Don’t pull over on the side of the road! May 1, 2009

 A man got out of his truck on the side of the road last night to adjust his haul and was struck by a car.   The Jacksonville Times-Union reports that he is in bad shape.   The Sheriff’s office reported that he was driving alone when he stopped in the middle of the the street to adjust the load in the bed of his truck.   He was struck from behind and sustained life threatening injuries.   Alcohol is thought to be a factor.  

There is a Florida law that forces drivers to change lanes when they are passing a police car that is pulled off onto the side of the road.  The law is on the books because police officers are  being injured by the cars driving by.  Police officers sometimes have to pull over to the side of the road.   If you are not a police officer then you usually have a choice where to stop your car.    If you have to suddenly pull over pull into a parkinglot ordrive until you can find a safe place to park .  Just don’t pull over onto the side of the road. 

As an injury attorney in Daytona Beach, I see people seriously injured because they did not take the small extra step to pull their car over somewhere other than the side of the road.   Don’t be a statistic, a newspaper article or the subject of an injury lawyers blog.   Don’t pull over on the side of the road!