WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Whether you’re heading to the mall to find that perfect gift or traveling to see family this holiday season, safety on the roadways for yourself and others should be top of mind.
Two fatal accidents this past weekend are evidence of why it’s important to move over when a disabled vehicle or law enforcement is pulled over.
Winston-Salem police Lt. J.B. Keltner always double-checks his official car to make sure he has all the tools he needs, including flares.
“Generally, we will lay those out in a pattern, kind of cutting down the lane as the traffic's coming up on us," Keltner said. "And that's kind of to supplement the lights that we have on our patrol vehicles when we're on the side of the road or if we have a lane shut down."
The flares and lights allow him and other officers to help drivers who are stuck on the side of the road or at a crash scene.
“We'll put that out. There's just kind of a little extra buffer for us to warn motorists as they're coming up on us,” he said.
Keltner is a 23-year veteran of the Winston-Salem Police Department. He says they often have incidents where emergency and police vehicles get hit while trying to help others.
“And typically, when you interview the person that hit them, they say, 'I wasn't paying attention. I didn't see them,'" Keltner said. "I know that's hard to believe. A lot of times when you've got a police car there with lights and reflective markings on it, but people will tell us, "We didn't see them.'”
Because of that, Keltner wants drivers to stay vigilant.
“The biggest thing is to pay attention. A lot of times you see people just aren't paying attention as they're driving, especially at this time of year, going about their business, traveling, shopping. People have a lot on their mind. And we just ask that they would pay better attention to the stopped emergency vehicles, so things like this don't happen,” Keltner said.
He wants drivers to adhere to the state's Move Over Law.
“It requires motorists when they're approaching a stopped emergency vehicle, whether we’re on the side of the road or we’re blocking the lane, to move over to the furthest lane from the emergency vehicle,” Keltner said.
Keltner says he’s seen distracted driving first-hand while out on the road.
“Instances where I've been traveling down a highway in a marked police car, riding three feet away from somebody, watching them play on their phone, and they don't even notice me in a smart police car in a uniform three feet away from them,” Keltner said.
Keltner says this time of year a lot more officers are on the road, helping with DWI enforcement.