In recent years, there have been an alarming amount of officer fatalities, despite a Texas law requiring drivers to move over or slow down for stopped emergency vehicles. Since 1999, 175 officers nationwide have been killed on the line of duty when cars struck them while the officers were on the side of the road. These fatalities continue to occur even though forty eight out of fifty states have implemented laws to protect emergency workers.
States vary in what their laws mandate. Texas law requires drivers to move to the other lane when available or slow down to 20mph when approaching and passing an emergency vehicle. This includes tow trucks. The Tow Trucker’s association reports that an average of 60 tow truck drivers are killed every year after being hit while assisting another person on the side of the road. Other drivers on the road and civilians who are on the side of the road are also at risk.
Across Texas, 19 different law enforcement agencies are joining together to make an effort to prevent any more roadside fatalities from occurring in the Lone Star State. In the coming weeks until the beginning of November, Texas law enforcement officers will be cracking down particularly hard on those who are not following the law.