Why it is important to follow Tennessee Move Over Law

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) — Just during October of this year, there have been four incidents of drivers crashing into Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) trucks.

TDOT

The most recent incident happened on Friday, October 20, at about 7 a.m.

According to TDOT, it happened on I-40 West in Knox County. This was just a mile away from the Watt Road exit.

The vehicle hit was a TDOT HELP Truck. The TDOT driver was pulling over to help a disabled vehicle on the side of the road. At this time, a car driving on the shoulder crashed into them from behind.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol explained that the driver of the car fell asleep at the wheel. That driver is facing charges of reckless endangerment, having an unregistered vehicle and improper use of registration.

TDOT

The TDOT driver was being evaluated for injuries, but it is currently unclear what those injuries are.

“We engineer our roads to be safe as possible,” said TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “But there’s no amount of engineering that can change driver behavior. Everyone must slow down, move over and pay attention.”

Back in 2006, Tennessee passed the Move Over Law. This law requires drivers to move one lane over when they are approaching emergency vehicles, or vehicles with flashing lights.

Those who violate this law could receive up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $500.

TDOT HELP Trucks are emergency vehicles that operate in heavily traveled freeways in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville.

The HELP Program is meant to reduce traffic and congestion by dealing with different kinds of emergencies. Those can include safely moving people and vehicles, clearing debris from the roadway and much more.

In addition, TDOT reported that three of their workers were struck and killed by drivers in 2016.