FEW FLORIDA MOTORISTS FOLLOW STATE 'MOVE OVER' LAW

Tow truck operator Mike Scheidt has never been hit working a highway crash, but he's certainly had his close calls. Once, he was underneath a tractor-trailer, hooking it up to be towed away, when a passing motorist ripped off the side of his wrecker

"The guy just kept going," said Scheidt, a supervisor and recovery specialist for Kauff's Transportation Systems. "He finally stopped two miles down the road because someone saw him." Florida's "Move Over" law was supposed to prevent such incidents.

The law, which took effect in May 2002, requires drivers to move over or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles stopped on the roadway.

Last year, however, police cars parked on the side of Florida roadways were hit 701 times, injuring or killing 257 officers.

Police, fire-rescue workers, tow truck drivers and others who toil on the highway say there are any number of reasons why motorists don't comply.

For one, they say, many drivers don't know about the law. Some are too busy multi-tasking behind the wheel to pay attention, while others follow too closely and don't see emergency vehicles until it's too late to react. And there are those who simply chose to ignore it.

"Unfortunately, in Palm Beach County, we work in horrendous conditions with all of the construction going on," Scheidt said. "Sometimes it's hard with all of the congestion to move over." A new Florida Department of Transportation initiative is trying to bring more attention to the issue.

Huge overhead signs are being installed along Interstate 95, Alligator Alley and other highways to inform drivers about the "Move Over" law. Smaller signs that explain the requirements and possible penalties are being put up at highway rest areas, said Gaetano "Guy" Francese, the DOT's district freeway operations manager.

"The problem is drivers are not aware of the law, let alone comply with it," Francese said. The law requires drivers on interstate highways and other roads with two or more lanes in each direction to move over when approaching a stopped emergency vehicle with its lights flashing.

If traffic is too heavy to change lanes, and on two-lane roads, the driver must slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit. Offenders can be ticketed for a moving violation, which carries a $123.50 fine in Palm Beach County.

Since 1997, more than 150 police officers have been killed after being hit by vehicles on the nation's highways, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. As a result, 43 states now have "Move Over" laws, many adopted in just the past few years.

A national Mason-Dixon poll earlier this year showed 71 percent of Americans have never heard of the law. But once told what it was, 86 percent of those surveyed said they support the measure. "We believe drivers have a responsibility to educate themselves," Florida Highway Patrol Maj. Ernesto Duarte said. "On the other side, law enforcement has collaborated and tried to do some education. We hand out brochures every time we stop people."

There have been other campaigns in Florida to get the word out. Last year, a $175,000 state grant was used to put "Move Over" stickers on gas pumps throughout the state. The county's traffic incident management team is looking at other ways to raise awareness. One idea is to put bumper stickers on Road Ranger trucks. These are the tow trucks that run up and down the highway throughout the day and night to assist stranded motorists.

"Our immediate responders are in a very dangerous situation," said Bob Murphy, the traffic team's project manager. "We're really trying to push this hard."