California’s ‘Slow Down, Move Over’ law has expanded. It used to protect only emergency vehicles on highways — but now includes Caltrans crews and regular drivers.
Starting this year, if you see any vehicle on the side of the highway with warning signals or hazards on, you either have to change lanes, moving away from it, or – if you can’t do that - slow down.
Mary Thorondson said she’s been doing that for years, as she feels it’s the best way to protect herself and others on the road.
“I slow down and try to go around them,” Thorondson said. “If it's safe and it's possible, I'll get into another lane. I break a couple of times so people behind me know that I'm going to be stopping.”
Caltrans spokesperson Kevin Drabinski said the “Slow Down or Move Over” expansion is a common-sense change that will make roadside work safer.
“Caltrans is out there alongside tow trucks, ambulances, CHP with their flashing lights on the side of the road,” Drabinski said. “So it makes perfect sense for motorists to slow down, move over if safe when they see flashing lights on a Caltrans vehicle.”
According to a 2023 Caltrans report, traffic incidents are the leading cause of death for maintenance workers. The report states that in 2021, there were 120 fatalities from work-zone crashes.
“There is a certain amount of risk for maintenance and construction crews who are out there on the shoulder or in the center median of highways with traffic going by,” Drabinski said. “That's just inherent in the job. We take the safety of our crews, you know, it's nothing is more important than that.”
The report also states that as of 2021, only 1/3 of drivers nationally were aware of the move-over laws in each state.
Drabinski said it’s up to local law enforcement and Caltrans to inform the public of the law itself and its expansion. If drivers don’t slow down or move over, they can face a $50 fine.
Thorondson said she isn’t sure if everyone will follow it at first.
“Well, it depends,” Thorondson said. “You have a choice. Everybody has a choice and if you want to be a safe driver and extend that to the, you know, love your neighbor as you do yourself, then you need to slow down.”
