It would seem a reminder is in order on how to react when driving past emergency vehicles pulled over on a roadway with lights flashing.

According to Michigan State Police, seven MSP vehicles already have been struck since the start of the new year.

The last week of January alone saw two MSP patrol vehicles hit by motorists, said Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP.

“When you see an emergency vehicle on the side of the road with emergency lights activated, please slow down and move over,” Grady advised. “That one act can save countless lives.”

On Jan. 27, an MSP patrol car was struck while assisting a vehicle that had slid off the roadway in Wexford County. The trooper was not injured. Then two days later, a trooper and other motorists had minor injuries when a suspected drunk driver hit a parked patrol vehicle as troopers were investigating an unrelated minor crash on I-75 in Saginaw County.

Any of the seven incidents in January had the potential to be deadly — in fact, seven MSP members have been killed while working on the side of the road in the department’s history, MSP states in a news release.

Michigan’s Move Over law requires motorists to slow to at least 10 mph below the speed limit and move over to an open lane to give space for stationary authorized vehicles with flashing, rotating or oscillating lights activated. If not safe to move over a lane, motorists must still slow down at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit and pass with caution, allowing the authorized vehicle as much space as possible, according to MSP.

This law applies to authorized police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service emergency vehicles, the news release notes.