Department of Safety
Dave Mitchell, Commissioner

You are here: Department of Safety > Laws & Policies > Move Over Law

Move Over Law

Awareness is the Best Prevention

Move Over, Save a Life: In memory of Trooper Todd Larkins

What is the Move Over Law?

The "Move Over Law" is a part of the "Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicles Law" and requires motorists to move over into the adjacent lane of traffic, when safe to do so, or alternatively to slow down for emergency vehicles.
Tennessee was the 30th state to establish a move over law which creates a safety zone to protect police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel.
Beginning July 1, 2006, penalties for violating the Move Over law in Tennessee increased from a maximum $50 fine to a $100 to $500 fine and possibly up to 30 days in jail.
T.C.A. 55-8-132. Operation of vehicles and streetcars on approach of authorized emergency vehicles.
The "Move Over" campaign was created to raise awareness of the move over law, and protect state troopers and others whose workplace is often the side of a busy highway.

Statistics

2006 Move Over Law Citation Statistics (PDF) (Excel)
2005 Move Over Law Citation Statistics (PDF) (Excel)
2004 Move Over Law Citation Statistics (PDF) (Excel)
According to FBI statistics, traffic crashes claim the lives of more police personnel than any other cause of death in the line of duty, including shootings. 13 of the 49 officers who were killed in traffic crashes last year were struck and killed by passing vehicles while they worked outside their patrol cars.
Four law enforcement personnel have died this year while working outside their patrol cars.
Between 1995 and 2004, 143 law enforcement officers across the country were struck and killed by vehicles.
Each year, more than 100 highway and street construction workers die because of vehicle crashes or equipment accidents on the job. Another 20,000 are injured in those incidents.
From 1992 through 2001, roadway crashes were the leading cause of occupational fatalities in the U.S., accounting for 13,337 civilian worker deaths (22% of all injury-related deaths).
If a pickup truck traveling 55 miles per hour strikes someone on the side of the road, the impact will carry the victim several hundred feet. The victim will most likely die from multiple injuries.

True Stories

Nothing is more moving than hearing first hand accounts from victims and the family of victims of workers who have experienced the dangers of violating the Move Over law. Read their stories here.