CHENANGO COUNTY – One year after it became the 49th state to enact “Move Over” legislation in an effort to protect law enforcement and emergency workers along state roads and highways, New York State has expanded the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act to include tow trucks and other maintenance vehicles.

Originally signed into law on Jan. 1, 2011, the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act was named in honor of New York State Trooper Robert W. Ambrose and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputy Glenn M. Searles, both killed in the line of duty while their respective patrol vehicles were stopped on the roadside. The original law – which served to protect emergency vehicles such as police cruisers and fire trucks – will now include hazard vehicles such as tow trucks and snowplows, according to the New York State Police website, troopers.ny.gov.

In November of 2011, a tow truck operator near Syracuse was struck and killed while tending to a disabled vehicle on the thruway.

The law states: