It’s part of the “move over or slow down” campaign by the State Highway Patrol. Ohio law mandates drivers move over when they see an emergency vehicle, or if they can’t safely change lanes, to slow down.
“Since I’ve been at this post, I’ve been working two different shifts where people were hit,” Tom Faris, dispatcher at the Springfield patrol post, said.
A trooper at the Springfield Post, Erika Englund, was struck by a median cable barrier after a vehicle ran off the road in 2013. She was investigating a crash on I-70 at the time.
As a result of the crash, Englund had her left leg amputated, and she took a medical retirement from the highway patrol.
Springfield Post Commander Lt. Brian Aller said the campaign has raised awareness.
“I think it’s helped, it really has,” Aller said. “However, there are some folks that really don’t see it as a big deal. We still get people that blow our doors off when we’re stopped with a car.”
Aller was involved in a roadside crash. In 2000 he was inside his patrol car when a vehicle crashed into his, sending it into a guard rail. His injuries were minor, but he knows firsthand that these accidents can happen at anytime.
With the holidays here, it’s the perfect time to get this campaign out there, Faris said.
“There’ll be a lot more traffic out on the highways over the holidays,” he said. “Especially Thanksgiving and then Christmas coming up a month later.”
The law mandating vehicles move over or slow down for emergency responders was passed in 1999 after a Centerville police officer and firefighter were killed on Interstate 675.
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