Move over law by state: what to do, who it covers and the fines

• See a vehicle stopped on the shoulder with flashing lights: police, ambulance, fire, tow truck, road crew, utility or garbage truck.
• On a road with two or more lanes your way, move to a lane that is not next to it, if you can do it safely.
• If you can't, slow down well below the limit and be ready to stop. Some states set the number: 10, 15 or 20 mph below the limit.
• In most states, do the same for any car stopped with its hazard lights on.

The first laws covered police and emergency vehicles. States have since added tow trucks, road crews, utility and garbage trucks, and, more and more, any stopped car showing hazard lights, flares or warning triangles. These states now cover ordinary stopped vehicles, some on every road and some only on highways:

• Every road: Arizona, California (2026), Colorado (2023), Connecticut, Delaware (2023), Florida (2024), Hawaii (2026), Indiana (2023), Iowa (2018), Kansas (2025), Kentucky, Maryland (2022), Minnesota (2023), Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma (2023), Oregon (2017), Tennessee (2023), Utah, Virginia (2023), West Virginia, Wisconsin (2025).
• Some roads only: Illinois (highways of 4 or more lanes), Nebraska and New York (controlled-access highways and parkways), North Dakota (interstates and multilane highways outside cities).
• With conditions: Pennsylvania, when the disabled car is marked with at least two of hazard lights, flares and warning signs.

The others cover only marked vehicles with emergency or warning lights. Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio and Rhode Island have changed or are changing their laws; we could not confirm the current wording on an official page, so they are not in the lists above.

Most states ask for a "reasonable and prudent" or "safe" speed with no number. Where the law or the state's own agency sets one:

• 20 mph below the limit: Colorado (CDOT), Delaware (where the limit is 50 or more), Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas; South Dakota and Wyoming on two-lane roads; Montana on interstates.
• 15 mph below the limit: Alabama.
• 10 mph below the limit: Indiana, Michigan (even when you do change lanes), Washington (and no more than 50 mph where the limit is over 60).
• 5 mph below the limit: Oregon (ODOT).
• A fixed top speed: West Virginia, 15 mph on undivided roads and 25 mph on divided ones. Montana, half the limit when you can't change lanes.

• Oklahoma: $1,000 for a first offense, $2,500 for a second, and up to $10,000 if an emergency worker is killed.
• Illinois (Scott's Law): $250 to $10,000 for a first offense at an emergency scene, and a felony if someone is hurt or killed.
• Texas: $500 to $1,250, and a misdemeanor if someone is hurt.
• Pennsylvania: $500, $1,000, then $2,000 and a 90-day license suspension.
• Virginia: passing a stopped emergency vehicle without moving over or slowing down is reckless driving, up to 12 months in jail and $2,500.

• Pull as far off the road as you can, ideally past an exit or onto a wide shoulder.
• Turn on your hazard lights: in most states that is what brings you under the move over law.
• Put out flares or warning triangles if you have them: Pennsylvania's law counts them, and Kansas, Maryland and Delaware name flares or other warning devices.
• Stay away from the traffic side of the car. Call 911 if you are in a travel lane or can't get off the road.

Every rule here comes from the state's statute, its DOT, its state police or its DMV, checked on October 19, 2026. Some legislature sites could not be read directly; for those we used archived copies of the same official pages, listed with their dates below. We could not confirm on an official page: Rhode Island's law, Louisiana's 2026 change, New Hampshire's 2025 change, Ohio's pending bill, and the fines in Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. Those cells say "Not confirmed".