ABC-7 Listens 04.24.16

it’s been the law in texas for more than a decade … but many people continue to break the law. rick cabrera takes a closer look at the move over-slow down law in abc-7 listens state law requires drivers to move over … or slow down when they come across police, fire or emergency vehicles … and nearly 3 years ago … texas department of transportation workers were added to the law. in hopes of reminding drivers … the el paso county sheriff’s office just wrapped “operatio move.” move stands for: mov over vehicle enforcement. according to the sheriff’s office … the 10 day initiative resulted in 254 traffic stops. 80 people got tickets for not vacating the lane or slowing down. henry heard about the initiative and reached out to us. “the sgt. did say that if you can’t move to the other lane, that you should slow down. “well, this happene to my wife, she couldn’t vacate the lane, because of traffic, but slowed down and was still pulled over and given a citation.” i shared henry’s email with the sheriff’s office. i was reminded that slowing down isn’t enough … you are supposed to decrease your speed to 20 miles per hour under the posted speed limit and that the deputies enforcing the initiative were using radar. sergeant mariano valle went on to say … “this la also protects the motorist that is pulled over. we have seen countless videos of traffic accidents where innocent motorists are also struck or their vehicle is struck. “we did not cit everyone we pulled over. we issued plenty of written warnings and plenty of verbal warnings. we want the public just to be aware that the law exists. according to sergeant valle … on top of the 80 citations … deputies gave out 39 written warnings and 19 verbal warnings. he also stressed … you can always contest the citation in court. of course the best advice … try your best to safely move over … which in turn will make life safer for anyone and everyone on the road. rick cabrera. abc-7 listens.