When looked at by itself, the death toll is shocking.

Louisiana State Police announced this week, across the United States, preventable “move over” violation crashes — wrecks where motorists fail to change lanes and provide space to response vehicles — kill an average of one tow truck driver every six days, 23 highway workers and one law enforcement officer every month and five firefighters every year.

No wonder in an effort to protect emergency workers and residents from passing motorists, 49 states have passed “Move Over” laws requiring motorists to take prudent action when approaching stopped vehicles on the shoulder of roads and highways.

Louisiana’s law has been on the books for several years, but state authorities stepped up the public’s awareness of the issue this week with the installation of several dozen Move Over for Emergency Vehicle signs across the state.

The highly visible signs, strategically placed along major travel routes and state line crossings, will serve as a reminder to motorists of state law requirements, but also of the importance to keep first responders, emergency workers and stranded motorists safe along Louisiana’s highways.

According to State Police, Louisiana’s “Move Over” law requires drivers, upon approaching any vehicle stopped on or near the highway utilizing warning lights, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the parked vehicle, if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions.

If a lane change isn’t possible, the driver should reasonably reduce safe speed before passing the stopped vehicle.

Authorities said traffic-related incidents of first responder injury or death have continued to rise since 2010.

Traffic fatalities involving law enforcement officers in the United States have increased by 33 percent as compared to last year.

Authorities correctly point out that first responders routinely risk their lives to provide services on the roadways. As motorists, we have a shared responsibility to assist these men and women, and carefully merging to other lanes or traffic is a reasonable and prudent way to help maintain safety.

When driving this weekend and in future trips, please “move over” for the safety of first responders and all others involved.