NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan State Police is reminding drivers of the “Move Over Law”, put in place to keep police officers and emergency personnel safe while pulled over on the side of the road.
This reminder comes just a week after a trooper downstate was struck and killed by a passing vehicle. When there is an emergency vehicle on the side of the road with lights on and/or during a routine traffic stop, other vehicles need to move over to the farthest left lane or at least slow their speeds down to 10 mph below the speed limit.
“The argument that we always get is well I didn’t know if there was someone in the left lane to get over. We need to make sure that we’re adhering to that law it’s very important. This affects people, this trooper now his family’s wife and young daughter they don’t have a dad they don’t have a husband anymore because somebody didn’t get over,” stressed Michigan State Police Lt. Mark Giannunzio.
Officers said that any emergency vehicle on the side of the road assumes a lot of risks, to begin with, and drivers going past need to be observant and aware of what’s around them to safely get out of the way.
“If you have to go 10 miles an hour when you’re going by that scene because it’s very chaotic then you go 10 miles an hour. It’s really simple, you slow your speeds down you get over to the left as far as you can safely and you pass around that scene,” commented Michigan State Police Lt. Mark Giannunzio.
MSP officers are very strict with this law and will write up citations when it’s not obeyed.
