New York Move Over Law Takes Effect

On January 1, 2011, New York’s “move over” law went into effect and it took just a few days before my first client called us after being issued a mover over traffic ticket.

The move over law requires motorists on multi-lane highways to slow down and “move over” (when safe to do so) giving safe clearance to approaching stopped emergency vehicles with red flashing lights. If you do not slow down and change lanes when approaching such vehicle, you can be issued a moving violation which carries 2 or 3 points and up to a $275 fine. On single lane roads, motorists must slow down and use caution.

More than 150 U.S. law enforcement officers have been killed since 1999 after being struck by vehicles along America’s highways, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. To lower that deadly toll, almost every state has enacted a “move over” law.

The New York “move over” law was named for Onondaga County Sheriff Deputy Glenn Searles and State Trooper Robert Ambrose, who both lost their lives responding to roadside emergencies. Ambrose and a stopped motorist were tragically killed 9 years ago when his police cruiser was rear-ended by an intoxicated driver in a SUV on the side of the New York Thruway in Yonkers. Searles was struck and killed in 2003 by a mini van.

Just this Monday, a state trooper making an emergency stop on the thruway in New Paltz, was injured when a passing vehicle suffered a blown-out tire and struck the officer. The officer is expected to recover but this incident highlights how important it is for motorists to use caution, slow down and move away from cars stopped on a shoulder.

source: nytrafficticket.com

www.troopers.state.ny.us/

Hazard vehicles excluded from New York's "Move Over Law"