The Minnesota Department of Public Safety have a reminder ahead of holiday weekend travel for Labor Day weekend. Be mindful of the road construction crews and emergency vehicles on the shoulders of the roads. The Minnesota State Patrol will have more troopers out this weekend. They will be ticketing and educating motorists about the Ted Foss Move Over Law.

The four leading causes of traffic fatalities in Minnesota are impaired driving, distracted driving, lack of seat belt use, and speeding. So far in 2024 there have been 33 fatal statewide crashes, according to Rahya Geisler with the Minnesota Towards Zero Deaths program. She says with the summer road construction, drivers need to be more vigilant towards the signage for the safety of roadwork crews.

“We need to keep an eye out on the signs, especially in construction zones. I think sometimes we get overwhelmed with all the signs,” Geisler said. “Then we might even ignore the signs because we think we know where we are because we drive that every day. So just really being cognizant of what is going on.”

While troopers will be out in greater force this weekend, Geisler says more drivers need to give more room to vehicles and pedestrians on the side of the road during emergencies year-round.

“So it’s not only emergency vehicles that we need to be watching out for, it’s anyone and everyone. So whether it’s EMS or stalled motorists or construction maintenance crew.” Geisler said. “We need to be mindful to either slow down if we can’t move over or to move over.”

Geisler says the Move Over Law is important in every-day driving not just this Labor Day weekend. If drivers don’t drive slower or make more room on the roads, the likelihood of fatalities and accidents are more likely.

“I was with my daughter just a few months ago on 35 and we got a flat tire. She had a big Suburban and we pulled over and it was scary. There were vehicles flying by us and our car was moving. It was swooshing as all these cars were going by. People weren’t slowing down. People weren’t moving over,” Geisler said. “Whether it was my daughter, and I, and the kids in the car, or my husband changing the tire, that would have been a very scary, scary and tragic incident if someone would hit us.”

People who don’t move over to another lane or slow down could end up facing fines exceeding $100. But the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says state troopers aren’t just enforcing the Move Over Law. They are educating people about the public safety awareness for everyone on the roads. Whether they are driving, working on road construction, or people waiting for help during an emergency.

“We really want to avoid serious injuries and fatalities. Our construction workers and our maintenance crew, they’re out there risking their lives,” Geisler said. “As well as law enforcement and EMS every day, to either help keep our roads safer or to work on our roads so that they become safer.”

For more information on how distracted driving you can read more here. Also for other stories with the Minnesota State Patrol you can read more here.