The Colorado State Patrol in Durango is reminding drivers of the “move over” law, which requires drivers to reduce their speed and move over when passing a stationary emergency vehicle.
Two troopers were recently killed in the line of duty, one by a suspected drunken driver and another during a pursuit. The most recent death involved Trooper Jaimie Jursevics, 33, who was apparently struck by a drunken driver Nov. 15 on Interstate 25 in Castle Rock. Cadet Taylor Thyfault, 21, was killed May 23 when a car struck him near Longmont.
In addition to the two officers who were killed this year, five officers were struck and killed by vehicles last year, said Trooper Aaron Robertus, with the Colorado State Patrol office in Durango.
The Colorado Legislature passed the move over law in 2005.
“Simply put, the statute states that when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle, a driver must move over when the roadway allows or reduce their speed to a safe speed in order to pass the location of the stationary emergency vehicle,” Robertus said.
Failure to do so can result in a four-point violation and a fine of $169.50 or more if the violation results in a crash.
Robertus said that the average perception-reaction time of a driver is 1.6 seconds. That means a car going 60 mph will travel 140.16 feet before applying the brakes.
He asked drivers to minimize distractions while driving, including cellphones, food and radios.