National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week is November 10-16.
A news release says Missouri First Lady Teresa Parson knows all too well the dangers first responders face along the highways. Her brother, Rick Seiner, was working as an EMT and loading a crash victim into an ambulance when a passing driver struck and killed him.
Across the country, it’s something hundreds of families experience each year. In their tireless efforts to save lives, responders often put their own at risk. In fact, traffic incidents are the leading cause of death for EMS responders and law-enforcement officers.
There were more than 155,000 traffic crashes in Missouri in 2018. As part of the Missouri Department of Transportation’s work to maintain a safe and reliable transportation system, MoDOT emergency response personnel on average respond to more than 6,000 traffic incidents each month.
Missouri’s “Move Over” law requires drivers to either change lanes or slow down when approaching stationary MoDOT, law-enforcement or other emergency vehicles with flashing lights. To help protect those who protect us, all 50 states enforce some form of the “Move Over” law.