TEXAS P.D. TO TARGET VIOLATORS OF 'MOVE OVER' LAW

After having three of its vehicles hit in the past year as officers were stopping motorists for traffic violations, the Shenandoah Police Department is working today to enforce a state law designed to prevent such accidents.

According to SPD Sgt. Bryan Carlisle, the Texas Department of Public Safety will target commercial vehicles with violations along the Interstate 45 corridor in Shenandoah and at the same time, SPD officers will enforce the state's "Move Over" law, which requires drivers nearing stopped emergency vehicles with lights activated to reduce their speed or change lanes.

Officers will be out in force from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. today.

"Approximately 20 troopers will be out working in our corridor of IH-45 and we will be aggressively enforcing the 'Move Over' law while watching their backs," Carlisle said. The law specifically states that a driver must "either vacate the lane closest to the stopped emergency vehicle if the road has multiple lanes traveling the same direction or slow down 20 miles per hour below the speed limit."

Emergency vehicles include those in the fleet of police, emergency medical service and fire departments. The law became effective Sept. 1, 2003, and a violation is punishable by a fine of up to $200. If the violator causes property damage, the maximum fine increases to $500. If there is bodily injury, the violation is enhanced to a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

S.P.D. has a special interest in enforcing the "Move Over" law, having racked up nearly $100,000 in damages in a year to patrol cars struck by civilian vehicles while their lights were activated. Two S.P.D. officers were injured in two of those accidents. S.P.D. Officer Joseph Peart sustained multiple injuries a little more than a year ago, on Dec. 2, 2006, when his patrol car was struck and totaled by a vehicle, whose driver was allegedly intoxicated. On April 1, SPD Officer Bryan Saintes was parked on the shoulder of Interstate 45 when an inattentive driver struck his patrol car.

Saintes received only cuts and bruises, but the $38,000 car was a total loss.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Texas led the nation in officers struck by vehicles over the last decade.