Failing to Comply With Florida’s Move Over Law Can Be Both Dangerous and Costly

January is Move Over Month in Florida. It’s a reminder to all drivers that Florida law requires all drivers to move over by at least one lane for emergency and service vehicles stopped along the roadway. Unfortunately, this reminder is necessary given that there were 182 crashes and over 20,000 citations issued to motorists for failing to move over in 2019 alone. Worse yet, 56 tow truck drivers died in 2019 as a result of motorists failing to obey the law (four tow truck drivers have already been killed nationwide in 2020). According to the FDOT, “That’s every six days an operator loses their life helping somebody to make sure they get home.”

The Move Over Law is found in Florida Statute 316.126. The specific requirements are as follows:

• When you approach stopped law enforcement, emergency or service vehicle displaying any visible signals while stopped on the roadside (including Road Rangers, sanitation vehicles and tow trucks), you must:
• vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle except when directed by law enforcement otherwise; or
• slow down to 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit when moving from the closet lane is not possible.

In other words, on a multi-lane road, move to an inside lane farther from the stopped emergency vehicle. On a two-way road, you must slow down. On roads with a speed limit of 20 miles or less, you must slow down to 5 miles per hour.

What Are The Penalties For Violating The Move Over Law

Violating the Move Over Law will result in a fine (up to $500), fees, and points on your driving records. Accordingly, the decision to not move over can be costly. Worse yet, it could also cost someone their life.

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