Q: I know there’s a law about slowing down and moving over for emergency vehicles, but can you explain what that means? Do I slow down and move over, or is it one or the other? And what constitutes an emergency vehicle? Is it just the ones that come when you call 911 or anything with flashing lights on top? Help me out here.
A: The “Slow Down, Move Over” law is one of those rules that seems clear just from the name, but when you actually think about it, you realize it’s not as obvious as you first thought. The law in the Revised Code of Washington is titled (in part) “Emergency or work zones,” so let’s start by defining that. An emergency or work zone is the area 200 feet before and after an emergency or work vehicle. Easy enough.
But what is an emergency or work vehicle? The law includes any of these vehicles when their warning lights are activated: stationary authorized emergency vehicles (we’ll come back to that one),tow trucks, other vehicles providing roadside assistance, police vehicles, highway maintenance and service equipment, snow removal equipment, and stationary or slow moving highway construction vehicles, highway maintenance vehicles, solid waste vehicles and utility service vehicles.
If that list isn’t extensive enough for you, let’s define authorized emergency vehicles. It includes any vehicle of a fire department, police department, sheriff’s office, coroner, prosecuting attorney, Washington state patrol, and public or private ambulance service. Rather than memorize the list just figure that, like you suggested, if it’s got flashing lights on top it’s a good bet that it’s included.
When you approach an emergency or work zone the required action depends on the size of the road. On highways with four or more lanes (two in each direction) move to the lane away from the emergency or work vehicle unless it’s unsafe to do so. On roads with less than four lanes slow down, and if you can, move left (which might not be possible due to oncoming traffic.) In both situations the law states that if changing lanes would be unsafe, drivers shall reduce vehicle speed by at least ten mph below the speed limit and proceed with caution. (Caution should be the default mode for driving, so it’s a good reminder.)
That’s what’s required by law, but as I’ve mentioned before, the law provides the bare minimum requirements. It’s a good starting point but we can do better. In the context of this law, consider the 200 foot requirement. If my math is right, it takes two seconds to cover 200 feet at freeway speeds. That’s not a lot of time. If you’re scanning the road 10-15 seconds ahead like your driving instructor taught you, you can start taking appropriate action well before the required 200 feet. Plus, how many of us are actually any good at estimating 200 feet?
While not required by law, consider doing the same for disabled vehicles too. Someone who’s just had a tire blow out likely does not have the same situational awareness as professional roadside responders doing high-risk work. They might be focused on their immediate dilemma and forget to check for traffic as they’re getting out of their car to find their spare.
As a general driving principle, it’s a good idea to create as much space as you can between you and anything or anyone you could hit, and that’s what the move over law does. I hope I’ve helped you out, and let’s all pay it forward by helping out our roadside responders with slower speeds and extra room.
After this published, I received an email from James Garcia, the person who launched the move over law. It was great, so I asked him if I could share it. Here it is:
I just read your article about my law. Thank you, and I might be able to clear up some of your questions about it.
I created the Move Over Law after I was struck working at a wreck in 1994.
Because traffic law must be passed by each individual state, there are several different versions and standards for these laws. Some states say ‘and’ some say ‘or’ , some give specific mph reduction requirements, and many added an unfortunate ‘when safe to do so’ clause. This lack of clarity results in confusion for the public, and reduced enforcement by the police.
When I wrote this law in SC in 1994, it was intentionally written as an expansion of our current ‘ Too fast for conditions’ laws. The opening designation ‘An emergency scene is a special hazard’ alluded directly to the way a special hazard required ‘reduced speed and additional caution by the driver, and be prepared to stop to avoid a collision.’ Due to the new law being linked to the too fast for conditions section, the duplicate wording was unnecessary and removed from my section.
As the Move Over Law later made its way around the country, that connection was overlooked. Each state amended and adapted the law independently, but without that Too Fast for conditions reference. Some states went with ‘Slow down AND Move Over’, others went with ‘Or’.
Many added the legal jargon ‘when safe to do so’. That caveat is divisive and unnecessary. Of course no one would demand you to move over when it’s not safe to do so. But we all routinely change lanes every single time we drive. There is nothing inherent about an emergency scene ahead that should render anyone suddenly incapable of merging safely. An accident caused by improper merging is generally less deadly than striking any stationary object. More drivers should be considerate and merge behind someone rather than speeding up to pass a few more cars before they cut someone off ahead. Aggressive driving is the problem here. Simply saying ‘I didn’t think I could move over safely’ should not be a valid defense for killing a responder, but this loophole is causing that to happen.