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Drivers now required to
"Move Over"
"Move Over Act" Public Service
Announcement
( file size 451K - Windows media, Must use
Internet Explorer)
Drivers are now required to
"move over" or "slow down" when approaching an authorized emergency
vehicle that is stopped on a highway in Florida. The
"Move Over Act", passed during the 2002 session of the Florida
Legislature, was signed by Governor Jeb Bush on May 1, 2002.
There are several important
provisions concerning this new law. Effective July 1, 2002, on
interstate highways or other highways with two or more lanes traveling
in the direction of the emergency vehicle, and except when otherwise
directed by a law enforcement officer, drivers approaching a law
enforcement or other authorized emergency vehicle parked on a roadway
with their emergency lights activated, are required to vacate the lane
closest to the emergency vehicle, as soon as it is safe to do so.
When approaching a law
enforcement or other authorized emergency vehicle parked on a two-lane
roadway with their emergency lights activated, and except when otherwise
directed by a law enforcement officer, drivers are required to slow to a
speed that is 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit when
the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or greater; or travel at
five miles per hour when the posted speed limit is 20 miles per hour or
less.
The "Move Over Act", designed
to protect law enforcement and other emergency workers on our highways,
was sponsored by Senator Victor Crist, District 13, Tampa, and
Representative Mark Flanagan, District 68, Bradenton. The support of the
International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) was instrumental in
getting this important piece of legislation passed.
During the five-year period of
1996-2000, motorists in Florida crashed into working law enforcement
vehicles that were stopped/parked along Florida roadways 1,793 times,
resulting in five deaths and 419 injuries.
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