CHICAGO -- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Police are urging drivers to be more diligent about moving over when emergency vehicles are working on the side of the road.
Given a recent surge in crashes involving troopers with the Illinois State Police, Governor Pritzker spoke about "Scott's Law," otherwise known as the "move over" law. The law, is in place to force drivers to move over for emergency vehicles who are pulled over on the side of the road. The law states that drivers must give a lane of space for any emergency or maintenance vehicle that is stopped.
Despite the law, more than a dozen Illinois State Police troopers' squads have been hit throughout the state since the beginning of 2019. The most recent crash before the governor's address happened on Wednesday, March 20 when a semi hit a trooper and his squad car on Interstate 55.
"I'm here today to say to drivers on the roads, when you see a state trooper's vehicle on the side of the road, slow down, obey the law and move over," said Governor Pritzker. "Our state troopers are putting their lives on the line every single day. They are our heroes and first responders, keeping people safe. No driver needs to get to their destination so quickly that they need to put a trooper's life at risk. No one's time or convenience is worth more than the lives of our state's heroes."
Violators of the law must appear in court. Drivers may be fined between $100 and $10,000 and have their driver's license suspended for up to two years if someone was hurt because of the violation.
