HALL COUNTY, Ga. — On Sunday morning, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office says their deputies had a close call while helping out at a vehicle breakdown.
Deputies were in a marked patrol car on the southbound side of Interstate 985, emergency lights were on and direction arrows were flashing to signal drivers to move from the rear to the left.
However, what they experienced next shows the importance of why Georgia has a Move Over Law.
With lights on and using a marked car, and “despite minimal traffic” due to the early hour, a truck driver “failed to move over and side-swiped the deputies’ vehicle.”
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While the occupants of the truck and one of the two deputies were not injured, the deputy in the driver’s seat of the patrol vehicle was.
“Fortunately, the deputy in the driver’s seat was wearing his seatbelt and suffered only a minor injury‚" the sheriff’s office said.
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The injured deputy was checked out at the hospital and was able to return to full duty, but the driver ended up getting some fallout for the sideswipe.
"The fallout mentioned above included a trip to the emergency room for the deputy, damage to a patrol vehicle and a ‘failure to yield - move over’ citation for the truck driver‚" according to the sheriff’s office.
As the travel season continues for the summer, the sheriff’s office is urging drivers to move over for first responders, utility vehicles, Georgia Department of Transportation vehicles, HERO Units and wreckers.
The Move Over fine in Georgia can be up to $500, according to the state.
You can learn more about Georgia’s Move Over Law here.
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