Florida Highway Patrol officials are reminding drivers to move over or slow down for stopped emergency, towing, sanitation and utility vehicles.
As part of a renewed push to remind Floridians of the move-mver law, FHP is releasing dash camera footage that shows a Fort Myers man crashing his vehicle into a parked FHP cruiser that had its emergency lights activated on Nov. 5 along the shoulder of I-75 southbound in Lee County.
The 35-year-old driver and FHP Trooper Richard Verbiest were injured in the wreck. Trooper Verbiest helped pull the man to safety as flames spread.
"This crash also serves as a reminder for drivers to remain focused behind the wheel and to follow the Florida move over law which states, when approaching a stopped emergency vehicle on a multiple lane highway, that vehicle must vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle," FHP Spokesperson Lt. Gregory Bueno wrote in a reminder to drivers.
If heavy traffic prevents you from changing lanes safely, you have to slow down by 20 mph below the posted speed limit. And, if you're driving on a road where the speed limit is 20 mph or lower, you are supposed to slow down to 5 mph.
The law is intended to prevent emergency workers from being hit by vehicles.
Failure to follow the move-over law can result in a ticket, three points on your license and a fine.
Just yesterday, 10News spoke with law enforcement members about the importance of the move-over law. Watch that story below.
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