(Spirit Lake)—A proclamation designed to increase public awareness of Iowa’s Move Over, Slow Down law was signed last Wednesday by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. Joe and Sylvia Jennings of Jennings Tow and Repair in Spirit Lake were among those on hand for ceremony. Sylvia Jennings tells KUOO a number of other groups and agencies are involved in the effort…(click here for comment.) “We were down there with 10 of the Iowa Tow and Recovery professionals of Iowa to witness it along with the commissioner of the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Fire Department Commissioner, Iowa Motor Truck Association, we were all down there to witness the Governor signing the proclamation into law.”
Jennings says it’s unfortunate such a law is needed, but she says several incidents in recent years point out the importance of it…(click here for comment.) “There is a museum and a Wall of The Fallen it’s called in Chatanooga, Tennessee for the towing industry. Per capita there are more towing people killed in the line of duty than law enforcement or firefighters because people don’t move over when they see a tow truck with the lights flashing on the truck and they don’t move over or slow down to let the operator, the tow truck operator on the side of the road, sometimes even hit the tow truck. Instance is down on I80 just a year and-a-half ago when two of the Hennefin Wrecker Service people out of Des Moines were killed on I80 when they had two big tow trucks out there moving or hooking up to a semi and another semi came along and hit them and killed both wrecker operators and the semi driver. So it’s very important that people are aware when they see lights flashing to slow down and move over so they don’t hit somebody out there on the road.”
The law, which went into affect July 1st of last year, requires drivers to change lanes away from the stationary vehicle or if it isn’t possible to change lanes, to slow to a reasonable and proper speed under the posted limit. Under the law, accidents causing property damage result in the suspension of the driver’s license for 90 days. Accidents causing bodily injury result in the suspension of the driver’s license for 180 days and a $500 fine. Accidents causing a death result in the suspension of the driver’s license for one year and a $1,000 fine.
