Whoa: New Hampshire State Trooper Actually Walked Away With Minor Injuries

When I saw the photo of this New Hampshire State Police cruiser, my heart totally sank.  I was sure I was going to read that he or she was in critical condition, or worse, didn't make it. I mean, look at it!  It's crazy that he or she walked away from this after a vehicle smashed into the cruiser while the trooper was sitting on the side of the road.

According to the New Hampshire State Police Facebook page, this accident happened on 93 Northbound in Londonderry. The state trooper was on the side of the road, working a construction detail, and sitting inside his cruiser when a vehicle driving in the breakdown lane or shoulder smashed into him.

According to the Facebook page, it was a Hyundai Elantra driven by a 36-year-old guy from suburban Boston. Now, in Massachusetts you can drive in the breakdown lanes (or shoulders) during rush hour to relieve traffic congestion. However, there's no such law in New Hampshire. Whether that's why this driver was cruising along 93 in Londonderry on the right shoulder around 3:30 in the afternoon, who knows. It doesn't matter, anyway, since New Hampshire isn't Massachusetts. After all, the trooper had on his emergency blue lights, and there were construction signs about.

According to the Facebook page, the New Hampshire State Trooper and driver of the Elantra were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Wow. Just looking at the cruiser; it's surprising to me that neither had life-threatening injuries from this crash.

I guess this is a perfect reminder time about the Move Over Laws that exist in all of our New England and across the country, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. So when you're driving in the right lane and see emergency vehicles or police, it's important to try and move over to the left lane to give them plenty of space.