I would like to talk briefly about officer safety and traffic stops.  I am sure all who are reading this have at least at one time or another seen the videos where officers on the side of the road are hit or nearly hit by other vehicles while conducting their traffic stops.  This is unacceptable and there are several things you can do to prevent it from happening.  The law now states that whenever you approach an officer on the side of the road conducting a traffic stop you shall move over a lane from where the officer is pulled over at or if you can not you will slow down to twenty miles per hour  under the speed limit. If you are in the next lane and see an officer on traffic ahead and see someone trying to get into your lane to get out of the officers way, by all means allow them to do so.  It is a courteous thing to do and I am sure the officer will thank you for it.

If you are the person being pulled over, pull off the road as far as safely possibly that way the officer will be able to safely approach your vehicle without the danger of being hit by passing traffic.  Never get out of your vehicle during a traffic stop unless the officer tells you to do so.  This is for your safety as well as the officers.  If you need to get something out of the glove box or somewhere else in your vehicle let the officer know what you are doing before doing it, reaching somewhere where the officer can not see could be construed as an attempt to get a weapon or something else that the officer may not know about.

In conclusion just remember:

If you see an officer on the side of the road;

1.                  move over

2.                  slow down if you can not move over

If you are pulled over by an officer;

1.                  stay in your vehicle, unless told otherwise by the officer

2.                  do nothing that could be considered suspicious by the officer

Below is the text of the law from the Texas Department of Public Safety Website:

SB 193 requires drivers nearing stopped emergency vehicles-with lights activated -to either slow down or change lanes.

 The law states a driver must either vacate the lane closest to the stopped emergency vehicle if the road has multiple lanes traveling in the same direction or slow down 20 miles per hour below the speed limit. (If the speed limit is below 25 mph the driver must slow down to 5 mph.)

Emergency vehicles include police, emergency medical service and fire vehicles.

 A violation is punishable by a maximum fine of $200. If the violation results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to $500. If the violation results in bodily injury, the offense is enhanced to a Class B misdemeanor.