By Mr. Timilty, a petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 2103) of James E. Timilty, David P. Linsky,
Bruce E. Tarr, John F. Quinn and other members of the
General Court for legislation relative to operating a
motor vehicle when approaching stationary emergency
vehicles. Transportation. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. This act shall be referred to and may be cited as “The Move-Over Act”.
SECTION 2. Chapter 89 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following new subsection after Section 7B.
Section 7C.
(a) For the purpose of this section unless the context otherwise requires the following terms shall have the following meanings:
"Highway maintenance vehicle" means a vehicle used for the maintenance of highways and roadways in this state and is:
(1) Owned or operated by the department of transportation, a county, a municipality or other political subdivision of this state; or,
(2) Owned or operated by a contractor under contract with the department of transportation, a county, a municipality or other political subdivision of this state;
"Recovery vehicle" means a truck that is specifically designed for towing a disabled vehicle or a combination of vehicles.
(b) Upon approaching any stationary fire apparatus, police vehicle, ambulance, disaster vehicle or any other authorized emergency vehicle, when such vehicle is giving a signal by use of flashing lights, a person who drives an approaching vehicle shall:
(1) Proceeding with due caution, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to that of the authorized emergency vehicle, if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions, if on a highway having at least four lanes with not less than two lanes proceeding in the same direction as the approaching vehicle; or
(2) Proceeding with due caution, reduce the speed of the vehicle, maintaining a safe speed for road conditions, if changing lanes would be impossible or unsafe.
(c) Upon approaching a stationary recovery vehicle or a highway maintenance vehicle, when such vehicle is giving a signal by use of authorized flashing lights, a person who drives an approaching vehicle shall:
(1) Proceeding with due caution, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the stationary recovery vehicle or the highway maintenance vehicle, if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions, if on a highway having at least four lanes with not less than two lanes proceeding in the same direction as the approaching vehicle; or
(2) Proceeding with due caution, reduce the speed of the vehicle, maintaining a safe speed for road conditions, if changing lanes would be impossible or unsafe.
(d) Violation of any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars
(e) The secretary of public safety shall direct the governor's highway safety bureau to conduct an extensive public information and education program throughout the Commonwealth to make motorists aware of this act.
