Slow Down, Move Over! Spectrum Article Week 3, 2011 Session

Below is an article I submitted to the Spectrum newspaper on a bill I'm working on. Slow down and move over! No, this isn’t something I’ve been yelling at my grandkids, it is the slogan that goes along with a bill I am running to help protect our public safety personnel. We all know that serving in law enforcement is dangerous work. After all these are the brave folks that often stand directly between the bad guys and us. However, their work shouldn’t be dangerous because of people driving carelessly. Just thirty-seven days into the New Year and eight highway patrol troopers have been injuries in accidents on our highways. At this pace we will quickly eclipse the twenty-one accidents that occurred in 2010! This is not a record we should be interested in breaking. State troopers play a critical role in keeping the public safe on our highways, but only if we do our job as driver by keeping them out of harm’s way. The recent increase in troopers being hit is alarming and clearly indicative of how dangerous the job is for these troopers who willingly and admirably serve. Current state law requires that motorist pull over to let emergency vehicles pass or to slow down and yield space to emergency vehicles stopped on the side of the road with lights flashing. Unfortunately too few people are following the law and our troopers are paying the price. The highway patrol was taken steps to provide troopers with better safety training and techniques, but we as drivers need to do our part too. Some people move over, but few slow down. Please, slow down immediately as soon as you see a trooper or emergency vehicle. Sometimes in order to convince people that you are serious about the need for a certain change of behavior it is necessary to put in place some stiff penalties. My bill will increase the penalties for the failure by a driver to slow down and move over and require completion of a four-hour defensive driving class for anyone that receives a citation. We have more cars on Utah road today than ever before, yet even with increased traffic we have about the same number of trooper as we did in the 1980’s. It is more important than ever that we protect our troopers because we don’t have any to spare. Not to mention the personal pain and suffering experienced by the injured troopers. Trooper Rachel Zubal, who joined me in a press conference on the bill this week, endured three surgeries and nine months of rehab before she could return to work after being hit on I-15 in 2010. Sadder still are the accidents that result in deaths like that of Sevier County Deputy Aguilar who died in a tragic accident on an I-70 bridge last year. Many of the accidents that have occurred so far this year are a result of winter weather and drivers going too fast for conditions. We need our troopers and emergency personnel to stay alive, to stay safe and to continue providing the quality public safety service so you and I can make it home to our loved ones at night. As drivers, let's help them so they can help us when that time comes.