It says emphasis will be on the move-over laws.
Baltimore, Md (KM) With the 2020 Maryland General Assembly getting underway this week, AAA Mid-Atlantic says it will be keeping an eye on any traffic safety legislation which could come up during the 90-day session. “We as always will be looking at the legislative landscape and weigh in as appropriate,” says Ragina Ali with the auto club. “We’re particularly looking at any legislation regarding move-over laws.”
Those laws require motorists to move into the next lane when they see police officers, ambulance personnel and tow truck drivers alongside the road working with or assisting other motorists. If they can’t move over, the law says drivers should slow down.
The laws have been on the books for a few years, but Ali says some motorists may be ignorant of the laws, or they ignore them. She says the auto club would be agreeable to an education campaign to inform drivers about the move-over laws, and what could happen if they don’t move over, or slow down. “Just a few months ago, we lost a AAA contractor as he was rendering aid to a AAA members,” she says. “We’re very serious about these move-over laws, and want our police to be safe on the side of the road as they work to keep us safe.”
Ali also says AAA will be looking at any bills which could be proposed regarding distracted driving laws. She says there has been discussion about legislation which would use cameras to that deal with distracted motorists. although how that could be done is a big question. “It’s obviously different than other automated enforcement that would look at speed or red light violations that have a camera actually pointing into someone’s car looking at other passengers. So that’s something we’ll be watching and determining if we will take a position on that at all,” says Ali.
The Maryland General Assembly convenes for its 90-day session on Wednesday, January 8th beginning at 12:00 noon.
By Kevin McManus