CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A warning for drivers as millions prepare to travel for the holiday: officials are urging people to abide by the 'Move Over' laws in the Carolinas.
The aftermath is ugly and the numbers aren't much prettier.
"I don't want to be the next number," Richard Bourgeoise said.
However, this weekend Bourgeoise came close to being a statistic. He recorded a video highlighting what he says is a huge problem.
"That's what we deal with every day," Bourgeoise said.
To see for ourselves, NBC Charlotte strapped a camera to the side of Bourgeoise's tow truck, flipped on his lights and started counting.
"So there's one, two, three, here's one that decided to come over into our lane, four, five, six, seven," Bourgeoise said. "Nobody seems to move over."
Bourgeoise counted 41 cars that he said were disobeying the law by either not moving or reducing speed, and his lights were flashing. NBC Charlotte asked if he was shocked by that number.
"No," Bourgeoise said. "A lot of tow operators get killed every year because of senseless things."
Last December, Lumberton Officer Jason Quick was investigating a car crash on I-95. He was hit and killed by a passing car.
"Oh my God, I can't even begin to tell what kind of husband I had," Leah Quick previously said.
Right now, there's an act in the North Carolina legislature that would stiffen the penalty for drivers caught violating the move over law. It's named after Officer Quick.
In North and South Carolina, drivers are required to reduce speed and move over if they can do so safely when there's an emergency vehicle, tow or utility truck with their flashing lights on.
"We've been almost six minutes and I'm still counting and I'm up to 84," Bourgeoise said. "It's not just the truck or the car it's somebody's life that's going to be between that truck or car."