The law requires motorists to slow down and approach carefully when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road with flashing lights. Motorists must change lanes away from the emergency vehicle on a multi-lane highway or brake on a two-lane highway and can do so safely. Motorists must slow down while maintaining a safe speed. G.S. 20-157 (f). The Georgian Law on Movement stipulates that motorists driving in the lane adjacent to the emergency lane must cross a lane when ambulances and commercial vehicles are stopped on the side of the road and driven in an official capacity. Vehicles included in the legislation include all first responders (law enforcement, firefighters, emergency services), commercial vehicles, DOT vehicles, HERO units, and tow trucks subject to an accident. The law aims to protect public servants AND traffic violators from accidents with passing cars. Violation of the law will result in a mandatory fine of $250.00 plus court costs.
The Georgia Move Over Act requires drivers to cross a lane whenever possible when an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is parked on the highway emergency lane. And if traffic is too heavy to pass safely, the law requires drivers to brake below the specified speed limit AND be prepared to stop. The highway patrol has taken steps to ensure greater safety for citizens and soldiers. In January 2002, the State Travel Act went into effect, requiring motorists, if it is safe to do so, to move away from one lane of any law enforcement or other emergency vehicle located on the side of the highway. This law covers commercial vehicles that are located on the side of the road to restore electrical operation during an unforeseen event such as a hurricane or ice storm. Commercial vehicles shall be equipped with a flashing amber light. In the United States, laws are intended to protect emergency responders who work on the side of the road. All fifty states have passed such laws, which have been promoted in response to the increase in the number of deaths on working roads.
Laws require that if drivers notice an emergency vehicle with sirens and/or flashing lights, they move away from the vehicle in one lane or, if this is not possible, slow down to a reasonable speed or a fixed speed below the limit according to local laws. These include police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances. In New York State, drivers should be cautious when approaching an emergency vehicle with red and/or white emergency lights, such as police vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances, as well as vehicles with flashing yellow lights such as tow trucks, construction vehicles, and other service personnel who are stopped on the side of the road in the course of their duties. [8] As of July 1, 2018, Iowa drivers must run over or slow down for every vehicle equipped with flashing hazard lights. [9] Currently, only Washington, D.C. has no movement on the law. On June 17, 2009, Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signed House Bill 5894, which established a requirement for travel within the state. Connecticut`s Move Over Act went into effect on October 1, 2009. [12] [13] On August 13, 2010, the Governor of New York signed a bill that is expected to take effect on January 1, 2011. 1. In January 2012, the law was amended to include not only police, fire trucks and ambulances, but also dangerous vehicles such as tow trucks. [14] Maryland`s Move over Law Provisions, approved by Governor O`Malley on May 20, 2010, went into effect on October 1, 2010.
[15] [16] On October 1, 2012, North Carolina`s newly revised legislative transition, which was extended to utilities and maintenance, went into effect. Maryland motorists must move when approaching ambulances, law enforcement, tow trucks, supply vehicles, and transportation vehicles when stopped, standing, or parked on a highway with red, yellow, or yellow lights. If it is not safe or feasible to travel, motorists must slow down at an appropriate and prudent speed that is safe for existing weather conditions, roads and vehicles or pedestrians. In the United States, travel laws refer to drivers who give stopped emergency vehicles a one-lane buffer zone. For example, if the driver sees a stopped police car in the right lane, he must move one lane to the left to create enough buffer space to prevent possible accidents. Trooper McLamb was standing on the driver`s side of the stopped vehicle and had just turned around to bring back his patrol car when he was hit. A motorist could not move and slow down and struck Rider McLamb. In Canada, laws require motorists, if they notice the arrival of an emergency vehicle (from any direction) with sirens or flashing lights, to move on the emergency lane and stop until the vehicle has passed the vicinity. This gives emergency vehicles a clear path to respond to emergencies and encourages rapid response by emergency vehicles. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure were the first to implement legislation. [1] Quebec was the last province to implement legislation that came into force on August 5, 2012.
[2] A travel law is legislation that requires motorists to move and change lanes to give safety clearance to law enforcement officers, firefighters, ambulances, utility workers and, in some cases, tow truck drivers and vehicles with disabilities. In the past, Canada and the United States have used this term for two different concepts; However, this is beginning to change as Canadian provinces have begun to expand the scope of their movement through legislation. In some countries (e.g., Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota), drivers do not have to change lanes. In states where this is the case, travel laws differ in terms of the specificity of the driver`s action. Some observed displacement laws are somewhat vague in the actions required by the driver (i.e. be careful not to collide, allow as much space as possible, etc.), while other laws dictate an explicit direction (change non-adjacent lane, move to a lane furthest from the emergency vehicle, etc.). [10] In 2015, Ontario amended the Highway Traffic Act to specify that motorists must slow down and exercise caution when there are multiple lanes approaching stopped tow trucks that produce intermittent flashes of yellow light. The section does not define tow trucks as “emergency vehicles.” In 2005, the Government of Alberta expanded the scope of the provincial legislation through legislation. Amendments were made to the province`s Road Safety Act to require drivers to slow down or pass when emergency vehicles or tow trucks are stopped on the side of a highway when their “flashing lights are on.” [3] The speed limit for passing stationary emergency vehicles or tow trucks has been set at 60 km/h and fines for exceeding this speed have been doubled. [4] The decision under the Act originated in Lexington after James D. Garcia, a paramedic, was struck and injured at the scene of an accident on January 28, 1994, while attempting to assist a driver who had gone off the road.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol blamed Garcia as the culprit; This led him to work on the creation of this law. The South Carolina General Assembly passed the Displacement Act (SC 56-5-1538) in 1996 and was revised in 2002 to facilitate enforcement and fines. [5] [6] Following a series of similar events in the United States in 2000, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration began to address the issue of emergency site safety and recommended amendments to the new Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which ultimately addressed the need to improve standards and protection for emergency responders.