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Special AssignmentSpeedbusters: Move Over For Tow TrucksBy Jay OlstadMENOMONEE FALLS - For much of his life, Jeff Roskopf has had to turn on a bit of courage every day he goes to work. "Sometimes it scares 'the you know what' out of you," said Roskopf.
We caught up with the owner of Roskopf Towing and Service in Menomonee Falls as he picked up a disabled vehicle along Highway 45.
"You'd be surprised the people that don't move over out there for a wrecker," he said. "They usually think of ambulances, squad cars, fire trucks."
That's exactly what we heard when we asked drivers about the "move over law."
"To be perfectly honest I just know a little. I think it's pretty much to do with when you see a police officer on the highway you're supposed to move over for them," said driver Rebecca Newman.
Actually in Wisconsin, you have to move over not just for law enforcement, but emergency and maintenance vehicles, including tow trucks.
"If you can't move over slow down, give us a little room to work," said Roskopf.
Not only were people going fast on the highways when we were with Jeff, a lot of them were not moving over for tow truck drivers. So either they didn't know to move over or they didn't care to.
"I know a lot of people who have been hit here in the Milwaukee area and I know people who have been killed," he said.
Too many, in fact. That's why tow truck operators constructed a memorial in Tennessee for drivers killed on the job. (www.internationaltowingmuseum.org)
"The first year, there were 90 some names added. Every year, it's been 50 to 60 names added."
So now you understand why Jeff wants attitudes to shift before someone else gets hurt.
If you want to know more about the move over law, click on www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/motorist/workzones/move-over.htm.
And if you want Speedbusters to come to your neighborhood, e-mail speedbusters@todaystmj4.com
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