South Dakota: Dangerous incident prompts police to remind public of ‘Move Over’ law (1)
Around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, an officer conducted a traffic stop on a Chevy Suburban northbound on Mt. Rushmore Road in Rapid City. The suburban was stopped on the right side of the road in the construction zone just south of Cathedral Drive.
As the officer was exiting his patrol vehicle, the driver of a Ford Focus northbound on Mt. Rushmore Road allegedly lost control of her vehicle and narrowly missed the officer before striking the suburban. No one was injured in the crash.
The officer asked the driver, later identified as 52-year-old Audrey Schauer of Hill City, to exit the vehicle. On further investigation, Schauer was found to be impaired from prescription medication. She was arrested and charged with DUI.
Despite impairment being a factor in this incident, the Rapid City Police Department would like to remind drivers of the provisions within South Dakota’s “Move Over” law:
— Leave a lane of space between yourself and any parked emergency vehicle displaying amber or yellow lights.
— If that’s not possible, slow to 20 miles-per-hour below the posted limit and pass the emergency vehicle with caution.
— If red lights are flashing, come to a complete stop before reaching the emergency vehicle. If it’s safe, you can proceed with caution.
— Slow to 5 miles-per-hour when the speed limit is posted at 20 miles-per-hour or less and proceed with caution.
The “Move Over” law, SDCL 32-31-6.1, applies to all emergency vehicles and is designed to keep officers and other public safety personnel safe from harm while operating on busy roads.
Related Links
Links provided with these articles were active and accurate as of the posting of the article to ResponderSafety.com. However, web sites change and the organization hosting the page at the link may have moved or removed it since this article was posted. Therefore, some links may no longer be active.