BUCYRUS — The Ohio Highway Patrol is asking motorists to help keep their fellow drivers and law enforcement officers safe by following Ohio’s “Move Over” law. From 2012-2016, Ohio State Highway Patrol cruisers were involved in 73 crashes that appear be related to the move over law. These crashes resulted in deaths of two civilians, 24 injured officers and 32 injured civilians.

According to the FBI, from 2006 to 2015, 93 law enforcement officers across the United States were struck by vehicles and killed while working.

Ohio law requires all drivers to move over to an adjacent lane when approaching any vehicle with flashing or rotating lights parked on the roadside. If moving over is not possible due to traffic or weather conditions, or because a second lane does not exist, motorists should slow down and proceed with caution. The move over law now exists in all 50 states.

Alcohol and/or drugs played a role in 19 percent of move over crashes, and wet roads or those covered in snow or ice accounted for 59 percent of these crashes. The vast majority of crashes, 82 percent, occurred on interstate, US and state routes. Troopers wrote 12,179 citations for violations of the move over law from 2012 – 2016.

“By moving over, motorists are helping to protect the lives of everyone who works on or uses our roadways,” said Lieutenant Scott Rike. “It’s not just the law; it’s the right thing to do.”