• Beginning July 1, 2006 penalties for violating the Move Over law in Tennessee increased from a maximum $50 fine to a $100 to $500 fine and possibly up to 30 days in jail.
• According to FBI statistics, traffic crashes claim the lives of more police personnel than any other cause of death in the line of duty, including shootings. The FBI says last year, 49 officers died in crashes across the country. 13 of those law enforcement officers were struck and killed by passing vehicles while they worked outside their patrol cars. So far in 2006, four law enforcement personnel have died while working outside their patrol cars.
• Between 1995 and 2004, 143 law enforcement officers across the country were struck and killed by vehicles. Each year, more than 100 highway and street construction workers die because of vehicle crashes or equipment accidents on the job. Another 20,000 are injured in those incidents. We hope that this Move Over campaign will raise awareness of these dangers, and protect state troopers and others who workplace is often on the side of a busy highway.
• From 1992 through 2001, roadway crashes were the leading cause of occupational fatalities in the U.S., accounting for 13,337 civilian worker deaths (22% of all injury-related deaths).
• The National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health has identified 10 factors that increase the chance of dying on the job. Five apply to law enforcement officers, highway workers and other who provide roadside services. They include:
  
  
  1. Contact with the public
  2. A mobile workplace
  3. Delivery of services to the public
  4. Working alone or in small groups and
  5. Working late at night or during early morning hours
• If a pickup truck travelling 55 miles per hour strikes someone on the side of the road, the impact will carry the victim several hundred feet. The victim will most likely die from multiple internal injuries.
• Tennessee was the 30th state to establish a move over law which creates a safety zone to protect police, firefighters and other emergency personnel.
• State Department of Safety records show that from July 13, 2004 until April 14, 2006, 1,817 citations have been issued by Tennessee Highway Patrol Troopers to drivers who fail to yield or move over for emergency vehicles.

The Tennessee Department of Safety's mission is (www.tennessee.gov/safety) to ensure the safety and general welfare of the public. The department encompasses the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and Driver License Services. General areas of responsibility include law enforcement, safety education, motorist services and terrorism prevention.