers have been paying with their lives for the deadly mistakes made by careless drivers approaching what should have been 'routine' roadside traffic stops," said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). "Just last year, fifteen law enforcement officers were struck and killed by passing vehicles while conducting those routine patrol duties across the country."

Now the Georgia Department of Transportation is working with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety in a joint effort to educate the driving public about the hazards faced by all of Georgia's emergency responders who work on our roadways. This month the DOT begins posting overhead signs on Georgia freeways and interstate highways advising motorists to "Move Over" one lane if an emergency vehicle with emergency flashing lights is working on the side of the highway. The large white DOT signs have a bright yellow band across the top highlighting the words "State Law" followed by a warning to "Move Over Or Slow Down For Stopped Emergency Vehicles."

"These signs can be life-savers because anyone who works alongside our highways is vulnerable, but police especially are in constant danger," said GOHS Director Bob Dallas. The Move-Over Law requires drivers to move-over one lane if possible when an emergency vehicle on the side of the road displays emergency lights. And if traffic is too congested to move-over safely, the law requires drivers to slow down, below the posted speed limit and be prepared to stop.

When first passed by Georgia lawmakers, the Move-Over Law fine was set at an "attention-getting" $500.00 fine for a first offense. After revisions by the 2006 Georgia General Assembly, the penalty language of this statute now states violations "shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00," placing the fine structure within the discretion of the trial court judge.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) 2006 Fallen Heroes Report shows 2006 was the ninth consecutive year in which crashes and traffic-related incidents either equaled or exceeded gunfire as the leading cause of police officer deaths. From across the country, incident reports show emergency vehicles of all types have been struck while parked beside a highway, even while their emergency lights were flashing.

"But motorists like you and me are frequently victims too," said GOHS Director Dallas. "Data from our partners at the Georgia Department of Transportation shows three out-of-four DOT work zone fatalities are motorists or their passengers. During 2005 alone, Georgia lost 61 lives to DOT work zone crashes. Nationally, work zone crashes kill one-thousand motorists every year and seriously injure another 40-thousand."

Thirty-eight states now have some kind of Move-Over Laws on the books to help stop this needless loss of life. Although the fine in Georgia is five-hundred-dollars, penalties in some states range as high as a thousand dollars or more. But failing to obey the Move-Over Law can lead to consequences far more serious than fines.

"That's why Georgia's Move-Over Law was passed," said GOHS Director Dallas, "To reduce the number of injuries and fatalities to police officers, paramedics, firefighters, tow truck operators and highway maintenance and construction workers. And yet police are still facing too many close calls, from too many careless drivers."

"All too often traffic enforcement officers end their shifts with reports about being 'winged' by the side view mirrors of passing vehicles during traffic stops and those near misses never make the evening news," said Director Dallas. "Many officers tell us drivers violate the Move-Over Law every time police step out of the car. They say it's nerve racking when trucks and cars blow-by so close you have to hold onto your ticket book."

As a result, many Georgia law enforcement agencies now routinely assign units to work in pairs during patrols, so that while one officer is working traffic enforcement the second officer can cite drivers who fail to move-over or slow down. GOHS Director Dallas said the Move-Over Law has been fairly enforced in Georgia and drivers are not cited if the lane change can't be made safely.

"The Move-Over Law is another good reason to slow down on Georgia's highways and interstates," said Dallas. "When the required clearance is given to a roadside emergency vehicle, the margin of safety is increased not only for public safety and emergency personnel, but for passing motorists and their passengers as well."

The posting of the new Georgia DOT informational signs will help improve driver awareness of this life saving statute and GOHS has printed more Move-Over Law brochures for year-round distribution at police road checks and Department of Driver Services locations throughout the state. GOHS also includes news releases like this in highway safety media kits to encourage more statewide news media coverage of Georgia's Move-Over Law. Meanwhile, local police departments around Georgia continue to deploy high-visibility enforcement measures to remind careless motorists to use this common sense precaution behind the wheel.

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