HENRY COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A fatal hit-and-run accident in Henry County involving a police
officer has the Governor's Office of Highway Safety reminding drivers
about the Move Over law.
It requires drivers to move over or slow down if there's an emergency vehicle of any kind on the side of the road.
The
Move Over law has been in effect since 2003, but unfortunately some
people either just don't get it or aren't paying attention.
By not
moving over, motorists are creating a very scary situation along the
road for not just law enforcement, but all emergency workers.
Crews have the vests and the lights, but what they don't have is space.
Victor
Bean is a tow truck driver for Northside Towing. "From the point of
getting hit or not we have about 2 feet. That's like right there," said
Bean.
And he said the cars aren't exactly going slow either. "I've
had cars zoom past my butt before going 70 miles per hour," Bean said.
At that speed, workers like Bean fear the worst. "If you hit us we gonna get killed. That's just being honest," said Bean.
It's something the workers at Northside Towing know all too well.
Debbie
Mau is the manager. "We've lost one of our drivers to a driver doing
his job. It's just really hard. It's hard on the families and it's hard
on the people," said Mau.
And this week, it's the law enforcement community.
Lt.
Dean Allen is with the Georgia State Patrol. Those kinds of things
shouldn't happen. That's a terrible accident and it should not have
happened," Allen said.
It's the exact reason this law was created.
"If he would have just paid attention, abided by the law, and moved
over and slowed down to get ready to stop this tragedy would not have
happened," said Allen.
Even if you're in the middle lane, you
should still move over when you see an emergency vehicle because that
gives the drivers in the other lane a place to go.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
