Ohio’s Move Over law is designed to protect the lives of everyone who works on or uses state roads, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol routinely makes this a priority, according to a news release.
The law requires all drivers to move over to an adjacent lane when approaching any stationary vehicle with flashing or rotating lights, including law enforcement officers, emergency responders, road construction, maintenance vehicles, utility crews and tow trucks, the release said.
If moving over is not possible, motorists should slow down and proceed with caution, according to the release.
One of the most vulnerable groups of roadside workers are the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) employees.
Since January 2023, ODOT employees, vehicles and equipment, have been struck 38 times, according to the release.
From 2018 to May 2023, troopers issued 26,739 citations for violating the Move Over law, the release said.
“When you move over, you’re protecting the lives of everyone who works on or uses our roadways,” Colonel Charles A. Jones, Highway Patrol superintendent said in the release. “Moving over is the law and it’s the right thing to do.”
To date in 2023, there have been more than 2,000 work zone crashes in Ohio, according to the release.
Among those, there have been five fatal crashes and another 44 crashes where serious injury is suspected, the release said.
“The roadside is our office,” said ODOT District 3 Deputy Director Bob Weaver in the release. “We need the motoring...
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