OPP focus on 'move over' law this August long weekend
For the family of OPP Sgt. Margaret Eve, Ontario's "move over" law is more than just another traffic regulation.
In June of 2000, Sgt. Eve became the first female OPP officer to die in the line of duty when a tractor-trailer slammed into a group of three police cruisers during a traffic stop near Chatham, Ont.
Eve was critically injured and died two days later in a London, Ont., hospital. Two other constables, Pask and Skalo, were seriously injured but survived.
Eve was a 14-year veteran of the force and left behind a husband and two children.
"I had to tell a three-year-old little girl and a six-year-old young man that mommy would not be coming home anymore," Eve's husband John said at a news conference Friday.
Eve's daughter Colleen, now 18, said the move-over law is needed to ensure the safety of police officers during traffic stops.
"If that transport truck had slowed down, and moved over, my mom would have been here to watch her son and daughter grow up," she said.
Eve's death, and similar officer deaths and injuries during roadside stops, led to Ontario's so-called "move over" law in 2003. It requires drivers to slow down when approaching an emergency vehicle parked at the roadside with its emergency lights activated. Drivers are also required to move over and leave an empty lane when one is available and the lane change can be done safely.
Failure to move over can lead to a fine of $490 and three demerit points.
The OPP is expected to lay about 1,500 charges under the law by year's end.
This August long weekend, a time when the OPP typically steps up enforcement and education about safe driving, the force is asking drivers to be aware of the move over rule.
"We just want everyone to be aware of this," said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt. "A lot of people think they move over out of courtesy, but it's legislated and we need to keep our emergency workers safe when they're on the road."
Schmidt said there's legislation in the works that would make the law apply in situations where tow trucks are working at the roadside.
