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On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, the Austin Police Department’s Highway Enforcement Command ran a traffic initiative focusing on the ‘Texas Move Over Law.’ The law states that vehicles must either move over one lane or slow down to 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit if they pass an emergency vehicle with its emergency lights activated. Recently, tow trucks were included among the vehicles for which drivers must move over or slow down, and Wednesday’s operation focused on exactly that.
Research from AAA shows that a tow truck operator is killed once every six days, making it an extremely dangerous job.
This was the fifth operation using tow trucks and only warnings were issued to drivers violating this law. Citations were issued for other infractions.
According to APD’s numbers, the results of the initiative are as follows:
- Passing Authorized Emergency Vehicles – 237 warnings
- Hazardous Violations – 15 citations & 19 warnings
- Non-Hazardous Violations – 6 citations
The final operation involving tow trucks is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, 2019.
