[Richardlord]

STATE “PULL OVER” LAWS AND YOUR C7

Given that your C7 shall attract extra attention, I for one shall do my homework on various state laws before traveling, or travailing, out of state. One law that most states have now adapted is the “pull over” law, but I have found many drivers are unaware of it, and for some people I know, has resulted in tickets with at least 2 points.

The “pull over” law is that on a road with at least two lanes traveling in the same direction, when encountering an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the road with lights flashing, you must reduce speed and “pull over” into the farthest lane from that vehicle. I normally do this as it makes common sense, and having worked in law enforcement with the knowledge of tragedies of traffic stops gone wrong, I am always cognizant of officer safety. Still, from what I see on the road, most drivers don’t follow that law I assume from ignorance of the law.

Even though I am aware of the “pull over” law, last summer I got stopped by a state trooper for violating the law in North Carolina going from Virginia to the Outer Banks in NC. Keep in mind on this stretch of road getting pulled over is euphemistically referred to as the “Outer Banks Tourist Tax,” and you get the meaning. This stretch of road also is very bad as it has almost no shoulder, and is very dangerous for troopers, which they should complain about or be very careful where they pull someone over, and certainly not on a bend in the road.

One problem with the law is in interpretation/application. In North Carolina, you must “pull over” if you feel it is safe to do so. As I was hauling a utility trailer with my Dodge Magnum RT Hemi AWD w/tow package going the speed limit, I did not feel it was safe to “pull over” with cars passing me when I suddenly encountered a state trooper on the side of the road with lights flashing as I was rounding a bend in the road going about 50mph. What I did was slow down, I was prepared to stop, and pulled over as much into the next lane as possible with cars whizzing past me. I did what I felt was the right and safe thing to do, but the very young state trooper saw it differently, and so I got a ticket. Two cars trying to speed past me were amazed the trooper pulled me over and not them when we all pulled over and he let them go. I was tempted to chastise the trooper for stopping a car just around a bend in the road and not stop it farther down the road on a strait away for safety sake where I was not surprised into making a split second decision to take a safe action, but thought better of it. Even “law enforcement courtesy” could not help me, and with Maryland plates, we both knew I was not coming back to personally fight the ticket. He even stopped me over the NC State line in Virginia. But, I hired a NC law firm, got a law enforcement discount (for state failure to observe law enforcement courtesy), and it was able to reduce the ticket from a 2 point moving violation to a no point “Improper Equipment” violation – go figure. The whole fiasco thing cost me about what the "Move Over" violation ticket would have cost, which is very expensive, but no driving points and no insurance points, that would have been even more costly, especially in getting my C7. Got to know and use the system.

So, know this law when you travel in your C7 as in a line of cars violating the law, you likely will be the one pulled over.

Be safe out there - for you - and officers on the side of the road.