Olivia Gross Photo
Blumenthal with Chris and Kristen Iodice.
Want to save a life? Slow down, move over.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal joined city officials on Thursday morning at the New Haven Police Department to promote a resolution he has co-sponsored which takes its name from that life-saving slogan.
The bipartisan resolution aims to reduce vehicular crashes involving emergency workers and recognize the work that police officers, fire and rescue teams, emergency medical technicians, and tow truck operators do when assisting with road safety.
Blumenthal and Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana introduced the “Slow Down, Move Over” resolution on Aug. 3. The resolution supports a National Move Over Law Day, which would serve mainly to increase awareness about each state’s traffic laws requiring drivers to reduce speed and avoid emergency workers and vehicles on the road.
The bill was inspired by Corey Iodice, a Connecticut tow truck operator who was struck and killed while assisting a driver on the Merritt Parkway in Trumbull in 2020. The name of the law refers to state rules that direct motorists to reduce speed or change lanes for emergency and maintenance vehicles.
Last year, 65 emergency first responders were struck and killed while working on roadways.
Chris and Kristen Iodice holding a photo of Chris' brother, Corey.
Cindy Iodice, Corey’s sister, launched the Flagman Project, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness on the roadside dangers that first responders and highway workers face every day.
Flagman is a symbol that appears on signs to signify that there is a work zone and drivers should stay alert and aware.
Corey’s brother Chris Iodice spoke at Thursday’s press event at police headquarters. He has also been a tow truck operator for 40 years. He said he wakes up every day and hopes that it won’t be his last. (Read more about the Corey Iodice court case here, in which the BMW driver who struck him was found guilty of violating Connecticut’s 2009 “Move Over” law requiring drivers to shift lanes to avoid emergency workers on the road).
Blumenthal addressed the grim problem by pushing drivers to do their part in making roads safer for all. He said that these front-line workers put themselves in danger every day when they are out there helping people in need. “Lives are lost from this reckless, needless, ceaseless danger.”
“If you’re the one to kill someone [while driving], your life will be changed, too. Forever,” Blumenthal said.