Saturday, Oct. 16 is National Move Over Day

Christy Russell,
(Source: Storyblocks)

(KBSI) – Saturday, October 16 is National Move Over Day to remind drivers to help protect emergency personnel working on the side of the road.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol posted a video on its Facebook page showing dangerous crashes involving state troopers who were working on the side of the road.

National Move Over Day, the third Saturday of every October, is an event when first responders, roadway workers, and communities across the United States promote awareness of Move Over laws.

The Move Over Law is a traffic law currently mandatory in all 50 states. It requires all vehicles approaching an emergency scene, marked by flashing lights, emergency responders and rescue equipment, to slow down and as soon as safe to do so, move into a lane away from the emergency activity.

“Struck-by” incidents are recognized as the leading cause of death and serious injury to all roadway responders.

In 2021, drunken, drugged or distracted drivers have caused a record breaking 49 responder deaths and more than 350 separate struck-by incidents to police, rire, EMS, towing and DOT responders, according to National Move Over Day’s Facebook page.

In the United States:

  • Two emergency responder are stuck each day, on average, while working along the roadway.
  • One emergency responder is stuck and injured every two days, on average, while working along the roadway.
  • One emergency responder is struck and killed every seven days, on average, while working along the roadway.

Move Over Laws originated in South Carolina in 1994, when Lexington County EMS Paramedic James D. Garcia was struck and injured while attending a patient at an accident scene. Paramedic Garcia was listed at fault for blocking the road, and in trying to appeal the ruling, learned that EMS were not protected while working in the roadway. This motivated him to create the Move Over Law, which first passed in SC in 1996.

In 2002, the emergence of reality television, dash cams, and several tragic high profile responder deaths got the attention of the national responder community.

A version of the Move Over Law has passed in every state with Hawaii the last state to pass the law in 2012.

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