Two OPP officers were lucky to escape serious injury after their cruisers were hit by other vehicles while sitting on the side of two different highways.

“I don’t know of too many officers who haven’t had close calls,” said Const. Curtis Dick with the Frontenac OPP.

Dick has been an officer with the OPP for 22 years and says he has had his fair share of close calls.

“It’s dangerous stuff,” he said. ‘When you are sitting in your police vehicle, you feel your entire vehicle shift and move when that heavy vehicle passes you in that lane closest to you.”

On Saturday, in the span of just 12 hours, two OPP cruisers were struck while attending emergency calls on Highway 401 and Highway 416 near Ottawa.

The officer from Ottawa walked away with minor injuries.

Meanwhile, an officer near Brockville was sideswiped on the shoulder of eastbound Highway 401.

Although the damage was minor, it could have been much worse.

“We’ve seen this scenario played out time and time again, serious injuries and or death,” said Dick.

According to the OPP, four police cruisers have been struck in the Kingston region since the start of 2019.

The Move Over Law has been on the books since 2003, and according to the Ontario Provincial Police Association, over 11,000 tickets were issued by the OPP on Ontario highways during the first 10 years of the law.

So, why are so many drivers still not getting the message?

“That’s the million-dollar question. That is the safety question and the piece of the puzzle that we are all looking for,” Dick said.

The Move Over Law was enacted after the death of OPP Sgt. Margaret Eve in June 2000. Eve was killed when her cruiser was struck by a transport truck while on the side of Highway 401 near Chatham.

“The fundamental thing we want to say is, as a driver of a motor vehicle, you must know the law and obey the Move Over Law, which is very simple. Slow down — [that is the] primary responsibility — and give that lane of space if safe to do so,” said Dick.

Failure to move over could cost drivers between $490 and $2,000, plus three demerit points, if convicted.

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