Pa. Police Urge Driver Caution Near Stopped Vehicles

by KYW's Steve Tawa

With the July 4th holiday fast approaching, Pennsylvania state police are reminding motorists to not only drive safely, but to obey the commonwealth's "Steer Clear" law.

State police commissioner Jeffrey Miller (top right) says that law requires drivers to safely move over to the far lane when they encounter an emergency response area:

"If they're coming down the road and they're in the right lane, and they see police or another emergency responder with their lights activiated, they should check their mirrors, signal for that move into the left lane, and safely make that move."

Police are often forced to exit their vehicles when responding to accidents, making them vulnerable to passing traffic.

Like trooper Andrew Falcon (top photo and bottom right), who was clipped by the sideview mirror of a passing van last April while he was making a traffic stop on I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia. His dashboard video camera recorded the incident:

"The vehicle's tires actually go over the white fog line. Other lanes of traffic are open to the left. They didn't abide by the "Steer Clear" law."

Watch or Download the Video (.wmv)

Falcon remembers the incident well:

"To me, it seemed like time stood still -- to try to see what just hit me, and if other traffic was coming, so I could get out of the way."

Last Fourth of July, 15 people were killed in 1,100 crashes across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; 10 of those fatal accidents involved alcohol.

Troopers ask passing motorists that whenever they see an accident or police activity, use extra caution. And they remind you that they'll be out during the long 4th of July weekend looking for drunken drivers, speeders, and other aggressive drivers.

KYW's Pat Loeb reports many Americans are planning to stay closer to home this holiday weekend. The American Automotive Association reports that the number of people traveling for the Fourth of July is expected to decrease for the first time in a decade. 

The price of gas and uncertainty about the economy are causing people to scale back travel, for the second straight holiday weekend. The automobile club predicts a 1.2 percent decline in car travel and a 2.3 percent decline in air travel, based on a survey.

Spokeswoman Ella Voluck says people are still traveling:

"but are making adjustments in terms of destinations, how far they're going from home and how much their choosing to spend while their on vacation."

Voluck says that could be good news for local destinations such as the Jersey shore or the historic area. Indeed, Meryl Levitz of the Greater Philadelphia Marketing Corporation, says the city benefits from belt-tightening travelers:

"Philadelphia is within a five-hour drive of a quarter of the country's population."

Levitz says Hawaii and Las Vegas may suffer, but for the Fourth in Philadelphia, it should be the more the merrier.