Thursday Keynote: Donna Setaro And Move Over Laws

Donna Setaro is the Founder of the Move Over Awareness Campaign in New Jersey, and has given over 450 presentations regarding the Move Over law to over 55,000 people. "Most presentations I give are to an audience of around 300 people. On average, less than 15 percent in that audience are aware of the existence of Move Over laws."

Many offenders are conscientious and otherwise law-abiding drivers. Setaro uses the case of Marc Castellano, a New Jersey State Trooper, as an example. He was struck and killed by a driver while outside of his vehicle, doing his work. "The young man that hit him was a West Point cadet, and the investigation revealed he was not texting or speaking on his phone, wasn’t drunk or driving under the influence in any way. He simply wasn’t paying attention."

The driver of that vehicle could have been anyone. They could have been a fleet driver.

"New Jersey adopted our Move Over law in 2009; Title 39, Statute 4-92.2," said Retired New Jersey State Trooper David Maruca. He now works as Project Manager with the New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program, via Rutgers University’s Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation. "Essentially what the law states – and what drivers need to know – is that if you have a police vehicle, ambulance, fire truck, tow truck, or any other safety vehicle on the shoulder of the roadway, you have to slow down and, if possible, move to the opposite, adjacent lane from those vehicles. If you can do that safely, you should change lanes. If you cannot, then slow down below the posted speed limit and be prepared to stop your vehicle if necessary."

Maruca said that the first indicator to drivers to start making decisions is at the first sight of lights ahead. "When you see flashing, rotating, or alternating lights – the typical police lights, or amber lights which usually indicate service vehicles, ambulances, or tow trucks – that should alert drivers to the fact they should now apply the rules of the law. The lights should be an obvious enough indicator, long before you see the vehicles themselves."

New York State Trooper Sergeant Collin Davis indicated that the verbiage of the Move Over law is fairly consistent across states, but the penalties can vary. "As of right now, for a Move Over violation, if you’re issued a ticket and you’re subsequently convicted in court or plead guilty to it, it’s a three point moving violation, and in the neighborhood of $275 in fines, plus the state surcharge." This references a violation that does not result in an injury or fatality.

"If you’re found guilty of not dropping the speed down under the posted limit, usually 20 mph under, and of not moving to the next lane, and these result in you killing someone, you will be charged with manslaughter and possible imprisonment," Setaro said.

Setaro believes that education is the answer. Sadly, there will always be reckless drivers and ignorant drivers alike. By making sure that everyone who gets behind the wheel knows there are laws, considerable penalties, life-altering and life-ending consequences, perhaps drivers will think a moment longer before making a tragic choice. For fleet managers, delivering that understanding to every driver needs to be as common as assigning the vehicle.

Donna Setaro will be a keynote speaker at NAFA's 2016 Institute & Expo, April 19-22 in Austin, Texas. For more information about the conference, visit: www.nafainstitute.org