** BE SURE TO BRING A PEN!! ** PLEASE USE STEALTH **
On March 17th, 2017 at 9:56 pm, I was going to pick up a pizza from Pizza Hut, when I saw a police car that had pulled someone over on the right, upcoming shoulder. Instinctively, I slowed down and stayed in the right lane, since I was about to make a right-hand turn. Even though I believed I did everything correctly, I got a $735 traffic ticket due to not following the Georgia "Move Over" law. I was not aware of the law at the time, but still knew I should slow down whenever I saw a police car. That night, I got cited because the cop said "I didn't slow down enough...", even though I dropped my speed from 35 to 15 in a 35 mph zone. I verified this by going to court and watching the body cam and radar readings of the policeman at that time. Despite my efforts, the entire law and how it is obeyed is at the discretion of the Henry County Policeman who orders your ticket. The location of this geocache is one of the many places I picked up trash and cleaned around McDonough to pay off my ticket.
At the time, I was 19 years old and decided to "fight" the ticket, since it was such a large sum of money and many points on my license. I took a defensive driving course to omit the 3 points I obtained on my license and did community service to pay off the bill. Since that incident, I have been hyper-aware of all policemen and policewomen on the road. I was so, incredibly careful, that another incident happened...
On October 26th, 2017, around 10pm, I was returning home from dining at Olive Garden with my mother. I decided to take the freeway home, but my mom went through the light before the interstate, while I got stopped by it. While traveling North, just before the Hudson Bridge exit, I saw a police car stopped, and his lights flaring. Instinctively, I slowed down from 65 mph to the 35 mph the cars ahead of me were traveling. I was unable to get over, due to other cars in the lane to my left, so I slowed down the best I could. Unfortunately, there was a semi-truck driver behind me that did not slow down enough and/or did not know of the law. So, he plowed into me. He was incredibly kind and apologetic, and even called the police for me. I was not able to think clearly, as I was sobbing out of fear. After that incident, I spent 2 years going to physical therapy, chiropractors, and other medical doctors to help ease my back pain, all to no avail. My car was totaled and my body was suffering from a back pain I had never experienced before. I still struggle with that same pain to this day, and I am fortunate enough to still drive that same car that saved my life.
All in all, I wrote this experience to make other drivers aware of this law and how to handle it!! I also wanted to dedicate it to a critical event that occurred in my life.
In this law, drivers are instructed to: "move-over one lane when possible if an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is parked on the shoulder of the highway. And if traffic is too heavy to move-over safely, the law requires drivers to slow down below the posted speed limit instead AND to be prepared to stop." ... just be careful!! :)