Photo Credit: AAA
HYANNIS – October is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and AAA raised awareness by hosting a virtual conference discussing the importance of drivers moving over for roadside workers.
The virtual conference featured state officials and other stakeholders who addressed the danger for first responders, police officers and others who assist motorists on the roadside who are especially vulnerable to distracted driving.
The conference also highlighted the importance of the Move Over Law, which took effect in 2009 and requires drivers approaching a stationary emergency or maintenance vehicle with flashing lights to move to the next adjacent lane and slow down, if it is safe to do so.
“Every month in this country we lose an average of two people working at the roadside, so now is a good time to remind drivers that slow down and move over is the law in Massachusetts and every state across the country,” said Mary Maguire, Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Northeast and speaker at the conference.
Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT Highway Administrator, stressed how exposed workers on roadsides are to distracted drivers, and said that speeding is the largest contributing factor to work-zone crashes, even during the supposed slow traffic caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Gulliver said that speed violations of over 100 miles per hour were up by almost 30 percent, year over year, for the month of September.
AAA urged drivers to drive safely and reduce distractions caused by cell phones, navigation systems, or other impairments.
“It is our responsibility, the drivers of Massachusetts, to slow down and save lives. Please, reduce the distractions, slow down, focus on the road, and move over for our workers,” said Gulliver.
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