GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — The “Slow Down, Move Over” law has previously been in place in Kentucky, requiring motorists to move over if possible and slow down for law enforcement and emergency personnel on the side of the road.
Today, the law expanded to include protection for stranded drivers and disabled vehicles stuck on the side of the road.
“The bottom line is, as we’re standing on the side of the road, people are passing us at 70, 80 miles an hour,” said Michael Hennigan, director for Scott County Emergency Management and Office of Homeland Security. “Even if you just misjudge and hit us with a mirror, that’s a permanent injury.”
“There’s somebody’s life on the side of the road,” Chris Finley, owner of Finley’s Towing & Recovery, said. “Now that it’s an actual law, I feel a whole lot better, safer out there.”
Both Hennigan and Finley consistently work on the shoulders of roads and interstates, and both have had close calls. Hennigan recalled one incident that happened earlier this year on April 23.
“We had a major incident involving a tractor trailer that had diesel fuel spilled across three lanes of traffic,” he said. “I asked some of my people to assist and to divert traffic off at the previous exit.”
“As they were setting up those traffic diversions, a vehicle came through all of the cones and barriers and everything, smashed into a sheriff deputy vehicle and also ran over our Tahoe and ended up underneath the traffic trailer.”
For Finley, he and his team keep their eyes and ears involved to stay out of harm’s way.
“When you’re out there, you’re listening for rumble strips,” Finley said. “As soon as you hear it, your ears perk up, your head perks up, and you take a look and make sure that you can get out of the way in time.”
According to Kentucky State Police crash data, 73 people were killed by crashes on the shoulder in the past year. To help prevent incidents like this, Finley donated an arrow board to the Scott County EMA-OHS.
“I didn’t know what to do with it,” said Finley. He shared that he has had the sign for more than two years. “We were planning on using it for our own use, kind of helping with traffic control, and I said, ‘why just us, why not donate it to the EMA of Scott County, Georgetown,’ and they can use it for everybody.”
“This is going to be a big asset in our resources,” Hennigan added. “A lot of times we need to be able to have something like this where drivers can real quickly understand what we’re trying to get them to do.”
“Please pay attention,” Finley asked. “I don’t care if the lights are red, blue, amber, or green. If you see flashing lights, we take those lights very serious, and we hope everybody else takes the lights very serious.”
The expanded “Slow Down, Move Over” law officially went into effect today.
