BUFFALO, N.Y. — One day after two veteran New York State Thruway maintenance workers narrowly escaped death, the NYS Thruway Authority says it may have an important use for a pickup truck which was mangled when a tractor trailer apparently did not follow New York’s Move Over Law.
The law requires motorists approaching emergency vehicles, or those displaying amber lights such as tow trucks or construction vehicles, to move over if they can safely do so.
If you cannot do so safely, the law requires you to reduce your speed.
The two maintenance workers had just parked their pickup truck on the shoulder of the Thruway near Westfield, and had barely stepped out of it to begin picking up litter, when the tractor trailer rammed into it, tossing the vehicle 30 feet and leaving it a crumpled mass.
Despite what occurred, according to the Thruway Authority, the two were back on the job Thursday.
“It's pretty traumatic when you kind of look at this smashed vehicle," said Keith Stanczewski, a maintenance engineer for the Western New York division of the Thruway, as he gestured toward the remains of the vehicle.
“Fortunately, they both managed to dive out of the way when the tractor trailer hit,” he said.
However, the pickup truck is not a total loss in the eyes of the Thruway Authority.
“We are doing quite a few functions for the Move Over Law at our rest areas," Stanczewski said.
The plan for now is to display the vehicle at those functions and others, such as the New York State Fair, as a stark reminder of what can happen when motorists fail to obey the law.
“This vehicle is a real symbol of the dangers out there and we hope to use this vehicle to send a message to everybody ... please, move over for these guys, and if you can’t move over safely then please slow down,” Stanczewski said.
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