STEER CLEAR LAW

Steer clear of those at roadside, law orders

You must change lanes in passing police stops, tow trucks, work crews
Thursday, August 31, 2006 The Patriot-News

It should be common sense. If you pass by a disabled vehicle or traffic stop, you give the police officers, tow-truck drivers or other people working the scene a wide berth.

Effective Sept. 8, the "Steer Clear" law will require drivers to move into a "nonadjacent lane" when approaching an emergency scene, police stop or a tow truck picking up a disabled car.

If that isn't possible because of traffic or other considerations, drivers at least must slow to a "careful and prudent reduced speed" as they pass. Otherwise, failure to move over becomes a summary offense that carries a fine of up to $250.

Under current law, fines are doubled for traffic violations committed in work zones or emergency-response scenes.

On Sept. 8, fines also will be doubled for infractions near police traffic stops, a tow truck picking up a disabled vehicle or maintenance crews working at the roadside.
If a worker is hurt as a result of the violation, the charge would carry with it a 90-day license suspension.

The law, signed by Gov. Ed Rendell this summer, will come into play any time an emergency-services vehicle has its lights flashing, or where road crews or fire police have lighted flares, posted signs or otherwise tried to put motorists on notice.

"As long as they're giving a warning to the motorist, the motorist should be able to slow down or move over," said Eric Bugaile, an aide to House Transportation Committee Chairman Rick Geist, R-Altoona. Geist was a sponsor of the bill.

The statute also lets police issue citations based on after-the-fact reports from road-crew workers or others who felt threatened by a close call.
"You're talking about people who are out there doing good for the general public, so we felt it was very important that they at least have some awareness by the motorists that they should try to control their speed," Bugaile said.

Pennsylvania is not breaking ground in this area.
Nearly three dozen states have adopted some form of a steer-clear law, which has been lobbied for by law enforcement groups and the towing industry for years.

The consequences of what some in the business call a "dusting" could be more severe than jangled nerves or dinged equipment:
In January 2005, Myerstown mechanic Robert Bye was killed on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County when he was struck by a truck as he was working on a disabled rig.
Three Pennsylvania troopers have been killed when struck by motorists passing accidents scenes or other traffic stops since 1999. Most recently, Trooper Tod Kelly was hit in 2001 by a sport utility vehicle as he was removing debris from Interstate 79.

State police also report that marked cars -- during stops when they have had overhead lights flashing -- were struck from behind 38 times from January 2005 through March.

Johnson, the tow-truck driver, said he believes the law will prove difficult to enforce, if for no other reason than it's hard to get the license plate numbers of cars whizzing by at 60 mph.
But he hopes the statute can have a positive impact as an educational device.

"My hope is that as new drivers learn how to drive, this will be one of the things that they teach them," Johnson said. "Our hope is that everybody can look at it from our perspective, try to visualize what it would be like working there and cut them a little break."