Summer fun and travel offer a good opportunity to remind motorists of Wisconsin's highway safety laws. Visit the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Web site at www.dot.wisconsin.gov for a complete list of Wisconsin safety laws and statistics including drunk driving laws, graduated drivers license laws and crash facts. As a reminder for summer, this column outlines Wisconsin's work zone and move-over laws.
More on-duty law enforcement officers are killed in motor vehicles crashes than any other cause; failure to move over is a significant contributor of these deaths.
To help safeguard law enforcement officers, emergency responders, road maintenance workers and others who work on the side of highways, Wisconsin has a "Move Over Law." Drivers must provide a safety zone for stopped law enforcement, emergency and maintenance vehicles. The law requires drivers to shift lanes or slow down in order to provide a "safety zone" for a squad car, ambulance, fire truck, tow truck or highway maintenance vehicle that is stopped on the side of a road with its warning lights flashing.
Drivers have two options for creating a safety zone:
• If the road has more than one directional lane, like the interstate, and you can switch lanes safely, you must move over to vacate the lane closest to the law enforcement or other vehicle with its lights flashing.
• If the road has a single directional lane or you can't safely move over, you must reduce your speed.
Work zones in Wisconsin include road construction areas, emergency vehicles at the side of the road, snowplows with warning lights and everyday garbage pickup. Drivers and workers are at risk anytime they are working near roadways and traffic.
Being able to identify the work zones up ahead can save lives. Warning signs include: flashing lights, utility or emergency vehicles, orange signs, flags, barrels and cones and, of course, people.
In Wisconsin, we take work zone safety seriously. The penalties for careless driving are steep. Penalties in work zones are doubled and fines usually increase every year. Injuring or killing someone in a work zone is an enhanced crime and careless drivers face thousands of dollars in fines and up to 3 1/2 years in prison for simply injuring someone in a work zone. Take specific care to be safe an alert especially in work zones where workers lives are vulnerable.
If you would like additional information on Wisconsin transportation laws, please contact my office at (608) 266-6670 or (888) 549-0027.
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, serves the 27th Senate District, which includes Green County.
More on-duty law enforcement officers are killed in motor vehicles crashes than any other cause; failure to move over is a significant contributor of these deaths.
To help safeguard law enforcement officers, emergency responders, road maintenance workers and others who work on the side of highways, Wisconsin has a "Move Over Law." Drivers must provide a safety zone for stopped law enforcement, emergency and maintenance vehicles. The law requires drivers to shift lanes or slow down in order to provide a "safety zone" for a squad car, ambulance, fire truck, tow truck or highway maintenance vehicle that is stopped on the side of a road with its warning lights flashing.
Drivers have two options for creating a safety zone:
• If the road has more than one directional lane, like the interstate, and you can switch lanes safely, you must move over to vacate the lane closest to the law enforcement or other vehicle with its lights flashing.
• If the road has a single directional lane or you can't safely move over, you must reduce your speed.
Work zones in Wisconsin include road construction areas, emergency vehicles at the side of the road, snowplows with warning lights and everyday garbage pickup. Drivers and workers are at risk anytime they are working near roadways and traffic.
Being able to identify the work zones up ahead can save lives. Warning signs include: flashing lights, utility or emergency vehicles, orange signs, flags, barrels and cones and, of course, people.
In Wisconsin, we take work zone safety seriously. The penalties for careless driving are steep. Penalties in work zones are doubled and fines usually increase every year. Injuring or killing someone in a work zone is an enhanced crime and careless drivers face thousands of dollars in fines and up to 3 1/2 years in prison for simply injuring someone in a work zone. Take specific care to be safe an alert especially in work zones where workers lives are vulnerable.
If you would like additional information on Wisconsin transportation laws, please contact my office at (608) 266-6670 or (888) 549-0027.
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, serves the 27th Senate District, which includes Green County.
