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WA State Patrol to start enforcing ‘move over’ law

The Columbian
Published: March 31, 2011, 12:00am

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Starting Friday, the Washington State Patrol says it will begin enforcing the state’s new “move over” law that requires motorists to move over or slow down when passing stopped emergency vehicles on the side of a highway.

The patrol says it has spent 90 days educating motorists since the Emergency Zone Law took effect Jan. 1. Now if troopers see a violation, they’ll write a ticket.

The law creates a 200-foot zone around emergency vehicles that are stopped with their lights activated. The state passed its original “Move Over” law in 2007 but safety problems worsened for emergency responders. Between 2006 and 2009, the State Patrol alone had 80 collisions involving passing vehicles striking trooper vehicles parked along the highway. Major factors in these collisions were speeding, driving too fast for conditions and DUI.

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