State Police to step up enforcement of ‘Scott’s Law’ after 14 troopers hit, one fatally, this year
With 14 state troopers struck by motorists while working outside their vehicles this year, including one dead, the Illinois State Police announced Monday they will begin cracking down on drivers who don’t slow down and move over for stopped vehicles that have emergency lights flashing.
At a press conference in Chicago, acting Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said he diverted existing budget money to add more than 2,000 hours of enforcement for Scott’s Law, or the so-called “Move Over Law.” The law is named after Chicago Fire Lt. Scott Gillen, who was killed when a drunken driver struck him as he assisted at a crash scene in 2000.
During a press conference attended by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kelly said that violators of the misdemeanor law might face large fines or lose their driver’s license if someone is injured in a crash.
“ISP’s division of operations has come up with some new and creative techniques to apply to these additional Scott’s Law details,” he said. “So if you see a squad car, with warning lights, don’t assume it’s a lone trooper doing just a regular traffic stop. You could have eyes, video and other instrumentation all around you as part of a Scott’s Law detail.”
The agency also set a goal to improve the quality of evidence that gets submitted to prosecutors, said Kelly, the former St. Clair County state’s attorney. He said video that shows a driver could have changed lanes safely, or a speed detector that shows a vehicle accelerated as it passed a squad car, could help prove cases against the motorist in court.
“This is a new level of disregard,” Kelly said, later saying he thinks there’s a public awareness issue about the law.
From Jan. 1 to March 19 of this year, there have been 14 state troopers hit, and one killed, by motorists while outside of their cars working, emergency lights activated, including one last week in the metro-east. Another trooper was struck during that time period while working without his emergency lights.
In January, State Trooper Christopher Lambert, 34, was struck and killed in Interstate 204 near Northbrook, a Chicago suburb.
That’s more than one a week, said Mindy Carroll, ISP’s Central Region Public Information Officer, and it’s given the agency reason to increase enforcement efforts.
“I can’t say that we haven’t enforced the law before, but I just know that due to that significant increase in crashes, there’s heightened awareness to the public and so we’re out there trying to enforce that,” she said last week when an ISP trooper was hit while working near Collinsville. “Whenever we see an increase in something, we increase enforcement.”
According to Carroll, from that same Jan. 1 to March 19 time frame, ISP has issued 494 citations to drivers not following Scott’s Law. Last year, that number was 184.
Fewer troopers mean more crashes
At the press conference, Kelly said some troopers tie the increase in crashes to the agency’s downsizing. With fewer troopers on the roadway, drivers may drive more recklessly, he said, impeding the deterrent factor.
“You used to be able to drive from Chicago all the way down to St. Louis on Interstate 55 and you couldn’t go 10 minutes without seeing an Illinois State Police trooper doing their job on the side of the road,” Kelly said. “And that has changed, after years and years and years of neglect, not having sufficient cadet classes, not having sufficient manpower, that presence is a deterrent to all types of activity and that presence is very, very important.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said: “I’m here today to say to drivers on the roads: When you see a state trooper’s vehicle on the side of the road, slow down, obey the law and move over. Our state troopers are putting their lives on the line every single day. They are our heroes and first-responders, keeping people safe. No driver needs to get to their destination so quickly that they need to put a trooper’s life at risk. No one’s time or convenience is worth more than the lives of our state’s heroes.”
Recalling the condolence call he made to Lambert’s family, Pritzker urged all motorists to do their part to keep troopers safe on the roadway.
“That call to his family that I made is a call that I never want to have to make again,” Pritzker said at the conference. “Not for this. Not because a driver was in too big a hurry to obey the law and keep our troopers safe.”
Kelly said an analysis of the 14 crashes did not uncover any commonalities responsible for the increase seen this year. Some of the crashes happened at night, some were caused by someone driving under the influence, and some occurred during poor weather.
“We’ve looked at every variable … and there’s no common denominator,” Kelly said. “Just troopers doing their job and impaired or distracted drivers who simply don’t care about (the troopers’) safety, the safety of others or their own safety.”
The name of the state trooper struck on Wednesday in Collinsville has not been released, but the agency said he has been with the department for less than two years. The trooper had been treated for his injuries and is recovering.
Kelly plans to hold a similar news conference Wednesday in Collinsville to draw attention to the need for enforcement of Scott’s Law across the state and in the region.
This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 11:00 AM.
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