ILLINOIS (KWQC) – As Illinois State Police work to send alerts about troopers on the road, the 2024 Miss Illinois Teen, Lucy Kuelper, works to bring awareness to officers being hit on the side of the road.
“The mission of the Move Over Project is to reduce struck-by-vehicle injuries and deaths nationwide through advocacy,” Kuelper said.
Since 2019 nine state troopers have been hit across the Quad Cities area, sending one to a hospital.
Kuelper said her work with the project is personal because her dad is an Illinois State Trooper.
“I just want him to come home at the end of the day, as do millions of others around the country,” Kuelper said.
The Illinois State Police and the state’s Department of Innovation and Technology announced Wednesday they are partnering with the Chicago-based company HAAS Alert to expand in-car notifications when there’s an incident involving troopers on the road.
They will alerted through the navigation app Waze and Apple Maps. Some vehicles will get the alert directly also.
“These in-car infotainment systems and navigation app alerts mean the preventability of a crash increases and the risk to our officers and motorists decreases. This additional advanced warning will ensure drivers are paying attention and focused on the road,“ said Brendan Kelly, the Illinois State Police Director.
Troopers said the Waze or Apple Maps apps will alert drivers to an incident through its information system when they are about 20 seconds away, including crashes and traffic stops.
The notifications will work on all roads in Illinois, but only when troopers are on scene.
Kuelper will head to the Miss America Teen pageant later in December where she will also advocate for the law.
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