Troopers tell drivers, move over

By Dawn Jefferies
WSLS10 Anchor/Reporter
Published: February 25, 2008

Greg Syres patrols every day. Every day he has reason to worry. “I’ve actually had to jump across the guardrail in fear that I was going to get ran over,“ he said.

We ride a long with State Police to see just how many vehicles move over when a car is stopped. Many don’t and some come dangerously close. “I’ve had the vehicles get on to the rumble strips which is quite startling when you’re sitting in the vehicle,“ Syres said.

Virginia law requires drivers to move over when an emergency vehicle is stopped but not everyone is getting the message. “Most people are quite frankly unaware of the law,“ he said. One reason is there are no signs pointing out the law, at least not yet.

State police are pushing an ad campaign to get the word out. They’ve done it before but as another trooper gets hurt, they want to drive home the message even more. “I don’t necessarily worry about getting hurt by the person or hurt by a weapon,“ said senior trooper Douglas Hubert. “I worry about traffic more than anything else when I stop a car.“

If there’s a lot of traffic and you can’t move over, you don’t have to but you have to slow down. “The expectation is for you to slow down and to be cautious of the fact that there is somebody standing on the side of the road or there’s a vehicle on the side of the road,“ Hubert said. 

A simple courtesy that could save a life.

State Police say road signs that look like this will soon go up giving drivers visible notice of the law. Failing to obey it is a misdemeanor which means you could go to jail if you’re found guilty.