HAMPTON, Va. - If there is one thing Virginia state troopers want you to remember this summer it’s this: move over.
On Monday, officials with the City of Hampton Fire and Rescue, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), AAA Tidewater and GB Towing and Auto Repair joined state troopers to unveil the new “Move Over’ campaign, which aims to target summer beachgoers and movie fans.
Billboards along I-64, I-264, I-664 and U.S. Route 58 will target summer beachgoers, and 30-second special public service announcements will
During the entire month of June, which is Virginia’s “Move Over Awareness Month”, the ads will rotate among billboards along I-64, I-264, I-664 and U.S. Route 58 and reach more than half-a-million motorists traveling through the Hampton Roads region, according to a press release provided by Virginia State Police.
A special 30-second public service announcement will also run before each feature showing at select theaters across Hampton roads.
Statistics provided by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund estimate 134 law enforcement officials, between 2005 and 2014, were struck and killed by a vehicle while on-duty.
.Additionally that same report estimates 14 law enforcement officers were killed in traffic-related incidents this year alone.
According to Virginia State Police, in January 2016, a trooper was struck on Route 288 while working an accident in Chesterfield County. "The subject did not slow down, lost control, struck and badly injured the trooper, and killed a woman involved in the accident," said Sgt. Michelle Anaya, a spokesperson for the department.
The new digital billboard campaign is funded through the Virginia DMV Highway Safety Office.
The state's 'move over' law has been in effect since 2002. The law requires drivers to either move over a lane or, when unable to, to cautiously pass all emergency personnel with blue and red flashing lights – law enforcement, firefighters, and rescue - stopped on the side of a road. In 2010, the state law was expanded to include tow truck drivers and highway workers who display yellow or amber flashing lights on their vehicles.
You can see the P.S.A. advertised before any feature showing at the following theaters, or by watching the clip below:
The Bow Tie Movieland at Boulevard Square (Richmond),
Carmike Ovation (Midlothian),
Regal Short Pump Stadium 14 (Henrico),
Regal Southpark Mall 16 (Colonial Heights),
and Regal Virginia Center Stadium 20 (Glen Allen).
