Grant to help enforce TN ‘Move Over’ law comes 19 years after trooper’s death

DICKSON, Tenn. (WKRN) — A $172,000 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will help Tennessee Highway Patrol and other state agencies better enforce TN’s “Move Over” law which passed after a Dickson County trooper’s 2005 death.

July 8, 2024, will mark 19 years since Trooper Todd Larkins was hit and killed while conducting a traffic stop on the side of I-40 in Dickson County. He was about to turn 32 years old.

“Worst day of my life,” Larkins’ widow, Alicia said.

According to officials, the person responsible for hitting and killing Larkins’ received a $50 fine, three years probation, and one year of losing his license.

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Larkins’ death helped inspire the Move Over law which passed in 2006, and was updated as recently as last year to require drivers to move over when possible, or slow down, for any vehicle on the side of the road.

However, first responders, TDOT HELP truck drivers, and others continue to get hit by drivers who fail to move over. According to THP, there were 150 crashes caused by drivers not complying with the Move Over law last year. Two of those crashes were fatal and 11 resulted in serious injuries.

“It brings it all back, and it’s really really tough to swallow,” Alicia said. “My husband was killed, Christy Dedman, and so many others. A lot of us have pushed to get this Move Over law strengthened, beefed up, and they’re not doing it, and it makes it feel like they were killed in vain, to be honest.”

Tennessee City volunteer firefighter, Ted Presgraves recalled the day he was hit by a man driving a rental U-Haul truck while on a routine truck fire call on I-40 in Hickman County in July 2022.

“It was like a sledgehammer. It just went numb,” Presgraves said. “I remember laying on the ground looking at that blood run out thinking, ‘I’m done. I’m going to die right here.'”

First responders put a tourniquet on Presgraves’ leg, which was “barely hanging on by a thread,” he recalled before he was life-flighted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Presgraves told News 2 doctors weren’t sure they would be able to save his leg, but they luckily did after multiple surgeries, a metal rod, and multiple screws.

At a press conference Monday, THP, TDOT, the Tennessee Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security, and other state agencies told reporters about the statewide problem of drivers failing to move over.

“To put it really simply, it’s got to stop,” Jeff Long, Commissioner of the TN Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security said. “We’ve got too many help truck drivers, operators; we’ve got too many first responders that are getting hit and killed on the side of the highway, so we need the motoring public to please slow down and move over.”

State agencies announced a $172,000 federal grant to help troopers better enforce violations of Tennessee’s Move Over law.

“It’s more troopers on the highway trying to keep our partners, HELP truck drivers and other roadside workers and first responders safe,” Colonel Matt Perry with THP said.

In addition, TDOT acknowledged the 25th year of its HELP truck program. HELP truck drivers patrol heavily traveled highways, respond to incidents on the side of the highways, and help with traffic control. The program has grown to a fleet of 113 trucks, and TDOT hopes to expand to more rural areas to have an even greater impact.

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“We see fatality reports each and every day. We see the numbers of people that are critically injured and killed on our roadways, but one thing we never see on a piece of paper is how many lives that are saved every day by the work of enforcement, THP and other law enforcement and also our HELP truck drivers. That program saves lives each and every day,” Buddy Lewis, director of the TN Highway Safety Office said.

The current penalty for violating the “Move Over” law is up to a $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail.

While law enforcement works hard to enforce Tennessee’s “Move Over” law, Alicia and Presgraves want the penalties for drivers who don’t move over increased and are urging judges to hold those who break the law more accountable.

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