If you don't already know that you have to move over for service vehicles that are handling emergencies, you may soon find out the hard way.
New York state has a law that started Jan. 1 that requires drivers to move aside for more types of vehicles than before.
Up until this year, all the law covered were police and fire-department vehicles — if you saw one of those stopped by the road with its red lights flashing, you were required to slow down or switch lanes to stay out of the way.
That law was instituted in New York in 2010 to protect people who respond to car accidents, fires and other emergency situations. Many states already had move-over laws by then, some since 2001; now only Hawaii doesn't enforce a law.
We had a sad reminder right here in the North Country about how dangerous it can be for officers and responders who have to stand alongside a car on the roadside. On Aug. 17, 2005, Essex County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Eric Loiselle was killed while issuing a traffic ticket to a Canadian motorist alongside the Northway. A tractor-trailer truck bound for Quebec sideswiped his patrol car, then hit the 31-year-old deputy as he stood next to the car he had pulled over.
It makes sense that once the judgment was made to ensure the safety of police and firefighters with a move-over law, the same protection should be offered to others who respond to a roadside emergency. Tow-truck operators, for example, have to stand alongside the road as they aid stranded motorists and remove cars that have been involved in accidents.
So, with the start of 2012, the law expanded to require drivers to change lanes or slow down when approaching service vehicles, as long as their amber lights are flashing.
The rule is that if you are on a regular, two-way road, you must slow down as you approach a police, fire or service vehicle with flashing lights.
On multiple-lane roads, such as the Northway, you "must move from the lane immediately adjacent to the emergency or hazard vehicle, unless traffic or other hazards exist to prevent doing so safely," the New York State Police website explains.
Apparently, word hasn't gotten around as well as it should. State Police pulled over 197 drivers on the Thruway last month because they had violated the move-over law. We hear from service personnel in this area that a good number of drivers here aren't complying with the law, either.
So far, police have been going easy on the tickets. State Police said the January stops on the Thruway were made to raise awareness. But the grace period is over, and tickets are now going to be issued.
So for the safety of our emergency responders — and to spare yourself a moving violation — follow the law and move over.
