The Move over Law

Abstract

Police traffic enforcement is a common, recognizable part of the driving environment. As with those in other professions working near roadways, officers are at increased danger when they have stopped on the shoulder. Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicate that from 2000 to 2009, 47 U.S. officers were killed while performing traffic stops and 73 were killed while directing traffic or assisting motorists; 101 officers were killed feloniously while conducting traffic stops. To mitigate dangers, every state except Hawaii has implemented a law requiring drivers to move over or slow down when approaching a patrol vehicle stopped at roadside. This research observed the behavior of more than 9,000 right-lane vehicles passing staged police stops on Florida freeways in north and central Florida. Each staged stop involved the use of a civilian research vehicle, a marked police vehicle, video recording of passing traffic, and measurement of passing vehicle speeds with a laser speed measurement device. Overall compliance with the move over component of the Florida laws was 75.9%, but compliance with the legal requirement to slow to 20 mph below the speed limit when not moving over was just 5.8%. Examination of patrol vehicle emergency lighting configurations determined that the use of blue and red emergency lights increased compliance in a statistically significant way, to nearly 80%, versus 68.8% when only amber lights were used. Additionally, when blue and red lights were not used, driver merge maneuvers were executed closer to the stop, and mean speeds of non–move over vehicles were higher.