Today, June 1, marks the start of Virginia’s “Move Over Awareness Month,” and Stafford County partnered with localities in Planning District 16 as well as the Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and the Virginia State Police to raise awareness of the “Move Over” law.
“Every day, emergency and public safety crews put their lives on the line to help motorists stranded along our roadways,” said Stafford Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Lockhart. “And every year, public safety personnel are killed or injured as they perform their jobs on the roads.”
Our public safety folks are asking for the community’s help to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future. “Our mission is to improve the safety for our first responders, ensure that they return home safely to their families after their work shifts, and reduce the impact of traffic delays to the traveling public,” said Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett. “The goal of our campaign is to eliminate the number of public safety and service officials involved in these collisions and near misses.”
Public safety officials with the Planning District 16 localities, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, VDOT, and the Virginia State Police, are members of the Fredericksburg Regional Traffic Incident Management Coalition. They recently came together to film public service announcements that will be broadcast on local government cable channels as well as the websites and social media sites of the coalition members.
Virginia’s law requires all drivers to move over one lane, or slow down and use caution if changing lanes is not possible, when traveling past any vehicle with flashing red, blue or amber lights that is pulled to the side of the roadway. In addition, if drivers see workers on the roadway wearing reflective vests, they should move over and give them some room to work.
For more information about the “Move Over” campaign, visit www.moveoveramerica.com.
