Drivers travelling on Ontario highways this long weekend will be given a special warning by police to move over and make room for stalled vehicles.
The ‘Move Over’ safety blitz is being held in memory of a fallen Ontario Provincial Police officer who was killed in June 2000 after a tractor trailer slammed into three police cruisers and a civilian vehicle that was pulled over to the side of the road.
Sgt. Margaret Eve was rushed to hospital in critical condition. She died two days later.
Three other police officers were killed while on duty on the side of the road between 1989 and 1999.
The deaths led to new leglislation titled “Move Over” in 2003. The law requires drivers to leave one lane between their car and the parked emergency vehicle when the road size permits it. Offenders can face fines up to $2,000 and three demerit points.
Eve’s daughter Colleen, who was three when the accident happened, said her family is still going through a difficult time.
“Her accident was so preventable and this is what is hardest for my family to accept,” she told reporters as she choked back tears at a news conference in Vaughan Friday.
Eve’s husband John also spoke to reporters, recounting how the sun shone on the day his wife was killed.
“Late that afternoon, the day darkened. It darkened in a hurry,” he said. “The effects (of her death) are far reaching. Coworkers, friends, everyone is affected and affected for a long time. This isn’t something you can turn around. Our life turned around 180 degrees and it will be changed forever.”
The man pleaded with drivers to pay special care on the roads.
“If the person had moved over, Marg would still be here,” he said. “So please….pay attention. Please safely move over and let them carry on with the job they love to do. Please let them go home with their loved ones. Let them go home and realize their hopes and dreams and the future.
OPP officers will be on all major highways all weekend specifically looking for people who they suspect are making dangerous decisions on the road. This includes people who are driving while distracted or impaired, driving aggressively and not wearing a seatbelt.
