The Florida Highway Patrol hosted a multi-agency news conference Wednesday to urge drivers to follow the state's "Move Over" law and announce the recent amendments that cover additional vehicles on roadways.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB425, which strengthens the state’s existing "Move Over" law to include moving over for all disabled vehicles that are stopped with their hazard lights on or with emergency flares or signage.
Prior versions of the law required drivers to slow down and move over for tow truck drivers and first responders, but there was no additional protection for everyday drivers like people who get a flat tire or dead battery on the roadside. Drivers who can't safely move over must slow down 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.
Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Indiana Miranda further explained the law's expansion during Wednesday's press conference.
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“What the law actually added was that all motorists on the side of the road that become disabled or pull over to an emergency shoulder with their hazards on, because they have some sort of emergency, is basically letting other drivers know that they need to move over and give them that common courtesy of slowing down for them or moving over to the next lane," Miranda explained. "If they fail to do that for a stopped motorist and we are able to see where that violation occurred, we will cite that motorist or educate them on the new law.”
Troopers also stressed that lives would be saved through this law's expansion.
"Unfortunately over the years, we have seen many troopers, firefighters, tow truck drivers, road rangers and construction workers injured or killed by someone not giving them room to work," FHP Major Ellery Collado said. "This is 100 percent preventable.”
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Numbers from AAA state that from 2016-2020, an average of nearly 350 people per year were hit or killed while outside their disabled vehicle on the side of the road.
According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in 2022 there were 170 crashes and more than 14,000 citations issued in Florida for drivers who failed to move over. FHSMV statistics show that the most likely drivers to violate the Move Over Act are drivers aged 20-40.
From 2015 to December of 2023, there were more than 1,700 crashes reported in the state of Florida because motorists failed to comply with the law. 128 resulted in serious injuries and 8 were fatal, according to Stacy Miller, the FDOT secretary for District 6.
“The Move Over Law is very important to us as we’re the ones all the way in the back of the scene as you’re coming up on us first,” said Leland Debooy, who has been a Road Ranger with the Florida Department of Transportation since 1995.
Debooy knows firsthand how dangerous it can be when people don’t move over and stressed why it’s important to take the “Move Over” law further to add all disabled vehicles.
“We’ve had some instances where some road rangers have had some very very close calls due to people not focused or playing on their phones or whatever the situation," Debooy said. "To not hit us or the paramedics on scene, we just ask that you do your part by tapering over into that next lane and then going on past us."
Florida is now the 17th state to require drivers to move over not only for emergency vehicles, but also for broken-down cars on the side of the road.
Violators of the Move Over Law could face fines ranging from $60 to $158. The hope is that this stricter enforcement will encourage compliance and ultimately reduce the alarming statistics.
The revamped law went into effect on January 1. For more information, see section 316.126, Florida Statutes.
