(Photo via Pexels).
New York State and Gov. Kathy Hochul is reminding everyone that the expansion of the “Move Over” law will soon be in effect to “improve highway safety for everyone,” according to a release.
Starting Wednesday (March 27), drivers will be required to “take precautions, including slowing down and moving over, to avoid a crash with all vehicles stopped along the roadway,” according to a release from the state.
The state’s Move Over law came into effect in 2010, in an effort to “prevent collisions with vehicles that were stopped on the roadway,” the release noted. Since then, the law has expanded to also cover hazard vehicles, highway worker vehicles and tow trucks.
Last year (2023), Hochul signed a bill to “further strengthen the Move Over law” by including protection for all vehicles that stopped on the roadway. Under the expanded law, when a driver is approaching a vehicle stopped along either shoulder of the road, the driver should:
- Change into a lane not immediately adjacent to the vehicle, or
- Slow down to a reasonable speed if unable to safely make a lane change.
Between 2016 and 2020, 37 individuals were killed outside disabled vehicles in New York. About 300 drivers are struck and killed roadside every year across the country. The Move Over law was enacted to “prevent those tragedies” and “make New York’s roadways safer for all,” the release noted.
“The safety of all New Yorkers is my top priority, especially those pulled over to the side of the road,” Hochul said. “If you see that you are approaching a disabled vehicle, slow down and move over as best you can to give them some space.”
