Title: Each State has Its Own Move Over Law, But Many Drivers Don't Know
About Them

Description: The first Move Over law originated in 1996 in South
Carolina. Today, every state has its own law. But despite this, many
drivers don't know about them. We learn more about efforts to get the
word out from GAO's Elizabeth "Biza" Repko. 

Related work: GAO-24-106216, Roadside Safety: DOT Should Update Public
Awareness Materials on Move Over Laws

{Music}

[Biza Repko:] Stopping on the side of the road can be really dangerous.
That's why states have these laws to protect people when they have to
stop.

[Holly Hobbs:] Hi and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report--your source for
fact-based, nonprofit news and information from the U.S. Government
Accountability Office. I'm your host, Holly Hobbs. If you see a police
car or an emergency vehicle, a tow truck or construction worker on the
shoulder or side of a road, it's not just the polite thing to move over.
Move Over and slow down is the law. The first Move Over law originated
in 1996 in South Carolina. But it's now widely adopted as a safety
measure in every state. Even so, many drivers still don't know about it.
Joining us to talk about our new report on Move Over awareness efforts,
is GAO's Biza Repko, an expert on surface transportation. Thanks for
joining us.

[Biza Repko:] Thanks for having me.

[Holly Hobbs:] So Biza, for those who don't know, what is the Move Over
law?

[Biza Repko:] Well, there's no national Move Over law. So Move Over laws
are state laws. And these laws require a driver to Move Over, slow down,
or both when they're approaching certain types of vehicles on the side
of the road. The most common types of vehicles are fire trucks, police
cars and ambulances. But in some states, like Maryland, a driver has to
Move Over for any vehicle that stopped with flashing lights. And
stopping on the side of the road can be really dangerous. That's why
states have these laws to protect people when they have to stop.

[Holly Hobbs:] So you said there's multiple laws, and you gave Maryland
as an example. But how do these vary across states? Are they very
varied?

[Biza Repko:] They are. So all states' laws cover emergency vehicles
like I talked about before. So they cover fire trucks and ambulances.
But there's really been a trend in more states covering more types of
vehicles. So things like highway maintenance vehicles, or trash trucks,
or utility vehicles. For one example, Alaska, they have a Move Over law
that covers animal control vehicles. And Kentucky has a Move Over law
that covers vehicles--the ones that escort the wide load or those
slow-moving trucks and trailers you see on the street. And one thing to
kind of know about Move Over laws is a driver is that as you're driving
and you're crossing state lines, the Move Over laws may change. You
might go from a law in one state that covers one type of vehicle to a
law that covers a different types of vehicle. So, you know, I guess I
would say when in doubt, just Move Over and slow down.

[Holly Hobbs:] How are states letting drivers know about their laws?

[Biza Repko:] Yes, some states have lots of different ways that they let
drivers know. There's, of course road signs. You know, like a static
road sign or maybe like a dynamic road sign that would change with the
conditions that are going on. They've got websites, social media
campaigns. Some states do targeted law enforcement campaigns. And that's
where officers will pull drivers over for violating the Move Over law.
And then they issue a warning or a citation and try to educate them
about what the law means.

[Holly Hobbs:] So, what happens if I can't Move Over? Like if there's
somebody riding along next to me?

[Biza Repko:] If you can't Move Over safely, what you should do is slow
down. You know, the idea is that you want to enhance safety. So, if
moving over, would you'd run into another car or something like that?
Don't do that. Slow down. That would be the right thing to do.

[Holly Hobbs:] And so far, we've talked about the state's efforts. But
what about the federal government? What's the Department of
Transportation's role in promoting these laws?

[Holly Hobbs:] So the Department of Transportation has several roles.
You know, they give funding. They do research and education related to
Move Over. In 2021, they got some new funding to make available to
improve roadside safety. And 27 states qualified for that funding. And
they plan to use it to educate the public on their Move Over laws. And
to help the states educate the public, DOT also provide sample public
awareness materials for states to use. These are things like press
releases, graphics, videos. And the point of all these materials is--you
want to help the public understand what the law is and encourage them to
Move Over or slow down if they see a vehicle on the side of the road.

{MUSIC}

[Holly Hobbs:] So, Biza just told us that each state has its own Move
Over law. And that DOT helps states get the word out about their laws by
providing educational material and funding for outreach. So, Biza, what
more do we think the Department of Transportation should be doing to
help states promote their Move Over laws?

[Biza Repko:] So, DOT's public awareness materials, they reflect some of
the variations in states' laws that we talked about, but not really all
of them. Like, for example, their materials include some, but not all
the types of the vehicles that the state laws typically cover. And the
states, when we talked to them, they told us they like DOT's materials.
But some state officials told us, you know, they have limited resources,
they have limited expertise, and it's challenging for them to tailor
those materials to match their specific state laws. So, we recommended
that the Department of Transportation update its materials to more fully
reflect the types of vehicles that are covered by state laws. These are
things we talk about, like highway maintenance, construction, utility,
trash, disabled vehicles. And we thought that doing this would help
states get the word out about which vehicles their laws cover. And that
could ultimately improve safety for those on the road and those on the
roadside.

[Holly Hobbs:] And last question, what's the bottom line of this report?

[Biza Repko:] Well, states and DOT do a lot of good work to try to
improve the safety of workers and travelers who have to stop on the side
of the road. But because stopping on the side of the road can really be
dangerous, we think the Department of Transportation should improve the
public awareness materials it makes available to states to more fully
reflect the types of vehicles and the variation in state laws. And that
way, we think, the drivers can better understand state laws and that
could enhance roadside safety.

[Holly Hobbs:] That was Biza Repko talking about our new report on Move
Over laws. Thanks for your time, Biza.

[Biza Repko:] Thanks for having me.

[Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To
hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or
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