HOUSTON — There are now stricter penalties in Texas if you don’t move over or slow down when there’s an emergency vehicle stopped on the road.
The tougher consequences come with one of the nearly 800 new laws that went into effect in Texas Friday.
The ‘Move over/Slow Down’ law requires that when drivers are coming up on a stopped emergency vehicle, that they either move over a lane or reduce their speed by 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.
If you violate, it’ll cost you. With the first offense, you could now be fined between $500 and $1,250. And if you hurt someone when you violate, it’s a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $400 fine.
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For any repeat offenses, the fine goes up to between $1,000 and $2,000. If you cause bodily injury while violating, that becomes a felony with up to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000.
Before the new law went into effect, violators faced a ticket with a fine of up to $200. If there was a crash that injured someone, that went to a fine of up to $2,000.
The 'Move Over, Slow Down' was put into place in 2003. It requires drivers to pull over and reduce their speed when emergency vehicles and tow trucks are on the side of the road.