Nevada: Highway Patrol Reminds Drivers to Move Over
The importance of moving over for law enforcement and highway workers cannot be stressed enough. They risk their lives every day when working on the side of the road and too often are hit or nearly hit by traffic.Dramatic dash cam video from early August shows NHP troopers Michael Gokey and Matthew Thompson working a crash on I-80 westbound at Mustang when a speeding car rammed into the back of their parked patrol car.
“All I can say is I am very, very fortunate that I had a good teammate, a good member of the Nevada Highway Patrol with me that night,” said the trooper involved, Matthew Thompson. Side of the highway crashes are one of the main ways law enforcement officers are injured or killed on the job. It’s an epidemic so serious, the Nevada Legislature in 2017 added that NDOT and any other highway workers parked on the side should also be given extra room for safety.
“A lot of times it comes down to seconds to make a decision and that's why the move over law is so important in this day in age,” said NHP Northern Command Major Robert Stepien. NHP is on the lookout for those who do not move over. They've issued nearly 300 citations so far in 2017 and in Washoe County the fine is $318.
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