'Spine-chilling' incident on Outer Ring Road

A close call for a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer has her reminding drivers about the law that says you have to pull over for police and emergency vehicles.

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Const. Luanne Efford said she was conducting a traffic stop on the Outer Ring Road in St. John's on Nov. 17 when a truck nearly clipped her.

"A dump truck went straight by me on the inside lane, causing my hat to blow off, which rolled down over the hood of the vehicle, and on to the ground," she said. 

It's not the first time something like that has happened, she said, and other officers tell similiar stories.

"It's spine-chilling," she said. "You think the worst things possible, that you may get struck or get killed."

Efford, an accident investigator with the RNC, said drivers are supposed to stop or slow down, and give a wide berth to emergency crews on the side of the road.  

The so-called 'move over law' has been in effect for a year-and-a-half, but Efford told the St. John's Morning Show Wednesday that people either don't know about it, or are just not obeying the rules.

The RNC often positions a squad car near a traffic stop, to give drivers a warning.  

However, Efford says she was at one traffic stop when four officers were standing on the road, and one vehicle pulled out to pass.

Drivers who don't obey the law could be fined up to $900.

But the message is about safety, not punishment.

"You know everybody wants to go home at the end of the work day," said Efford.