BALTIMORE — You don't have to be a tow truck driver to know how scary it can be to stand on the side of a busy highway with cars speeding past you.
"I mean, literally close enough that you can reach out and touch it," said Chaz Dorsey, a tow truck driver for Sebastian Services in Baltimore County.
Drivers like Dorsey certainly experience it often.
"I've actually had a co-worker that got hit by a tractor trailer and he can't walk anymore. I've seen my fair share of actual vehicles getting hit," Dorsey said.
What he sees far less often is people following the law. The "Move Over Law" in Maryland requires drivers to move into the other lane when passing a vehicle on the side of the highway or - if it's unsafe to do so, slow down,
"Very seldom do you see people follow it. I mean, I've been in situations where I've actually had cops sitting behind me, the next two lanes will be wide open and people come flying right by. It's like they're not paying attention or they don't care," Dorsey said.
When the law was passed back in 2010, it only applied to emergency vehicles and tow trucks. But the state expanded the law last year, so now, when you see any type of vehicle on the side of the road, you have to move over or slow down.
Dorsey thinks not enough people even know about the law.
The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration is trying to change that, raising awareness by releasing a new videoreminding drivers to move over.
It's the latest push by the state for increased safety on the roads, after the governor established a "Work Zone Safety Work Group"last month.
That came on the heels of deadly crash on I-695 back in March. Six construction workers were killedwhen two speeding cars collided, sending one car through a construction barrier.
Just this week, the State Highway Administration was cited for failing to post the proper signage. The administration says the signs wouldn't have prevented the crash from happening.
Regardless, Dorsey has a plea for every driver for when they see someone on the side of the highway.
"I want people to treat it like it's one of their family members. I have a family to go home to, just like a lot of people on the road have families to go home to. Just imagine if you were in that situation or one of your loved ones was standing on the side of the road, how would you feel about it," Dorsey said.
