Traffic stops, roadside collision investigations, medical responses, and all other roadway services provided by emergency responders are potentially dangerous due to passing traffic. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, over 150 U.S. law enforcement officers have been killed since 1999 after being struck by vehicles along highways. These incidents are the third leading cause of death for law enforcement personnel.
As a result, forty-seven states have enacted some kind of “Move Over” law in an effort to reduce officer fatalities. These laws require motorists who are approaching a stationary emergency vehicle with its emergency lights flashing to change lanes and/or slow down in order to provide a safe clearance for first responders on the roadway. Unfortunately, according to a recent national poll sponsored by the National Safety Commission, 71 percent of Americans have not heard of the “Move Over” laws.
Washington’s “Move Over” law, RCW 46.61.212, requires motorists to slow down and proceed with caution when approaching an authorized stationary emergency vehicle utilizing its audible and/or visual signals. It also requires motorists, when reasonable, to make a lane change away from the lane or shoulder occupied by an emergency vehicle. If changing lanes or moving away from the emergency vehicle is unreasonable or unsafe, then motorists must proceed with due caution and reduce the speed of their vehicle.
An example of a violation would be if a driver passes an emergency vehicle stopped in the right lane on Avondale Road while traveling the speed limit in the left lane. It would be unreasonable, in this example, for the driver to change lanes, away from the emergency vehicle, into the center two-way turn lane so they would be required to slow down. The fine for this violation is $124.
What is an authorized emergency vehicle?
Emergency vehicles take many forms and most are obvious, such as police and fire vehicles, but there are other emergency vehicles on the roadway. Tow trucks often assist police with clearing the road. The Washington State Department of Transportation has an Incident Response Team, which assists other agencies in restoring normal traffic flow on state highways such as SR 520. The City of Redmond’s Public Works department is out in authorized emergency vehicles daily. The “Move Over” law applies to all of these emergency vehicles when they are stopped on, or next to, the roadway and have their emergency lights activated.
While these laws are much needed, we still see a lack of compliance among drivers. I have personally observed many close calls during traffic stops or while investigating traffic collisions. Several years ago here in Redmond, one of our current commanders watched as his Sergeant was struck by a passing vehicle during a roadside investigation, sending him spinning in the air. There also seems to be an endless supply of videos on the internet showing officers struck by passing vehicles while speaking to a violator at the driver’s door.
Officer Martin Fuller has been with the Redmond Police Department for eight years and has worked specifically in the Traffic Division for the last three. He is trained in Technical Collision Investigation and is an Emergency Vehicle Operations Instructor. If you have questions for him to address in future columns, please e-mail trafficguy@redmond.gov.
