AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police are reminding drivers Wednesday to move over or slow down for emergency vehicles.
Moving over for emergency vehicles is required by law, but officers say not many people comply.
To enforce the law, officers are staking out along I-35 today and pulling people over who don’t abide by the rule.
The goal is to protect first responders who are working on the side of the road.
“You feel the cars coming before you actually see them because they’re so close to you. There’s nothing like being on the side of the road when you have a car pass you at 70 miles per hour that’s you know, 2 feet away from you. It definitely puts fear in your eyes and you know the fact is your life can change or you could lose your life that quick. So yeah it’s extremely dangerous. It’s in the back of your mind every single time you make a traffic stop,” said Detective Patrick Oborski.
Wednesday’s operation is part of National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week, but APD says they plan to do it through the rest of the year.
