Under current Maryland law, drivers who see an emergency vehicle with flashing lights on the side of the road are required to slow down or move one lane over, if possible, to afford more room to those emergency workers. The goal of the law is to provide conditions that are as safe as possible for first responders. A new law that is being proposed would expand those “move over” protections to nearly all service vehicles, including mowers and trash trucks.
At a hearing on the proposed legislation, lawmakers heard testimony from other state employees whose jobs regularly put them in close proximity to traffic, who testified to regular close calls as well as serious injuries to co-workers due to the poor decisions of drivers.
“A driver that fails to observe the ‘move over’ law in Maryland faces the possibility of fines and points on their license,” said Oleg Fastovsky, a Baltimore Traffic Crimes attorney with the law firm of Price Benowitz, LLP. If the law is expanded, drivers will have to make themselves aware of all of the covered organizations and workers to ensure that they do not unnecessarily expose themselves to punishment and fines.
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