OSP troopers, 5 other states focus on Move Over law initiative

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and five other members of the 6-State Trooper Project are focused on the Move Over law initiative this week.

In Ohio, drivers must get over when coming up on emergency and public service vehicles while their stopped on the side of the road with their lights flashing.

>> RELATED: 6-state trooper project to focus on Move Over law

This week law enforcement officers are getting aggressive with drivers who don’t give space to emergency workers or public service vehicles. If they find those drivers who don’t move over, they’ll get a ticket.

“Just in Ohio in the last four years we’ve had 56 incidents where people have either been hit or killed on the side of the road,” Lt. Matt Schmenk said.

In 1998, Centerville Police Officer John Kalaman and Washington Township firefighter Robert O’Toole were killed while investigating a crash on I-675.

Their deaths prompted the enactment of the Move Over Law in Ohio.

>> RELATED: Twenty years later: remembers highway accident that killed two first responders

“You’re required to move over into the adjacent lane and if you can’t, you’re at least required to slow down,” Schmenk said.

The Move Over law now also requires drivers to move over for public service vehicles, such as tow trucks and ODOT workers.

This initiative ends on July 27, but state troopers say they won’t stop looking for people breaking this law.