States prepare for expanded ‘move over’ rules to take effect

New move-over rules enacted in multiple states soon will take effect.

Seventeen states include all road users in their move-over law. Maryland adopted the rule one year ago, joining Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Action continues on the topic in state legislatures across the country. So far this year, eight more states have adopted move-over rule changes that apply to all highway users.

Colorado

Colorado was the first state to act this year to expand the state’s move-over rule.

State law requires drivers to move over one lane or, if moving over is not possible, reduce and maintain a speed 20 mph below the posted speed when approaching or passing a stationary authorized emergency vehicle, tow truck, public utility service vehicle, or a vehicle being equipped with tire chains.

Gov. Jared Polis has signed into law a bill, HB1123, to add to the list stationary vehicles giving a hazard signal.

Failure to make room or slow down for affected vehicles could result in a careless driving offense. Violators would face punishment that starts at a minimum $150 fine or at least 10 days in jail.

“Motorists who fail to comply with this law, paired with common driving distractions, create a dangerous and sometimes deadly combination on Colorado’s roadways,” reads the Colorado State Patrol website.

The revised rule takes effect in August.

Florida’s new move-over rule

Starting July 1, a move-over rule change goes into effect in Florida.

The state’s existing rule applies protections for first responders and towing vehicles. All travelers are required to move over or slow down upon approach of affected vehicles parked along the roadside. Violators face fines up to $158.

Previously HB425, the new law extends the protection to any disabled vehicle that is stopped and is displaying hazard lights, emergency flares or emergency signage.

The American Automobile Association welcomes the rule revision in the state with the third most fatalities involving people killed outside a disabled vehicle from 2016 to 2020.

“We are extremely grateful that Florida lawmakers took this necessary action to enhance protection for all (travelers), in addition to the first responders who come to their aid,” AAA said in a released statement.

The rule change takes effect the first of the month, but enforcement is scheduled to begin Jan. 1.

Indiana

Another July 1 rule change takes effect in Indiana.

State law includes emergency and highway personnel in the current protection. Violators face fines and a license suspension if failure to move over or yield results in property damage. Actions that result in injury or death to an emergency worker could result in jail time.

HB1050 adds “disabled stationary vehicles” with flashing hazard warning signals to the list of protected road users covered in the rule.

Violators would face fines up to $1,000.

Maine

Expansion of move-over rule protections are also on the horizon in Maine.

The state’s move-over law has required travelers to slow down and/or move over when approaching emergency vehicles parked along the roadside. The protection includes police, fire and rescue vehicles, and tow trucks.

Gov. Janet Mills has signed into law a bill to extend the protection to include any disabled vehicle in the breakdown lane.

Affected vehicles must display hazard lights to be included in the protection. If available, vehicle operators also are supposed to place warning devices such as a warning triangle or flares to alert approaching vehicles.

Travelers that fail to make room or slow down for vehicles along the roadside could be fined at least $275.

The revised rule takes effect this fall.

Minnesota

Minnesota law applies the move-over protection to stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights activated. Vehicles covered under the rule are ambulance, fire, law enforcement, maintenance, construction vehicles and tow trucks.

A new law in effect July 1 includes a clarification that drivers must move over for any vehicle stopped along the roadside with lights flashing. If lights are not flashing, the move-over requirement would still apply when at least one person is “visibly present outside the vehicle on or next to a street or highway having two lanes in the same direction.”

North Carolina

North Carolina protects law enforcement, emergency and utility workers in its move-over law. Travelers who fail to move over or slow down for affected vehicles stopped along the roadside face fines up to $250.

One bill halfway through the statehouse would include the same protection for any vehicle that is parked within 12 feet of a roadway and displaying hazard lights, road flares or other caution signals.

Senate lawmakers approved the bill by unanimous consent. SB638 awaits further consideration in the House.

North Dakota

In North Dakota, the state has adopted a rule change that is intended to help protect the lives of all drivers on the state’s fastest roadways.

Statute has required drivers to move over to an adjacent lane or slow down to a “safe” speed before passing emergency vehicles or transportation department vehicles with flashing lights activated. Exceptions are made for situations when safety, road, weather and/or traffic conditions do not allow.

Rep. Austen Schauer, R-West Fargo, previously told lawmakers that many drivers in the state are unclear about which types of vehicles are included in the protection.

“What it clearly does not cover is a school bus, a motor coach, a tractor-trailer or a family vehicle,” Schauer said.

Gov. Doug Burgum has signed into law a bill that is intended to help protect the lives of all drivers on the state’s fastest roadways.

Specifically, HB1141 requires drivers approaching a vehicle displaying flashing hazard warning signals on a highway outside the limits of a city to move over a lane or slow down while maintaining a “safe speed for the road conditions.”

Effective Aug. 1, violators would face $20 fines.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee last week signed into law a bill to expand the state’s move-over rule protections.

State mandates travelers make room or slow down for emergency vehicles, including department of transportation crews, with flashing lights parked along the roadside.

The new law, S88, includes “any nonemergency vehicle that is stationary and located on the shoulder or breakdown lane of a roadway or highway.” The change took effect immediately.

Tennessee

A July 1 rule change in Tennessee covers the state’s move-over law.

State law requires travelers to move over or reduce speed for first responders, highway maintenance and utility vehicles using emergency signals. Drivers who fail to move over or slow down for affected vehicles could face fines of $100 to $500.

HB92 adds to the protection any disabled vehicle with hazard lights activated. Additionally, first-time violators of the rule would face fines up to $250. Subsequent violations would result in escalating fine amounts up to $2,500.

Virginia

Also going into effect July 1 in Virginia is a related rule change.

Virginia law mandates that travelers on roadways with at least two lanes in one direction proceed with caution and, if reasonable, yield the right of way to emergency vehicles by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the stationary vehicle. If a lane change is unreasonable or unsafe, drivers must “proceed with due caution and maintain a safe speed for highway conditions.”

A new law expands the protection to include any highway user along the roadside displaying hazard lights, caution signs, and road flares. LL

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