BISMARCK — Highway drivers in North Dakota will soon be required to shift over a lane or slow down when they see any kind of vehicle sitting in the shoulder with its flashers on.
State law dictates that drivers on interstates and multi-lane highways must move over a lane or slow down for police cars, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, but legislators recently passed House Bill 1141, which would expand the so-called "slow down, move over" law to all disabled vehicles on the side of the road.
Gov. Doug Burgum last week signed the legislation sponsored by Rep. Austen Schauer, R-West Fargo. When the new law takes effect in August, drivers will face a $20 fine if they are caught failing to move over or slow down for a disabled vehicle on a North Dakota highway.
First responders and other road safety advocates promoted the bill, saying North Dakota's laws to protect people on the side of highways could be stronger.
In a AAA survey of North Dakota drivers conducted last year, more than a third of respondents were unsure or thought there was no move over law in the state, said AAA lobbyist Gene LaDoucer.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lawmakers heard testimony earlier this year from Joshua Edwards, a Killdeer paramedic who was struck by a passing pickup truck in 2021 while trying to help an injured victim of a vehicle rollover. Edwards said he recovered from the injury and returned to work, but the psychological trauma inflicted by the collision will stay with him for life.
"I believe that our current 'Slow Down, Move Over' law statute does not clearly state expectations and should include personal vehicles and penalties," Edwards said in January.
The Trust Project
