It will cover all vehicles stopped vehicles on the state’s highways.
Frederick, Md. (KM) – Maryland’s Move Over Law is expending later this year.
The state’s current law enacted in 2014 requires motorists who encounter emergency vehicles, law enforcement vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks and ambulances, and tow trucks, on side of the road with their emergency lights flashing to move into the next lane. If that’s not possible, they need to slow down. . In 2019, the law was expanded to include service vehicles, such as transportation services, utility vehicles, and waste and recycling trucks.
The new law requires drivers to slow down or move into the next lane when encountering any vehicle along the side of the road with its emergency lights flashing. It also includes road flares or other signals such as cones, caution signs or non-vehicle warning lights.
“In Maryland, AAA was really instrumental in getting the Move Over Law expanded so that it will now include motorists who are disabled on the side of the road whether there’s a police officer or a tow truck present at all,”: says Ragina Ali, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic..
She says that law goes into affect October 1st. “But it’s certainly no time like the present to start practicing that as well,” Ali says.
The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration says drivers who have a roadside emergency such as a flat tire, are encouraged to find a safe place to stop, such as along the side of the road, or in a parking lot.
By Kevin McManus