A month before a Tennessee state trooper was struck and killed by a big rig that veered onto a highway shoulder, Nashville police asked the state to install signs on roadways reminding motorists to move over or slow down for stopped public safety vehicles, reports the Tennessean. “I’ve been in this business for 26 years, and there’s been a tremendous loss of life with police officers working on sides of roads,” said Nashville Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas. “It’s just dangerous. Now that the legislature’s passed the law that compel the movement, now the next logical step is to put those signs up and move quickly as possible.”
State transportation officials said it was impossible to know if putting the signs up earlier would have saved the officer. The “move-over” law was enacted on July 1, 2004, making Tennessee the 30th state to establish a safety zone to protect police, firefighters and other emergency personnel. Signs generally cost about $250 each, plus installation. The widow of the officer killed this month said her husband’s “biggest fear was being hit rather than being shot. Sometimes (motorists) would drive by close enough to see if they could knock his hat off.”
Link: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050721/NEWS09/507210397