Slow down, move over

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: July 24, 2008

Virginia State Police put their lives on the line-literally-to protect drivers, and now, a safety campaign will protect officers too.
For law enforcement officers, a day at the office involves carrying out public safety-related duties standing just inches from the highway with traffic bearing down on them at 55 miles per hour, or more.
The “Slow Down, Move Over” campaign is designed to keep police officers and other emergency personnel safe while they work alongside Virginia’s roads and highways. And it’s not just a request to drivers, it’s a law.
It seems many drivers don’t consider the safety of emergency personnel stopped at the roadside, and they aren’t aware that there is now a state law requiring them to move to the far lane and decrease their speed.
The “Slow Down, Move Over” law requires drivers to change to another travel lane, or if that’s not possible, to slow down and cautiously pass emergency personnel who are stopped at the roadside.
“Troopers have a job to do on the shoulder of the road, that’s where their office is, on the road and in their car,” Virginia State Police Sergeant Mike Woodard said.
In Virginia, five state troopers in 2008 have been struck and injured by passing motorists on Virginia highways. Nationwide, at least 15 law enforcement personnel were hit and killed while standing outside their vehicles alongside the road.
“While we realize there are risks associated with being in law enforcement, what’s happening on the side of Virginia interstates to our troopers is unacceptable,” Virginia State Police Superintendent Colonel W. Steven Flaherty said. “Every one of the incidents that has occurred this year could have been prevented had the drivers complied with out state’s ‘Move Over’ law.”
Woodard said the officers who were injured recently were simply performing their regular duties when they were struck.
“All it would take is keeping your mind on your driving. It’s a law-move over. It’s common sense to me to move over to the left lane to give them some room, to protect them,” Woodard said.
Last month in Rockbridge County, Trooper P.C. Gardner was concluding a traffic stop along the shoulder, and while seated in his car, a tractor trailer plowed into him. Gardner sustained serious injuries; the tractor trailer driver, uninjured, was charged with one count of reckless driving.
In May, Trooper J.H. Rasnick’s cruiser was sideswiped by a tractor-trailer in Botetourt County. Police are still searching for the suspect truck involved in the felony hit-and-run. At the time, Rasnick was in his car performing a routine traffic stop. Rasnick sustained non-life threatening injuries.
In February, Trooper K.S. Chapman was struck by a drunk driver alongside I-81 in Smyth County while seated in his car. Chapman was severely injured.
A passing motorist struck Trooper K.J. Brown’s vehicle on I-66 in May.
In April, a drunk driver ran off the road and crashed into the back of Trooper J.T. Mahalik’s patrol car, which was parked on the shoulder of I-66 during a traffic stop. Inside the patrol car were Mahalik and the traffic violator. When the drunk driver smashed into the state police car, it caught fire. Mahalik escaped the burning car and pulled the person in the passenger’s seat to safety.
Woodard said that news of a death or injury to a fellow police officer strikes home for every trooper.
“Anytime a police officer is hurt real bad or killed, you think about their wife and their family. I’ve got four children myself.”
Woodard explained that police officers are on the roads to enforce safety laws. Speeders need to slow down, drunk drivers need to be stopped and dangerous motorists need to be corrected. State troopers and other emergency personnel are on the roads for the purpose of protecting the community.
“The idea behind it is to prevent them from having a crash,” Woodard said. “They’re out there working, looking for any violations of the law.” And in between traffic stops, he added, “Troopers respond to calls to assist the sheriff’s office or help out during a domestic dispute, or they get called to motor vehicle crashes.”
In Orange, there are four troopers who regularly work the county’s roadways.
Trooper Ben Hobbs, said he’s had plenty of close calls while working along the shoulder of Orange County roads. Inches closer, he said, and his name would be among the emergency personnel wounded or even killed while working a traffic stop.
Hobbs said motorists, for the most part, seem to know little about moving over and slowing down when passing police at work.
“On Route 20, there’s nowhere for them to go. But on a four-lane road like 15, they need to get over if they can get over. If you can’t, you have to slow down and use due caution and go way below the speed limit,” Hobbs said. “People still go right by us,” We try to educate by pulling them over and they say they had no idea it was illegal.”
Trooper Vince Fielding said near-accidents caused by uninformed, unconcerned motorists are all too frequent.
“We all have close calls. It’s almost a daily occurrence,” he said, “but if we can educate people, hopefully it will improve.”