"Move Over" For Emergency Workers
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMIAMI) – A program that has had Florida drivers safely moving along for the better part of a decade will be tested in Alabama and Georgia in the next month.
Florida drivers have been moving over for the safety of emergency workers and vehicles for years and now the Alabama Department of Public Safety and the Georgia State Patrol are teaming up to enforce the law and educate the public across the southeast.
Law enforcement will work along busy highways and interstates across the states stopping motorists who refuse to "move over."
The law requires drivers to move over a lane away from an emergency vehicle in movement, while traveling on a multi-lane highway.
If driving on a two-lane road, motorists must slow down to a speed of 20 mph less than the posted speed limit. If the speed limit is posted at 20 mph, drivers must slow down to five mph.
The purpose of the law is to decrease the number of deaths and injuries among emergency workers.
Nearly every state in the country has implemented the "Move Over" law, with the exception of Hawaii and Washington D.C..
Emergency workers hope more states will learn how to practice the law and ultimately enforce it.
