The driver explained to the court that he was in the left lane or “fast lane” and said “flashing blue lights behind me made me nervous.” The Court commiserated and I acknowledged that flashing blue lights behind me make me anxious, too. He said he was so startled he spilled his coffee and dropped his cell phone (hmmm) while attempting to silence his radar detector (double hmmm). He was uncertain what to do, so he pulled into the center turn lane and the police car with the flashing lights pulled in behind him. The police officer was using a loudspeaker, but he couldn’t understand the communication so he got out of his car (not a good idea).
At this point in the story, both the driver and the officer are in the center of a busy four-lane highway with cars zooming by. The officer directed the driver to return to his vehicle and move it safely to the right of the travel lanes. After the vehicles were relocated, the officer determined the driver did not have proof of insurance (although the vehicle was insured), couldn’t find his registration certificate (although the vehicle was properly registered) and could not produce his driver’s license (although he was a properly licensed driver).
The officer cited the defendant for those three violations, along with speeding, a light law violation (the light above his license plate was not working), and failure to respond properly to emergency equipment.
Tennessee Code Annotated 55-8-132 (also known as the Move Over Law) requires that drivers move to the right and stop in a safe location when emergency vehicles approach. The initial charges now had failure to show proof of insurance, improper vehicle registration, no driver’s license and improper response to emergency equipment added to the cited offenses.
This driver got himself into quite a pickle, simply by not being prepared. Curious how things went for him when he appeared in City Court? Learn the woefully unprepared driver’s fate in Part 2, coming soon.
Judge Charles W. Smith