Ronnie Tinsley of Williamston, owner of Tinsley Towing service, knows how dangerous a roadside can be.
Tinsley, who's been in the towing business for 35 years, was hit while working beside his truck in 2016. His truck was struck again in June, when he was responding to a crash alongside Interstate 85.
"Our yellow lights were on, a highway patrolman had blue lights on, and we were all off the road," Tinsley said. "You'd think common sense would tell you to get over, which the driver could have done."
The incident was yet another reminder to Tinsley that the "move over" law, designed to protect those who respond to accidents and breakdowns, hasn't solved the problems it sought to prevent when it was passed in 2002.
"It's getting worse. I think it's getting a lot worse," Tinsley said.
Getting out of the way
Like many tow operators, Tinsley prominently displays a "Move Over — It's The Law" decal on the rear windows of his tow trucks. But he said drivers don't seem to be getting the message.
The lawrequires a driver approaching emergency vehicles or tow trucks to to move at least one lane over or reduce speed by more than five miles per hour if it's not possible to change lanes.
Yet law enforcement officers say many drivers neither move over nor reduce speed. And because the law is being flouted in the presence of officers, some believe drivers simply don't know the rules.
"I'm not sure why so many don't realize it is a law," state highway patrolman Bill Rhyne said. "I don't think it's a matter of disrespect for police, because many drivers don't move over or slow down for the emergency vehicles and tow trucks either."
That creates a dangerous and potentially deadly situation for emergency responders. Nationally, 71 firefighters and EMS personnel and/or their vehicles were hit while working roadside in 2016, according to Jack Sullivan of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute. And 63 tow operators were killed while on roadside duty in 2016, according to the International Towing Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Nine of the 47 officers who were killed in traffic-related accidents in the U.S. in 2017 were struck while on the side of the road, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. That includes South Carolina trooper Daniel Rebman, who was parked on the shoulder of Interstate 385 when he was hit by a truck.
"Even when you have some blue lights there, we lose lives every year as people get hit while trying to help others at a crash scene," state highway patrolman Joe Hovis said.
David Hatley of Jim's Towing in Anderson said responding to a crash can indeed be nerve-racking.
"It's a scary situation when you get to a wreck or motorist who is broken down, and you have to get out of the truck," Hatley said. "I've had (drivers) come so close to me that they've ripped off my mirror."
Staying alive
All 50 states have a "move over" law. South Carolina passed its law a few years after a Lexington paramedic, James Garcia, was struck and injured while responding to an accident in 1994.
Violators of South Carolina's law are subject to a misdemeanor charge and a fine of at least $300 but no more than $500.
But for practical reasons, the law is difficult to enforce. Since January 2013, only 92 citations, the equivalent of one every three weeks, have been issued in Greenville County and only 11, or one every 27 weeks, in Anderson County, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
"Realistically, we write few citations, just because of the situation," Hovis said. "It's hard to write a citation when you already have a car pulled over, or when you're working a crash scene. You can't leave that post and go after another car."
That means it's mostly up to drivers to know and obey the law, with decidedly poor results.
"We've had a lot of campaigns in efforts to protect emergency workers and tow operators, as well as the 'Let 'em work, let 'em live' campaign to protect road workers," Hovis said, "but a lot of people we've pulled over say that were not aware of the law."
Rhyne said he would rate "move over" as No. 1 on the list of least-known traffic laws.
But Hatley isn't convinced driver ignorance is to blame.
"Three, four, five years ago, I always said, 'Most drivers don't know they're supposed to slow down,'" Hatley said. "And I'm sure some do not. But in the last few months, I don't think it's a matter of not knowing — I think they just don't care."
Too close for comfort
Perry Bunker, owner of Prime Towing & Wrecker, who has been in the business more than 20 years, attributes much of the problem to driver inattention.
Bunker has seen drivers come dangerously close while looking at cellphones. "Sometimes, it's not until the last minute that they see us and swerve," Bunker said. "You see their head come up and a shocked look on their face."
That just makes his job, and that of other responders, that much more difficult, he said.
"It's hard to work a wreck when you can't take your eye off the road for even a few seconds," Bunker said. "You've got to keep one eye out for drivers who aren't paying attention and will run right over you."
That vulnerability has led Bunker to double-staff response jobs whenever possible in recent years, something he never felt the need to do 10 years ago.
"I won't send new drivers to a wreck unless I can be there with them to watch their back, and sometimes put a second truck out there to block traffic," Bunker said.
Hatley said a lot of the anxiety for everyone could be relieved if drivers would just follow the law.
"It makes you worry about stepping out there, and you worry about innocent people getting hit just because their car is broken down," he said.
Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter@abe_hardesty or email abe.hardesty@independentmail.com
SC Highway Patrolman Joe Hovis' top 8 rules drivers often break:
1. Failure to "move over"
2. Failure to signal when changing lanes
3. Following too closely
4. Failure of passengers to use seat belts
5. Driving too slow in the passing lane
6. Failure to completely stop at a stop sign
7. Improper passing in turn lane
