National “Move Over, Slow Down” Law Awareness Month
Adopted at the 120th Annual Conference
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
October 23, 2013
National "Move Over, Slow Down" Law Awareness Month
Submitted by: Highway Safety Committee
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WHEREAS, according to the FBI's Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 17 percent of the 1,715 law enforcement officers in the United States are accidentally killed between 1987 and 2011 were victims of struck-by-vehicle incidents, i.e., at the time of their deaths, they were conducting traffic stops or roadblocks, were directing traffic or assisting motorists, or were engaged in similar activities; and
WHEREAS, in an effort to safeguard first responders and other highway workers whose duties require them to utilize the roadside, all 50 states have enacted "move over, slow down" statutes typically requiring motorists to slow down and/or move over a lane as they approach law enforcement or other authorized vehicles stopped on the shoulders of multilane highways; and
WHEREAS, the provisions of these well-intended statutes vary widely in terms of the legislated mandates for compliance; and
WHEREAS, the effectiveness of these "move over, slow down" statutes is compromised by motorists' being unaware of the existence of these statutes and/or by motorists' inability to comply with inconsistent requirements; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) calls upon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances (NCUTLO) to identify these state laws and their provisions and to develop and promote—in conjunction with the IACP Highway Safety Committee—those requirements deemed essential to model legislation that will ensure the safety of law enforcement officers and other highway workers whose duties require them to utilize the roadside and that ultimately will improve the effectiveness of these statutes, as well as in the ability of motorists to be aware of—and comply with—them; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED that the IACP strongly supports and encourages its membership to recognize the month of April each year as "National 'Move Over, Slow Down' Law Awareness Month"; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED that the IACP supports international efforts to ensure the roadside safety of law enforcement officers in countries around the world.
