WHEREAS, according to the Maine DOT Crash Data database, a traffic crash was reported in Maine every 15 minutes, resulting in 33,925 traffic crashes in 2022; and

WHEREAS, emergency responders working the scene of a traffic crash or other incident may include any combination of law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, towing and recovery operators, municipal and county first responders, and transportation first responders, and they risk being struck by a vehicle and killed or injured in the line of duty every hour of every day; and

WHEREAS, according to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, nationwide 24 emergency responders have been struck and killed while responding to traffic incidents since January 2023, and in 2022, 51 emergency responders nationwide were killed, a welcome decrease of more than 20 percent compared to 2021; and

WHEREAS, all emergency responders have a responsibility to protect each other along with the motoring public and reduce the risk of secondary crashes by training in Traffic Incident Management (TIM) with other emergency responders and using TIM best practices when responding to traffic incidents; and

WHEREAS, all motorists have a responsibility to drive safely around traffic incidents and reduce the risk of secondary crashes by following Maine laws that increase emergency responder and motorist safety; and

WHEREAS, Maine's Move Over law requires drivers approaching a disabled vehicle or any emergency vehicles move over at least one lane, if safely possible, and to slow down to a safe speed; and

WHEREAS, Crash Responder Safety Week is an opportunity for Maine to raise awareness that every driver has a responsibility for traffic incident scene safety, and by staying alert, avoiding distractions, driving safely around traffic incidents, and obeying the Move Over law, we can save lives and protect those who protect us;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the week of November 13-17, 2023, as

Crash Responder Safety Week

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize this observance.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this first day of November Two Thousand Twenty Three