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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2005

For More Information, Contact:
Hema Sareen Mohan (650) 688-6384

“MOVE OVER-SLOW DOWN” MEASURE IS A LIFESAVER; ADVANCES IN STATE SENATE

SACRAMENTO - State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) today announced that his bill to require motorists to move over or slow down when approaching tow trucks or other emergency crews along the highway has been approved by the State Senate.  It will be heard next in the Assembly.

Senate Bill 800 was one of the winning entries in Simitian’s annual ‘There Oughta be a Law’ contest, which invites Californians to submit ideas for new state legislation.  Tow truck driver and Hayward resident Daniel Frederick Leon entered the contest after noticing that drivers who do not move over or slow down when approaching tow trucks or emergency crews endanger the lives of workers on the road and other motorists.

“This bill is about promoting highway safety, plain and simple,” Simitian said.  “It’s a common sense solution to a preventable problem.  I hope that it will put a stop to the senseless deaths of police officers, tow truck drivers, paramedics, and other emergency personnel who are simply helping accident victims.” 

Studies show that crashes claim the lives of more police personnel than any other cause of death in the line of duty, including shootings.  In 2003, 13 of the 49 officers who died in crashes across the country were struck by motorists who did not move over or slow down when approaching them as they worked on highways.  Thousands of injuries and accidents also result from a failure to move over or slow down while approaching the scene of an accident served by emergency personnel.

Twenty-seven other states have adopted similar ‘Move Over-Slow Down’ laws, and have, as a result, shown a decrease in the number of emergency vehicles struck by passing drivers.

With that in mind, Leon proposed the Move Over-Slow Down law for California.  Leon has also established a webpage on his towing company’s website,  http://www.jackjamestow.com, to memorialize police officers, tow truck drivers, and others who have died because they were struck by motorists who did not move over or slow down.

SB 800 now goes to the State Assembly.
 

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