From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Emergency Responder Roadside Safety

Description: In this video, we describe and illustrate the general
requirements of states' Move Over laws for motorists. We also describe
some of the state and federal actions taken to promote public awareness
of these laws and improve emergency responder roadside safety. 

Related GAO Works: GAO-21-166, Emergency Responder Safety: States and
DOT are Implementing Actions to Reduce Roadside Crashes 

Released: December 2020

Every state in the U.S. has a Move Over law to help protect emergency
responders stopped on the side of a roadway and prevent crashes like
this one in Ohio. State Move Over laws generally require drivers
approaching an emergency vehicle to move over to another lane, away from
the emergency vehicle. If it's unsafe or impossible to move over,
drivers are generally required to slow down. Police, fire, and emergency
medical vehicles as well as some non-emergency vehicles are generally
covered under Move Over laws, which means drivers must move over or slow
down for them. Federal agencies have helped support state communication
campaigns to improve public awareness about Move Over laws. Agencies
also help states improve emergency responder safety in other ways. For
example, the U.S. Department of Transportation has offered traffic
incident management training for first responders. Responders can learn
where to park relative to an incident and what else they should do to
help prevent secondary crashes when responding on highways. For more
information on federal and state efforts related to Move Over laws and
emergency responder safety, check out our report at GAO.gov.