New York Personal Injury News & NYC Legal Current Events

New York Instates “Move Over” Law At Start Of 2011

This month New York joins a number of other states in instating a “Move Over” law that hopes to reduce the number of emergency workers and accident victims who are struck and killed on the shoulder of roads, highways, and interstates.

The law, which took effect on January 1, 2011, requires that drivers slow down when approaching an accident scene or other emergency activity on the side of the road. When drivers are traveling on multiple lane highways and interstates, the law requires that drivers both slow down and change lanes to give emergency workers more room to do their jobs.

The law is called the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act – named after two law enforcement officers who recently lost their lives in New York because of careless drivers who struck them while they were doing their jobs on the shoulder of the road.

New York State Trooper Robert Ambrose was killed on December 19, 2002, when he was responding to the scene of a minor accident on the edge of the New York State Thruway. A 20-year-old drunk driver sped into the back of Ambrose’s police cruiser. The drunk driver, the police officer, and the driver from the original car accident all died.

Onondaga County Sheriff Deputy Glenn Searles was killed on November 23, 2003 when he was assisting a stranded driver on Interstate 481. A minivan lost control on icy roads and slammed into the back of Searles’ vehicle, where the officer was getting safety flares from his trunk.

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