Tail Wagging the Dog?

[patric]

OHP says they're afraid of being struck by passing vehicles during traffic stops, so last Saturday they set up some fake traffic stops to arrest motorists not giving them a wide enough berth.

Troopers Target Those Who Dont Move Over
On Saturday, Trooper Vern Wilson and the rest of the highway patrol were out enforcing Oklahoma's Emergency Vehicle Law. It states that drivers must switch lanes when any emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road. The law has been in effect for four years, but Wilson says plenty of people ignore it, and that can make traffic stops nerve-wracking.

The troopers do say they are willing to cut drivers some slack if there's traffic, and it's too dangerous to switch lanes.  


Did OHP decide to stockpile a quantity of these offenses for some statistical reason (perhaps seeking some grant money), or maybe in response to some recent bad publicity?...

A judge last year condemned the unsuccessful prosecution of a former Tulsan charged with perjury in connection with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol traffic stop.
The felony case originated from the trial of Emily Kelley, who was convicted in Bryan County and fined $50 for failing to change lanes when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle with flashing lights.

Kelley, whose maiden name is Potter, was charged with perjury after her testimony about a conversation with OHP Trooper Steve Nabors wasn't identical in wording and sequence to a videotape of the incident, court records show. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070930_1_A1_hrpah05082

[YoungTulsan]

I passed a couple of weird looking OHP stops on Skelly in the past week.  I wonder if thats what they were doing (as I couldn't tell they had anyone actually pulled over, and there were 2 or 3 of them at a time)

I-44 was down to one lane so I actually guessed they were putting up a ruse to catch people going 70 down Skelly instead of 30 down the backed up highway.