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First responders gather for ‘Indiana Move Over Day’

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – First responders from across Indiana gathered at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Saturday to raise awareness for the state’s “Move Over” law.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb proclaimed Saturday “Move Over Day” across the state.

The “Move Over” law requires drivers to reduce their speed and move out of the way for emergency vehicles such as police cars and fire trucks when they see flashing emergency lights.

“If you could imagine entering a work zone and replace each one of those individuals in that work zone with your child, would you speed through those zones if that were your child? Probably not,” said Mike Pruitt with the Wayne Township Fire Department.

The law also covers incident response vehicles such as Hoosier Helpers and recovery vehicles such as tow trucks.

“It gets pretty bad,” said Kurt Knecht, an area tow truck driver. “I’ve had to duck under a few semi trucks to avoid mirrors. People just don’t respect what we’re doing. I know two people from Indiana that have passed away doing this job.”

Violating the law could result in a fine or even license suspension. Any incident resulting in the injury or death of an emergency worker could result in a prison sentence.

For more information on the “Move Over” law, click here.