Police say too many drivers fail to obey a state law requiring them to move over one lane when officers are stopped on the side of a road. Police are are backing a bill increasing penalties for failure to comply. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.
Dayton Police Officer Byron Branch was seriously injured last year when he was alongside the road and a driver hit his car, slamming it into Branch.
“I lost my right leg. I had a fractured rib. I had a laceration that was probably five inches wide and three inches deep on my right hip that needed to heal. I’ve got 15 fractures and my teeth, my two front teeth are fake- they are still missing.”
Currently, failure to move over is a minor misdemeanor. But the bi-partisan bill Branch and officers are supporting would increase it to a higher level misdemeanor if the motorist's actions result in injury or death.