Washington, DC: No ‘Move Over’ Law in D.C., But AAA Says There Should Be

There are laws in every state requiring drivers to move over or slow down if there’s an emergency vehicle on the shoulder, but no such law exists in the District.  AAA’s Lon Anderson says the District is a unique jurisdiction in that there isn’t the highway mileage of other states.

“The side of the roads are especially not safe,” Anderson says. “It only takes one driver who is busy texting and not paying attention to drift off onto the shoulder and to kill someone. Having laws that will deter that is very important.”

D.C. Police Union President Delroy Burton says he knows there are a number of priorities when it comes to policing in the city.

“When the time comes for the D.C. Council to act we will probably be in support of that law,” Burton says. “It’s not as big a priority for us because we don’t operate on highways as much as the Maryland State Police or Virginia State Police.”