Fairfax Co, Va. – A lady nearly ripped off an officer’s car door during a traffic stop on the interstate west of Washington, DC, in November.
An officer was performing a traffic stop when a woman driving on Route 28 did not pull over or even try to slow down. As the officer was getting into his patrol car, the woman flew by, hit the officer’s door, and stopped a little further down the road.
They charged her with failing to move over for an emergency car.
All states have a “Move Over” law that requires you to move over a lane or slow down when passing an emergency vehicle.
These laws require you to move over or slow down to a reasonable speed for any type of emergency vehicle, including police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, etc.
In California, “tragically, between 2018 and 2022, 154 CHP officers were injured, 14 severely, and two officers lost their lives on California roadsides.”
The same thing applies when an emergency vehicle is heading your way or needs to get through. I’ve been behind the wheel of emergency vehicles trying to get through traffic, and it’s frustrating when people don’t get out of the way.
It was a long time ago, but I still remember pulling over because traffic was terrible and we couldn’t get through. The lady in the back went into labor, and her child was ready to enter the world.
She had her kid right on the overpass of Highway 69 in Ft. Wayne, IN. Some things you will never forget.
There may be a day when you are the one in the back of the ambulance or the person who needs police assistance, and they can’t get through.
At highway speeds, you can go about the length of a football field in three seconds. It’s the holidays, so remember to move over or slow down if you see a car on the side of the road.