Move Over Law

Arizona marks Crash Responder Safety Week

Arizona marks Crash Responder Safety Week

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Arizona marks Crash Responder Safety Week

Arizona marks Crash Responder Safety Week

November 15, 2023

Traffic safety stakeholders call on the public to “Protect Those Who Protect You”

Every day on Arizona’s highways and roads, the men and women who respond to vehicle crashes with the purpose of helping and assisting motorists put themselves in harm’s way.

This week, during National Crash Responder Safety Week, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS), Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Maricopa Department of Transportation (MCDOT), Phoenix Fire Department, Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association (APTRA) and traffic safety stakeholders across Arizona and the nation are calling on the traveling public to “Protect Those Who Protect You.”

“When responders arrive at the scene of a crash and exit their vehicles to provide aid to people involved in the crash, they’re putting themselves at risk to ensure the safety of others, including other motorists,” ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said. “They deserve our respect and all of us can show that by giving them space to do their work, like moving over, slowing down and paying attention when driving near responders working in or near travel lanes.”

Not only will engaging in these actions give responders a safer place to work, they’ll keep motorists driving through the crash scene safer, too.

“While the safety of motorists is the top priority for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the well-being of our responding DPS Troopers along the highways is also a prime concern for all of us here at the agency,” AZDPS Director Jeffrey Glover said. “When a driver is distracted, impaired or inattentive, it puts everyone at risk.”

From 2020-2022 in Arizona, at least five responders were struck and killed by vehicles. Additionally, hundreds of other collisions have resulted in injuries to DOT workers, law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, tow truck operators and others that respond to crashes.

In an effort to increase safety for responders, motorists will see traffic safety messages on overhead message boards that remind drivers of Arizona’s “Move Over” law.

Move Over” requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it’s not safe to change lanes – when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway. This includes passenger vehicles flashing hazard lights.

“One of the most significant hazards that our incident responders face is being hit by other vehicles passing by a crash. Whether motorists are driving on the freeway or a local road, it is critical to everyone’s safety that they observe the Move Over law,” said Jesse Gutierrez, MCDOT Director and County Engineer. “Together, we can keep motorists and our responders safe.”

Moving over one lane can save a life. On average, one tow truck operator is killed every six days in the U.S., according to national crash data.

In 2022 in Arizona, there were 119,991 vehicle collisions and crash responders placed themselves at risk of being struck-by or injured or killed while rendering assistance. The Arizona Department of Health Services is responsible for certifying Arizona’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers and knows it’s up to the community to ensure their safety while they’re on the job. ADHS Director Jennie Cunico wants to remind drivers they play an important part.

“As an Arizona motorist, you can ’protect those who protect you’ by changing lanes or slowing down when you see flashing lights up ahead,” Cunico said. “Driving while distracted, impaired, and under other conditions that impact responsible driving risks the safety of everyone on the road including our highway incident responders.”

Drivers can also protect responders by practicing “quick clearance,” which is a law in Arizona. “Quick clearance” calls for a driver involved in a minor crash without injuries to remove their vehicle from the roadway if it is operable and can be moved safely. “Quick Clearance” improves safety for these groups of people (Spoiler: it’s everyone):

  • Drivers and passengers involved in the non-injury collision can inspect their vehicles and exchange insurance information from the shoulder of a highway instead of dangerous travel lanes as cars whizz past.
  • Professionals responding to the incident, like law enforcement and tow truck operators, can do their jobs from the safety of the shoulder, instead of travel lanes.
  • With travel lanes open, the chance for a secondary collision involving other motorists is reduced. 

Remember, if you are involved in a crash, the first action to take is to make sure you and the occupants in your vehicle are OK. Then, if your vehicle is operable, move to the emergency shoulder, median or exit the highway and call 911. Stay out of travel lanes, be alert and watch approaching traffic. Never leave the scene of a crash.

ADHS also recommends Arizona’s 21,000 Emergency Medical Care Technicians (EMCTs) complete a free 4-hour Traffic Incident Management (TIM) course or registering for the November 16 Virtual TIM class that teaches first responders how to reduce their risks of being struck-by and injured or killed while assisting at highway incidents.

 

For incident responders, the roadside is the office, so ‘Move Over’ to keep them safe

For incident responders, the roadside is the office, so ‘Move Over’ to keep them safe

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For incident responders, the roadside is the office, so ‘Move Over’ to keep them safe

For incident responders, the roadside is the office, so ‘Move Over’ to keep them safe

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications
October 15, 2022

Imagine an officer worker sitting at a desk working on the side of the freeway while vehicles whiz by at 65 mph. Pretty dangerous, huh?

While the roadside isn’t the normal place for office workers, it is the regular work area for incident responders helping motorists. And driving by at 65 mph is just as dangerous for them as it would be for an office worker.

That’s why Arizona has a ‘Move Over’ law requiring motorists to move over one lane - or slow down if it isn’t safe to change lanes - when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway. This applies to any vehicle including tow trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars and maintenance vehicles, like ADOT’s Incident Response Unit trucks.

The purpose of this law is to keep these brave responders safe while they do their jobs. 

Saturday, Oct. 15, is National Move Over Day, but moving over should be a daily habit to help keep people safe.

On Saturday, the Arizona Professional Towing & Recovery Association will lead its annual parade of emergency response vehicles, including tow trucks, ambulances, law enforcement cruisers, ADOT Incident Response Unit trucks and more. At the same time, many overhead message boards statewide will display a traffic safety message that encourages drivers to “Move Over” when they see flashing lights.

Check out more at MoveOverAZ.org

ADOT, incident responders recognize National Move Over Day on Saturday, Oct. 15

ADOT, incident responders recognize National Move Over Day on Saturday, Oct. 15

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT, incident responders recognize National Move Over Day on Saturday, Oct. 15

ADOT, incident responders recognize National Move Over Day on Saturday, Oct. 15

October 14, 2022

PHOENIX – It’s time to remember to “Move Over,” Arizona, and look out for incident responders assisting motorists in need.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is partnering with incident responders statewide to increase awareness about Arizona’s “Move Over” law in recognition of National Move Over Day on Saturday, Oct. 15. The Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association has organized a number of events for Move Over Day, including a parade of tow trucks and other incident response vehicles.

ADOT will also place “Move Over” messages on overhead message boards.

Arizona’s “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane - or slow down if it isn’t safe to change lanes - when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway. This applies to any vehicle including tow trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars and maintenance vehicles, like ADOT’s Incident Response Unit trucks.

The law was amended in 2021 to increase the fine amount for the first and subsequent violations.

“There’s enough risk as is helping someone on the side of the road,” said David Blue, ADOT Traffic Incident Management/Incident Response Unit Manager. “While National Move Over Day comes once a year, every day is a good day to ‘Move Over’ and give us space to perform the service requested or required, so everyone can get home to their families that night.” 

For more information about “Move Over,” visit MoveOverAZ.org.

Move Over: It’s the law

Move Over: It’s the law

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Move Over: It’s the law

Move Over: It’s the law

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director
October 14, 2022

At the Arizona Department of Transportation, we have seen and felt the effects of motorists not moving over and paying attention when the situation arises on the road. We lost a valuable member of our Incident Response Unit in 2020, Frank Dorizio, who was struck and killed because of an inattentive driver. He is not the first to be injured or lose his life while working on or near our highways. Maintenance workers and crash responders have been hit, injured and killed by motorists too frequently. Families and lives are shattered as a result. This post is not just an exercise in words. As a reader, your attention to, and sharing of this message with others, may save someone from injury or death.

Move Over. Besides being the law in Arizona, it’s a simple gesture to provide a safe space for law enforcement, medical personnel, emergency responders and tow truck operators to render aid to motorists on the side of the road. By moving over, you are helping to save lives.

National Move Over Awareness Day is recognized on the third Saturday in the month of October. This year’s awareness day is Oct. 15. In Arizona, the Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association usually commemorates the day with their annual Move Over Awareness Day parade on one of our valley freeways. The event offers the opportunity to recognize the many tow truck operators who risk their lives every day to help motorists on our roads and streets.

Arizona's "Move Over" law applies to all vehicles with flashing lights pulled over on any freeway, multi-lane highway or city road or street. It aims to protect everyone who uses our roads and highways and everyone who works on or next to them. I want to remind all drivers to:

  • Keep an eye out for flashing lights and emergency vehicles
  • Slow down when you see first responder vehicles
  • Move over one lane as road conditions allow

When we all observe and obey Arizona’s Move Over law, we are meeting ADOT’s True North, Safely Home.

New year? Resolve to drive safer!

New year? Resolve to drive safer!

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New year? Resolve to drive safer!

New year? Resolve to drive safer!

By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications
January 17, 2022

So here we are, in early 2022, and you may have already blown off your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get more sleep and be more patient with your in-laws.

OK, you tried. A little. It’s not like it’s life or death or anything.

But ADOT wants to suggest a few resolutions that actually could save your life. With a little help from some of our past traffic safety messages, we urge you to adopt the following resolutions:  

Drive slower, live longer. Slow down. Did you know that speeding is the most common driver violation related to crashes and, historically, is a factor in about a third of all traffic fatalities each year? The faster you go, the less control you have over your vehicle and the less time you have to react to the other guy’s driving error. If not for yourself, then slow down for your loved ones.

Buckle up, buttercup. Wear seatbelts. This simple habit, so easy to acquire with just a little practice, is a proven life safer, often meaning the difference between life and death in a crash. So make it a practice to get in your car, put on your seatbelt, adjust your sunglasses and then start your car.

Designated drivers make the best dates. Don't drive drunk. Impaired driving is a leading factor in crash fatalities. If you know you're going to drink alcohol, designate a driver or make alternative plans to get home safely.

Phone down, eyes up. Don’t text and drive.  It’s against the law to text while driving. It doesn’t matter if you’re making up with a loved one or getting a job offer. None of it matters if you’re not around. 

Move Over when you see flashing lights. If you can do so safely, shift over one lane when you see responders assisting a vehicle on the shoulder of a highway. It's not only the law, but this gives them a safe place to work.  

Don’t dally after a minor crash. It’s the law. If you are in a fender bender with no injuries, the most crucial thing to remember is simple: Get out of the travel lanes. Once your car is safely out of harm's way you can wait for a tow truck or law enforcement to arrive.

Download the free ADOT Alerts and AZ511 apps. To get alerts about unexpected events on your route, and to check traffic conditions before you head out, you’ll want to download these apps here. They will save you time and headaches.

 

Freeway parade highlights importance of "Move Over" law

Freeway parade highlights importance of "Move Over" law

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Freeway parade highlights importance of "Move Over" law

Freeway parade highlights importance of "Move Over" law

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
October 15, 2021

On the morning of Saturday, Oct. 16, if your plans involve driving on the Loop 202 Red Mountain or Santan freeways, Interstate 10 through Phoenix and Tempe, or the Loop 101 Price Freeway, you might encounter a 100-plus vehicle parade of tow trucks and other incident response vehicles.

For the past several years, to mark National Move Over Day, the Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association has organized this parade, creating awareness and educating the public about the importance of Arizona’s “Move Over” law. Overhead message boards along the parade route and statewide will display a message encouraging motorists to “Move Over” when encountering parked vehicles with flashing lights on the side of the road.

The purpose of Arizona’s “Move Over” law is to keep incident responders, like tow truck operators, ADOT Incident Response Unit crewmembers, law enforcement and others, safe. Often, these responders are assisting stranded or injured motorists on highway shoulders. When drivers “Move Over” one lane, they’re providing the responders a safer environment to work in.

The next time you see a vehicle -- any vehicle, even a passenger car -- stopped on the shoulder with its lights flashing, “Move Over” one lane so the men and women responding to that incident have a safe place to work and can return home to their families at the end of the day.

ADOT, incident response stakeholders mark National Move Over Day on Oct. 16

ADOT, incident response stakeholders mark National Move Over Day on Oct. 16

I-17 101 traffic interchange

ADOT, incident response stakeholders mark National Move Over Day on Oct. 16

ADOT, incident response stakeholders mark National Move Over Day on Oct. 16

October 13, 2021

PHOENIX – “Move Over,” Arizona, and help create a safer work environment on the state’s highways for incident responders assisting motorists in need.

National Move Over Day is Saturday, Oct. 16, and the Arizona Department of Transportation is joining with incident response stakeholders statewide to increase awareness about Arizona’s “Move Over” law. These awareness efforts include placing “Move Over” messages on overhead message boards and the Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association has organized a number of events for Move Over Day, including a parade of more than 100 tow trucks and other incident response vehicles.

Arizona’s “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it isn’t safe to change lanes – when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway. This applies to any vehicle, even a regular passenger car, and also tow trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars and maintenance vehicles, like ADOT’s red-and-white Incident Response Unit trucks.

The “Move Over” law has been on the books since 2005, but was amended in 2021. Among the changes made by the state legislature were increasing the fine for a first violation and the addition of increased fines for subsequent violations.

While drivers who don’t give space to responders working on road shoulders may face penalties, the drivers who do “move over” are engaging in the priceless act of giving responders a safe place to do their jobs so they can return home to their families at the end of the day.

“Responding to an incident and working in or near a travel lane already has an elevated level of risk,” said David Blue, ADOT Traffic Incident Management/Incident Response Unit Manager. “When drivers don’t ‘Move Over’ and give us space to do our jobs, which often is helping a stranded or injured motorist, they’re actively putting our lives at risk, as well as their own because of the potential for a secondary crash.”

For more information about “Move Over,” visit MoveOverAZ.org.

Every day's a good day to remember to 'Move Over'

Every day's a good day to remember to 'Move Over'

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Every day's a good day to remember to 'Move Over'

Every day's a good day to remember to 'Move Over'

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
October 13, 2020

Officially, National “Mover Over” Day is Saturday, Oct. 17. But, really, every day is “Move Over” Day. Because every time you’re driving and see a vehicle stopped on the shoulder with its lights flashing is when you should “Move Over.” 

What is “Move Over?”

Arizona's “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it isn’t safe to change lanes – when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway. This applies to any vehicle, even a regular passenger car, and also tow trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars and maintenance trucks, like the ones used by ADOT’s Incident Response Unit.

The purpose of the “Move Over” law is to keep safe the people working on and near these vehicles. By moving over one lane, they’re getting a safer environment to work in.

On Saturday, the Arizona Professional Towing & Recovery Association will lead its annual parade of emergency response vehicles, including tow trucks, ambulances, law enforcement cruisers, ADOT Incident Response Unit trucks and more. At the same time, many overhead message boards statewide will display a traffic safety message that encourages drivers to “Move Over” when they see flashing lights.

'Move Over' effort ramps up in Northern Arizona

'Move Over' effort ramps up in Northern Arizona

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'Move Over' effort ramps up in Northern Arizona

'Move Over' effort ramps up in Northern Arizona

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
June 4, 2020

When the weather begins to warm across Northern Arizona in the spring, it’s a sprint to begin and complete temperature-sensitive pavement repairs and highway improvements before the colder temperatures of fall return.

With maintenance crews performing necessary roadwork throughout the summer, motorists should be prepared to slow down and make safe decisions when approaching work zones. To encourage safer work environments, from mid-May to Labor Day Weekend many overhead message boards across Northern Arizona will display a safety message that reminds motorists of the “Move Over” law.

Arizona’s “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it is not safe to change lanes – when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of the road.

“Move Over” matters. In March, ADOT Incident Response Unit team member Frank Dorizio was struck and killed when setting up signs for a pavement repair project on I-10 near Phoenix. When approaching work zones, drivers should be alert and paying attention to signage and vehicles around them -- rear-end collisions are the most common type of crash that occurs in work zones.

More information about Arizona’s “Move Over” law can be found on MoveOverAZ.org. More information about work zone safety is at FocusOnDriving.com.

‘Operation Dorizio’ results in 110 traffic stops for ‘Move Over’ violations

‘Operation Dorizio’ results in 110 traffic stops for ‘Move Over’ violations

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‘Operation Dorizio’ results in 110 traffic stops for ‘Move Over’ violations

‘Operation Dorizio’ results in 110 traffic stops for ‘Move Over’ violations

By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications
March 26, 2020

When Adnan Horman, a trooper with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, learned of the death of ADOT Incident Response Unit team member Frank Dorizio earlier this month in a work zone on I-10, he knew something had to be done to make the public more aware that their decisions – or indecisions – behind the wheel have real-life consequences.

Horman suggested a special enforcement detail that focused on distracted driving, hazardous violations and Arizona’s “Move Over” law, which requires drivers to move over one lane – or slow down if it’s not safe to change lanes – when driving by any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road.

“People have got to be aware of what’s going on around them,” Horman said. “Too many people are distracted or have tunnel vision.”

Horman was one of the 51 troopers who participated in “Operation Dorizio” on March 17 and 19. The 10-hour enforcement detail resulted in 110 stops for “Move Over” violations, including 89 citations. Additionally, troopers made 76 contacts with distracted drivers and issued 31 seat belt and five child restraint citations.

The “Move Over” law provides a safe place for everyone – not just first responders or road work crews – stopped on the side of a highway, from motorists fixing a flat tire to tow truck operators loading up a stalled vehicle.

We all play a role in making our highways safe. Follow the “Move Over” law. Slow down in work zones. Don’t drive distracted. Do it for Dorizio.