First allow me to thank you for visiting our website. The information found on our pages can help save lives, thousands of them. We have gone from an organization only discussed in our local media to an organization being interviewed by ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN and Fox News. The dangers on our roadsides are not just where you live and work, but across our nation. In less than six years, we have gone from a country where Move Over Laws were rare and predominantly unknown to now having over eighty percent of our states with Move Over Laws on their books. These laws can save thousands of lives, but only if motorists know about them.

We face dangers in our lives each and every day. Some face these dangers more than others. The men and women of law enforcement and emergency services as well as our public service workers {tow truck operators, DOT personnel and the like} are out on our nation’s roadsides everyday because we asked them to be. The very least we can do is try and keep them safe…protect those who protect us.

On a personal note, I am incredibly proud to be married to a North Carolina State Highway Patrolman. The question that I am always asked is “Aren’t you afraid, especially after your husband already lost two friends?” Absolutely, but I take pride in knowing that I am doing everything I can to keep him safe. I have a question now for you… Do you ever find yourself saying “I wish someone would do something…?” If you want something done, become that “someone.” Stop waiting for things to change because you will be waiting a very long time.

Aside from being a proud wife, I am a proud mother of two children, Connie and Jared. Jared has autism, but he is one of the lucky ones. We caught his disability early and he is doing incredibly well. I have learned that we have a deep responsibility to those who cannot help themselves. I have learned that it is our job to educate in order for people to understand. Whether we are teaching about highway safety or disabilities like autism, no one will understand unless we can teach them.

I came to the realization recently at the North Carolina Autism Society’s annual conference that there is a crossover between people with special needs and highway safety. Many of our children and adults with autism (and other disabilities) do not respond well under stress, cannot communicate, do not like to be touched and are highly sensitive to sound and light. Imagine you are traveling down the interstate and passing an accident scene. Should a person with autism be involved with the accident, there is a chance they may try to run. Just be aware and alert when you drive. My husband’s life and my son’s life depend on it, even yours. The life you save may truly be your own.

I would like to thank a few people for helping FORS reach the successes we have had:

Thank you to my husband and children who have stood beside me whether they were making their own dinner as I would pound away at my computer, or raced to clean the house before a camera crew arrived. You are my heart and soul.

Thank you to my entire family for your wonderful arms! They have not only been used for holding me up, but for cheering as well.

Thank you to the Taylor and Cogdill families. Even after losing your sons you stood by me to help save the lives of others.

To the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and to the North Carolina legislative assembly (especially Rep. Ray Rapp). You embraced our efforts as if they were your own and have saved thousands of lives by doing so. Whenever we asked for your help, you never said “no.”

To the gang at the Responder Safety Institute I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope to have the chance to meet you all in person one day. Your daily e-mails and updates are my inspiration for continuing the fight.

Thank you to Carl Fors of Speed Management Laboratories and Richard Ashton of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Your support has allowed our efforts to cross state lines.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Jay and Amy Soesbee for all of their hard work on our website.

Finally, I must thank the families of NCSHP’s Troop G District 5. We stood together near the shores of the lake watching those we loved being carried by horses to a place where we had to say goodbye. We wiped each others tears and held each other up when we thought we could not take anymore. Our families have lost so much and I apologize for sometimes making public the pains that were not ready to be aired. Please know my heart was always in the right place. I just could not bear the weight of any more tears.

With all my respect I thank you all for caring,

Lara Feinberg
FORS President and Founder

The following poem is dedicated to the families of NCSHP’s G5 & Haywood County, NC’s emergency personnel, to the families who wait for them to come home and to the families that have had to say goodbye…

Our Blue Light Life

It is not easy to live the blue light life, but we do it every day
This is our life
We know the risks
And everyday we pray

Although the lights in our life may vary
Some are amber and some are red
We made our vow to this life
The colors may alter, but not the tears that we shed

Our loved ones will turn your heads around
Their uniforms and trucks without a spot
We are so proud of this life we live
Our hearts are forever caught

Then we hear the wail
Of a siren far or near
Our hearts do stop for just that second
That sound is someone’s greatest fear

So we move along in our days
As our spouses save your life
They have helped your child
Maybe comforted your wife

As you read your ticket
Because you failed to slow down
Or our loved one changes your tire
Or puts out the fires in your town

We must ask one favor
For that moment remember us
We wait for them each morning
Our children wait each dusk

For the meals we missed
Or the games they could not play
For the one lost song or dance
This is the price our families pay

So whether your choice is to move over
When they are stopped along the side
Or just to say thank you
Or to remember those who have died

Think of us once in a while
Maybe the next time you get the knock on your door
You would expect a delivery
We are dropping our knees to the floor

Do we dare to look out the window
Is it just our neighbor stopping by
Or is it our blue light life
Coming to say good-bye

Red, amber or blue
Our colors never end
This is the life we love
This is our plea to send

Whether you pray for them
Or whether you are praying for us
Whatever it takes to keep them safe
Pray for our children waiting each dusk