Maryland’s ‘Move Over’ law will soon include all vehicles

Annapolis, MD — Maryland’s “move over” law, which currently applies only to emergency or service vehicles, has been expanded to include any vehicle on the side of the highway.

Signed into law May 16 by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and set to go into effect Oct. 1, S.B. 147 requires drivers to, when possible, move into a lane not immediately adjacent to the vehicle or slow down when “approaching from the rear a stopped, standing or parked vehicle” displaying hazard warning lights, or when road flares or other caution signals (examples: traffic cones, caution signs or non-vehicular warning lights) are present.

“We all know how dangerous it can be on the side of the road with our flashers on,” bill co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Silver Spring) said during a January hearing of Maryland’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. “And culturally, it’s important that we start to advise our fellow constituents and fellow Marylanders that the appropriate response is to move over, to make space, to make sure people feel safe on the side of the road when they’re under difficult circumstances.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, all 50 U.S. states have some form of move-over law.