Florida’s move law doesn’t prevent fatal crashes, but can upgraded car technology help?
TAMPA, Florida. Drivers who refuse to slow down and move when the vehicle is on the side of the road have become a common occurrence in Florida.
Law enforcement images show the shocking aftermath of drivers defying a state law passed more than 20 years ago.
A 2022 video released by the Florida Highway Patrol shows a Lexus SUV passing half a dozen traffic cones. It narrowly missed a mother and her young children standing next to their disabled vehicle before the Lexus ended up colliding with a tow truck parked on the side of the highway.
Nationwide, state mover violators are a problem that kills about 350 people nationwide every year, according to the AAA, with Florida among the top three deadliest states, according to the automotive group.
“Right now, there is no protection or law that requires drivers to move for you,” explained Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for the AAA Auto Club.
As a result, the group is pushing state lawmakers to expand Florida’s move law to include not only police, first responders, construction workers, and tow truck operators, but all disabled vehicles parked on the side of the road.
“Unfortunately, so many people die on the roadsides every year. So anything we can do to raise awareness of this issue is extremely valuable and could save lives,” Jenkins said.
But entrepreneur David Tucker believes expanding the law is just one step toward reducing the number of injuries and deaths from crossing accidents.
“Something needs to be done because every day there are casualties like clockwork,” he recently told investigative reporter Cathy Lagrone.
For the past two years, Tucker and his team have tracked published traffic accident reports across the country, focusing on fatalities involving cars or commercial vehicles.
“Just from what’s published, we’re seeing 55 to 60 per month,” Tucker said. “So it’s twenty times the problem,” Tucker said, compared to deaths associated with emergency services and tow truck operators, already covered by state law.
Tucker, who has dedicated his career to solving safety problems in the oil and gas industry, became interested in road safety after an intimate conversation.
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At the time, Tucker was retired and touring the country in his motorhome when every time he stopped to check on his cargo, he faced the same egregious threat.
“It took a couple of times to stop in this big motor home and turn on the emergency lights to realize that people didn’t see me. They didn’t do it on purpose, they just didn’t notice me in time,” he said.
And then one day he had a flat tire.
“An 18-wheeler passed by and it tore off the side-view mirror. He was inches from killing me, and I ducked to the side. I thought it was bad,” he recalled.
Tucker said the slip forced him out of retirement and into what became a personal mission.
“What happens if one of my kids gets into this accident and I thought, well, I could do something,” Tucker said.
Thus, a startup with many years of experience founded Emergency Safety Solutions (ESS), aimed at preventing traffic accidents using existing technologies; his company is only modernizing.
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