In 2002, the Florida legislative session passed the Florida Move Over Law to help protect the safety of law enforcement and emergency officials from the dangers of roadside emergency assistance. The law came about after a 5-year reporting period between 1996 and 2000 identified 1,793 crashes involving a law enforcement vehicle stopped on the roadside, resulting in 419 injuries and 5 deaths.
Since its establishment, the Florida Move Over Law has become a common type of traffic violation handled by Miami traffic lawyers. There are many nuances to following the Florida Move Over Law, and an experienced Miami traffic lawyer can help you fight your traffic violation.
Requirements of the Florida Move Over Law
When you are approaching a patrol car, emergency vehicle, or tow truck parked on the side of a road with its lights flashing, you must comply with the Florida Move Over Law. You have 2 choices of action to take as you approach and pass the area: slow to 20 miles below the posted speed limit, or change lanes away from the vehicle.
Ideally, you should change lanes away from the vehicle on the roadside to give the best measure of safety possible. However, you should never compromise your own safety or the safety of drivers around you. Only change lanes if it is safe to do so and you are traveling on a multi-lane road. Reckless behavior when changing lanes can result in serious accidents and more severe traffic violations that will need to be handled by your Miami traffic attorney.
If changing lanes is too risky or impossible, you should slow your speed to 20 miles below the posted speed limit. If the posted limit is 20 miles per hour or lower, you should drop your speed to 5 miles per hour until you have passed the roadside vehicle.
Complying with the Florida Move Over Law
To avoid violating the Florida Move Over Law, you simply need to remain alert of activity on the roadside and either move out of the lane nearest the roadside vehicle or slow to 20 miles under the posted speed limit. There are few exceptions to complying with this law, as both options are normally available to drivers.
If you are found to have violated the Florida Move Over Law, you may be issued a traffic citation and required to pay a fine. These are the basic penalties assessed for violations and may become much more severe if your violation resulted in an accident involving the disabled vehicles or emergency response personnel.
A lawyer can help you avoid the points and fines assessed for violations of the Florida Move Over Law. Discuss your case with an experienced Miami traffic lawyer first to understand your legal options before paying any fines.