NY State Police to Step Up Enforcement of the "MOVE OVER" law, DWI and Seat Belt laws over the Memorial Day Weekend.

New York State Police will be cracking down on impaired and reckless driving this Memorial Day weekend. That includes drugged, drunk or distracted driving, speeding and/or failing to move over. Why move over? For people who work on our roads to keep you safe. State Police will also be rigorously enforcing the Seat Belt laws and other Vehicle and Traffic Laws on state roads.

On March 13, 2019, at approximately 3:01 p.m., a marked State Police patrol car was assisting a disabled vehicle when it was struck by a tractor trailer on I-87 northbound in the city of Kingston.
 
Trooper Thomas P. Hanigan was inside his patrol car when a tractor trailer failed to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle and struck the driver’s side of the Troop car. 
 
The truck driver, Michael Audit, 54, of Napierville, Quebec, continued north and struck the driver’s side of the disabled vehicle, a 2003 Chevy Tahoe, while both occupants were attempting to change a tire. The tractor trailer then struck the guide rail and crossed over the northbound lanes, coming to rest on the westbound shoulder. 
 
The passenger of the Tahoe, Juana Herrera, 46, of Albany, NY, was injured when the vehicle struck her and pushed her into the guide rail.  The driver, Alejandro Espinosa, 56, of Albany, NY, was able to jump over the guard rail and was not injured.
 
Both Herrera and Trooper Hanigan, a 19-year veteran assigned to SP Kingston, were transported to Kingston Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, treated and released. 
 
Audit was uninjured and was ticketed for Moving from Lane Unsafely and violating the Move Over Law. 
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation also responded to the scene for spill response, due to fuel leaking into the Esopus Creek. 

NY's Move Over law was enacted on January 1, 2012 and recently amended to include ALL emergency workers (Police, Fire, EMT's), tow and service vehicle operators and other maintenance workers stopped along roadways while performing their duties.

• Drivers must use due care when approaching an emergency vehicle that displays red and/or white emergency lighting:
• On all roads and highways, drivers must reduce speed;
• On Parkways and other controlled access highways with multiple lanes, when approaching an emergency vehicle that displays red and/or white emergency lighting or a hazard vehicle displaying flashing amber lighting, drivers must move from the lane immediately adjacent to the emergency or hazard vehicle, unless traffic or other hazards exist to prevent doing so safely.