Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) joined AAA East Central, and the Allegheny County Police to remind motorists to keep emergency responder safety in mind and avoid aggressive driving.
The partners highlighted the importance of watching out for emergency personnel on the road ahead of National Move Over Day on October 18. As responders focus on saving lives, drivers are asked to make the responders’ safety a priority as well. This includes abiding by Pennsylvania’s Move Over Law, which requires drivers approaching an emergency incident who are unable to safely merge into a lane farther away from the emergency providers to "pass the emergency response area at a speed of no more than 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit and reasonable for safely passing."
An emergency response area is defined as a stationary police, fire, or ambulance vehicle with flashing lights, a road crew with flares or signs, a tow truck assisting a vehicle, or a disabled vehicle with at least two emergency displays.
PennDOT District 11’s maintenance and tunnel crews work around-the-clock each day to ensure the safety of the motoring public. As trained emergency personnel, crews often assist motorists on the side on the road near live traffic. They are regularly exposed to speeding and distracted motorists and rely on the drivers to help keep them safe.
The upcoming aggressive driving mobilization, which runs from October 20 to November 9, was also discussed at the event. Aggressive driving is one of the leading factors of highway crashes and fatalities in Pennsylvania. Police will target drivers demonstrating unsafe behaviors such as speeding, texting, careless driving, work zone safety violations and any other aggressive driving actions, including not abiding by the Move Over Law.
According to PennDOT data, in 2024 there were 5,897 aggressive driving-related crashes statewide. Also last year, there were 3,530 speeding-related crashes, which is the top offense law enforcement sees in aggressive driving citations.
Drivers are reminded to observe the Move Over Law to keep emergency personnel safe, and to avoid aggressive driving to keep each other safe. Please remember safety is everyone’s responsibility.
For more information, visit www.PennDOT.pa.gov/safety.
PennDOT’s media center offers social-media-sized graphics highlighting topics such as seat belts, impaired driving, and distracted driving for organizations, community groups, or others who share safety information with their stakeholders.
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