Oklahoma’s Move Over Law

Cars don’t always work well. The engine can stall or overheat, requiring the driver to stop and pull over to the side of the road if possible. Accidents on all types of roads are common. The police, tow truck drivers, and emergency medical personnel do more than just help drivers when their car fails or there’s an accident. These first responders regularly risk their lives while providing help because other drivers don’t do the right thing. The right thing is to slow down and move over to a lane farther away to ensure that the first responders are safe.

The duty of drivers to obey Oklahoma’s move-over law

All 50 states, including Oklahoma, have move-over laws. Oklahoma’s law is known as the Bernardo-Mills Law. This law applies to drivers who approach:

• An Oklahoma Department of Transportation or Oklahoma Turnpike Authority maintenance vehicle
• A stationary vehicle that displays flashing lights
• A licensed wrecker (a tow truck) that displays its lights

Drivers who approach these vehicles must move over to a lane not adjacent to the disabled or emergency vehicle (if safe to do so), reduce their speed, and use “due caution.”

Drivers who fail to move over or reduce their speed are subject to fines of $1,000 for a first offense and $2,500 for a second offense. If the driver injures an emergency vehicle worker, the fine is up to $5,000. If the emergency worker dies, the fine is up to $10,000.

How dangerous are emergency roadside worker accidents?

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, roadside deaths occur in Oklahoma and across the United States all too frequently. There’s a National Move Over Day in October each year, to remind drivers of the need to move over and slow down when approaching emergency roadside workers, first responders, and disabled motorists.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that, between 2017-2021, nearly 2,000 people died when they were outside of a vehicle. Nearly 3/4^ths (1,500) of the deaths occurred after dark. The Foundation’s study found that among drivers who were in noncompliance with their state’s Move Over laws, “More than 40 percent did not think their driving behavior was dangerous or was only somewhat dangerous. 23 percent were not aware that their state had a Move Over law.”

Another AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study found that “123 roadside assistance providers were killed by passing vehicles between 2015 and 2021 – nearly four times more than reported.” The underreporting of these deaths is due to the failure of state forms to indicate that the deaths were roadside assistance deaths instead of “pedestrian” deaths.

The study also found the following contributing factors to emergency roadside assistance deaths:

• 89 percent of the deaths occurred where the speed limit was 55 mph or higher, mostly on Interstates or other limited-access highways.
• 84 percent of the fatalities occurred in good weather, without rainy or slippery road conditions
• 63 percent of the deaths occurred during darkness, “of which nearly 2/3rds were at locations without street lighting.” 34 percent of the deaths occurred during daylight hours.
• 63 percent of the deaths occurred where the vehicle that struck the emergency roadside workers “had already left the road and was traveling on the shoulder or beyond before impact.” The likely causes for these accidents are alcohol or drug impairment, tiredness, or distraction. More than 1/3^rd of the drivers who caused these deaths were found “alcohol-positive.” Nearly half were not tested.

Safety recommendations for drivers who are near roadside emergency vehicles

AAA recommends that drivers:

• Avoid distractions such as texting, using a mobile phone, looking at a GPS, eating, or drinking.
• Stay alert and focused on their driving.
• Be alert to tow trucks, utility service vehicles, emergency vehicles, police officers, and disabled vehicles.
• Slow down and move over.

According to News 9 (in Oklahoma), the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is focusing on drivers who violate the state’s move-over law.

Landline Media reports that the Oklahoma House is considering a change to the state’s move-over law. The bill would enable first-time offenders to avoid the fine by completing a state work zone awareness program. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation states that 61 Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) employees and 11 Oklahoma Turnpike Authority employees have been killed in work zone accidents. The awareness program also offers work zone courses for teenage drivers.

At Cunningham & Mears, we’ve been fighting for car accident victims and the families of victims who tragically died in accidents since 1996. Our Oklahoma City lawyers have the experience and working relationships to hold drivers accountable for the accidents they cause. We demand compensation for the victim (or the family) for all their financial and personal damages.

Please call our office or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle personal injury claims on a contingency fee basis.