Crash Responder Safety Week, November 17-21, 2025, is a nationwide effort to call attention to the risks first responders face on duty. Responders train to manage and clear roadside incidents with a focus on safety, but drivers play a critical role in keeping workers safe and Deer-Grove EMS stands with the U.S. Department of Transportation in bringing attention to the importance of Crash Responder Safety. Drivers should always scan the road ahead carefully for potential traffic problems or incidents, including stopped emergency responders.
Safety Starts With You – Slow Down and Move Over when approaching traffic incident responders on the road. Communities across Wisconsin rely on the services of nearly 40,000 law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS workers and tow truck drivers. Those first responders depend on drivers to help keep them safe when they’re working on the side of the roads. Wisconsin’s Move Over law requires drivers to move out of the lane closest to emergency and roadside service vehicles that are stopped along a highway with their warning lights activated. If you can’t move over, you must slow down.
Drivers also cannot use a handheld phone while passing through an emergency scene, highway maintenance or construction area, or roadside response area. Fines double for certain violations in an emergency response area, which is defined as 500 feet surrounding an emergency vehicle. “These laws are simple but have a significant impact. Whether clearing a crash, helping someone who’s hurt, or talking with a driver, emergency responders have a job to do. They need to know they can do that job safely, without fear of being hurt,”DGEMS Chief Eric Lang said.
During 2022, 326 on-duty workers were hurt and five were killed in crashes across Wisconsin. Those incidents often occur when crews are responding to a crash or other highway incident. A crash scene can turn dangerous quickly for emergency responders because of the risk of secondary crashes. There have been more than 4,000 secondary crashes in Wisconsin since 2018. Those involved in a crash and first responders are in greater danger in inclement weather and when other drivers are following too closely or not paying attention to traffic.
