BELLEVILLE - During the National Safety Council’s National Safety Month, Illinois American Water is reminding motorists to move over for safety through a social media #moveover campaign. Throughout June, Illinois American Water employees and their families will be featured on the company’s Facebook page to highlight Scott’s Law and the importance of moving over for law enforcement, emergency, utility and other vehicles displaying warning lights.
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Scott's Law, 625 ILCS 5/11-907(c), is a mandatory move over law in the state of Illinois. The law requires all motorists to move over when encountering stopped or disabled vehicles displaying warning lights. Since 2000, all fifty states have enacted some form of a “Move Over” law. Illinois extended the “Move Over” requirements to motorists with their hazard lights activated along highways. Scott’s Law was named in honor of Scott Gillen of the Chicago Fire Department who was struck and killed by a drunk driver while assisting at a crash on a Chicago Expressway. When approaching a stationary emergency vehicle that is displaying flashing warning lights, Illinois motorists must:
- Slow down.
• Drive with caution.
• Move over to another lane. - Reduce speed if changing lanes is unsafe.
When entering a highway construction area, Illinois law requires motorists to:
• Slow down.
• Discontinue wireless use.
• Yield or change lanes away from any authorized vehicles or workers in the area.
TJ Palmer, a field service representative for Illinois American Water’s Champaign County service area and company volunteer brand ambassador, participates in the company’s #moveover campaign “to remind folks that behind every utility worker are people who love them, and want them to come home safe.” Palmer said, “The work we do can cause a temporary inconvenience and disrupt traffic. We understand that and work as quickly as possible to return service and roadways to normal, but we never take shortcuts which could impact safety. We owe that to each other and to our loved ones. Our friends and neighbors can help us out by simply moving over when they see us working.”
He added “Moving over doesn’t just protect us; it also protects motorists. At the end of the day, we all want to get home safe.”
To learn more about Illinois American Water’s commitment to safety, please visit illinoisamwater.com.
About Illinois American Water:
Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville.
With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and diversityataw.com. Follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
