July 27, 2021
Jim Evancho
On Monday two Alabama State Troopers were involved in two unrelated vehicle crashes. The first crash occurred in Jefferson County and the second in Limestone County. Both Troopers were able to walk away with minor injuries.
Governor Kay Ivey tweeted “Folks, please slow down and move over when you see blue lights and emergency vehicles. Please say a prayer for this trooper!”
Alabama has a “Move Over” law that requires all drivers to move over one lane when they approach any stationary emergency vehicles with their lights activated. This law also applies to wreckers that have activated their amber lights while attempting to assist motorists. The beginning of the Alabama Code states:
“This section shall be known as the “Alabama Move Over Act.”
(b)(1) When an authorized law enforcement vehicle or emergency vehicle making use of any visual signals is parked, when a wrecker displaying amber rotating or flashing lights is performing a recovery or loading on the roadside, when a utility service vehicle operated by or on behalf of an entity providing utility services displaying any rotating lights, flashing lights, or other visual signals is parked on the roadside while performing tasks associated with the provision of utility services, when a vehicle displaying flashing lights is parked or engaged in the performance of official duties on or along a road, or when a garbage, trash, refuse, or recycling collection vehicle is actively collecting garbage, trash, refuse, or recycling materials on the roadside, the driver of every other vehicle, as soon as it is safe, shall do the following:”
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 44 officers lost their lives in 2020 due to traffic crashes. Officers are at risk during every traffic stop as they are dealing with the driver and also trying to keep an eye on oncoming traffic, the move over law is designed to lower the risk of an officer being struck by a vehicle.
