This Is Why We Have A ‘Move Over’ Law in New York State

It's a pretty simple concept: you see an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the road, you move over. Sadly, some people don't get it.

Police, troopers, paramedics, firemen - they all put their lives on the line to keep us safe. Is it so hard to turn your steering wheel a little bit to return the favor? According to some recent photos posted by the New York State Troopers, the answer is yes.

Trooper Thomas P. Hanigan was inside his patrol car when a tractor trailer failed to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle and struck the driver’s side of the Trooper's car while the vehicle was stopped on the shoulder of I-87 near Kingston, NY.

"The truck driver, Michael Audit, 54, of Napierville, Quebec, continued north and struck the driver’s side of the disabled vehicle, a 2003 Chevy Tahoe, while both occupants were attempting to change a tire. The tractor trailer then struck the guide rail and crossed over the northbound lanes, coming to rest on the westbound shoulder. 
 
The passenger of the Tahoe, Juana Herrera, 46, of Albany, NY, was injured when the vehicle struck her and pushed her into the guide rail.  The driver, Alejandro Espinosa, 56, of Albany, NY, was able to jump over the guard rail and was not injured.
 
Both Herrera and Trooper Hanigan, a 19-year veteran assigned to SP Kingston, were transported to Kingston Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, treated and released. 
 
Audit was uninjured and was ticketed for Moving from Lane Unsafely and violating the Move Over Law."

Thankfully, no one was seriously injured or killed, but that was pretty much luck.

For the love of Pete, when you see an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the road (usually, those flashing lights are a dead giveaway) just move over. You could save a life.