Expanded ‘move over’ law now in effect

Starting March 27, New York’s “move over” law will expand, requiring drivers to slow down and move over when approaching any vehicle stopped along the roadway.

“The safety of all New Yorkers is my top priority, especially those pulled over to the side of the road,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press release. “If you see that you are approaching a disabled vehicle, slow down and move over as best you can to give them some space.”

The initial “move over” law was enacted in 2010 to prevent roadside deaths among police officers and first responders, and required drivers to only move over when such personnel were spotted. It has since been expanded to include hazard vehicles, highway worker vehicles, and tow trucks. In 2023, Hochul signed a bill into law that expanded it once more to include all vehicles stopped along a roadway.

Under the law, when a driver is approaching a vehicle stopped along either shoulder of the road, they 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.” This applies only to “a motor vehicle which is parked, stopped, or standing on the shoulder of a parkway or a controlled-access highway.”

The law urges drivers on those roadways to “exercise due care” to avoid colliding with such stopped vehicles.

Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “The expansion of New York’s move over law to include disabled and stopped vehicles in the roadway is critical to achieving the goal of eliminating fatalities on the roadways. With 37 individuals killed outside of disable vehicles on New York’s roadways from 2016 to 2020, Governor Hochul’s actions to expand the move over law will fundamentally save lives by putting safety first.”