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More than 100 drivers pulled over in attempt to enforce "Move Over" law

Clearwater police organized the operation after three cruisers were involved in two crashes within 20 minutes the previous weekend.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- More than a hundred drivers were ticketed within hours over the weekend on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. It was part of the Clearwater Police Department’s operation to get drivers to move over when emergency vehicles have their light on on the side of the road.

“To me, it’s reckless,” Lt. Natalia Illich-Hailey said of drivers who violate Florida’s “Move Over” law.

The law requires drivers to leave a lane between them and emergency vehicles, like cop cars, fire trucks, and tow trucks. If you can't get over in time, the law requires you to slow down to 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.

“We have very bright lights on our vehicles,” Illich-Haley said. “There is no excuse to not pay attention and be aware of your surroundings.”

In its overnight operation Saturday, the department pulled over more than a hundred drivers.

Forty-two of those drivers got ticketed for not moving over, and police cited 35 of them for speeding. The operation also resulted in five racing citations.

“All we can do is continue to educate, and hopefully the accidents will diminish,” Illich-Hailey said.

The department decided to do the operation after a chain reaction of crashes involving Clearwater police cruisers on the bridge the week before. Two crashes, which happened about 20 minutes apart, left three cop cars damaged. None of the officers were seriously hurt.

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