Move Over or Slow Down
Oregon passed its first Move Over law
ORS 811.147 in 2010 requiring drivers to move over a land or slow down five miles below the speed limit for an emergency vehicle, a roadside assistance vehicle, a tow vehicle or ambulance, when it is displaying warning lights.
In 2017, it was changed to include any vehicle stopped displaying hazard lights.
Protect and help the people who protect and help you
Nationally, approximately 24 first responders lose their lives on interstate highway shoulders every year conducting their duties. ODOT has secured funding in 2023 for education and outreach on the Oregon Move Over Law, ORS 811.147. According to AAA, an estimated 12% of interstate traffic fatalities are the result of shoulder crashes or 600 deaths a year.
From 2016-2020 Oregon experienced 207 crashes involving vehicles parked off-road. These crashes resulted in 7 fatalities, 13 serious injuries, and 164 moderate and minor injuries. One hundred crashes were property damage only. Fifty (47%) of those crashes involved heavy/medium trucks.
Here in Oregon, from 2015 to 2020, there were 2,774 crashes that occurred in work zones, 25 of which were fatal and 114 resulted in serious injuries. From 2015 to 2021, ODOT vehicles were hit 50 times by the traveling public.
It's the Law
(1)
ORS 811.147 – Failure to maintain a safe distance from a motor vehicle – A person operating a motor vehicle commits the offense of failure to maintain a safe distance from a motor vehicle if the person approaches a motor vehicle that is stopped and is displaying required warning lights or hazard lights, or a person is indicating distress by using emergency flares of posting emergency signs, and the person operating the motor vehicle:
(a) On a highway having two or more lanes for traffic in a single direction, fails to:
(A) Make a lane change to a lane not adjacent to that of the stopped motor vehicle
(2) A person is not in violation of the offense described I this section if the stopped motor vehicle is in a designated parking area.
(3) The offense described in this section, failure to maintain a safe distance from a motor vehicle is a Class B traffic violation. [2003 c.42 §2; 2009 c.198 §1; 2010 c.30 §17; 2017 c.305
