Idaho: Ask Policeman Dan: Move Over Law
This is for the person who told me last week my jokes were dumb: A man was gassing up his car when gasoline splashed up on his arm and to make matters worse his arm caught on fire. Police showed up and arrested him for brandishing a firearm.
I was asked by a law enforcement wife to remind drivers of the move over law and what all it entailed. I figured that the simplest thing here would be to just post the entire law as it reads and then go from there.
Idaho Code 49-624 reads; DRIVER DUTY UPON APPROACHING A STATIONARY POLICE VEHICLE OR AN AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE DISPLAYING FLASHING LIGHTS. The driver of a motor vehicle, upon approaching a stationary police vehicle displaying flashing lights or an authorized emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights shall: (1) If the driver is traveling on a highway with two or more lanes carrying traffic in the same direction, immediately reduce the speed of his vehicle below the posted speed limit, proceed with due caution and, if traveling in a lane adjacent to the stationary police vehicle displaying flashing lights or the authorized emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, change lanes into a lane that is not adjacent to such vehicle as soon as it is possible to do so in a manner that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing, with regard to actual and potential hazards. (2) If the driver is traveling on a highway with one (1) lane for each direction of travel, immediately reduce the speed of his vehicle below the posted speed limit, and maintain a safe speed for the road, weather and traffic conditions until completely past the stationary police vehicle or authorized emergency vehicle.
What this means in simple terms is that when you approach an emergency vehicle the first thing you need to do is slow down to a speed that would allow you to stop safely if that need arose. Sometimes police stops go really wrong and officers might find themselves in a position where they end up out on the road. This is usually from violators who might be fighting with the police and the scuffle ends up out on the road.
Last year five officers died while being struck by vehicles. Many of those were from directing traffic but I bet those deaths more than likely had speed involved. That is why I say the first thing to do is slow down.
Violating the Move-Over law might be an infraction but charges could get much worse if an officer was hit or even somebody who was in the vehicle. Please take the time to slow down and move over it’s not only smart but it’s the law.
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