``I'm glad that's not me," you say to yourself.

But it could be you if you fail to pull over into the left-hand lane.

An amendment passed this spring by the General Assembly requires motorists to switch lanes whenever they encounter stopped police or emergency vehicles on four-lane highways.

Under the law, a driver must pull to the lane farthest from the emergency vehicle ``if it is possible to make the lane change with due regard to safety and traffic conditions."

In the event that changing lanes would be impossible or unsafe, the law requires that motorists reduce their speed while ``maintaining a safe speed to road conditions" when they encounter a stopped emergency vehicle.

Violators of the law, which went into effect July 14, are subject to a fine of $60 to $500, and/or a 30-day jail sentence.

The law was passed to help protect police officers and emergency workers, said Trooper Gary Kistner, spokesman for the Ashland post of Kentucky State Police.

Officers place themselves in harm's way when they exit their cruisers on the shoulders of busy highways, Kistner said. Drivers passing by them too closely is a safety hazard, he said.

Before the law was passed, officers relied on motorists to change lanes out of courtesy whenever they encountered a traffic stop, Kistner said.

The law was needed because many drivers weren't doing it, he said.

Although the law doesn't specifically require it, Kistner said he would recommend that motorists who are unable to change lanes because of traffic in the opposite lane slow down and move over when they can switch lanes safely.

Kistner said troopers from the Ashland post had issued several citations for violations of the new law. He was unsure of the exact number.

``We're trying to make the public aware that this law is going to be strictly enforced," he said.

Boyd County Sheriff Philip Sturgill said several officers from his department had been ``dusted" by vehicles passing by them too closely.

In one instance, a mirror on a passing truck struck an officer in the kidney, he said.

Sturgill said he felt the new law had been needed for some time ``for officers' safety."

Ohio has had a similar law on the books for some time, said Mark Duncan, a dispatcher at the South Point Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Duncan said he wasn't sure when exactly the law went into effect.