The Texas Department of Public Safety has announced that state troopers will be strictly enforcing the state’s “Move Over/Slow Down” law through the Thanksgiving weekend. According to DPS, violators are being targeted specifically in the Jasper and Lufkin areas, along with the areas in and around Houston, Bryan, Rosenberg, Conroe, Liberty, Cleveland, Huntsville, Beaumont, Matagorda, and Columbus. DPS says enforcement began on Wednesday and will continue through the weekend. According to DPS, “The law, originally passed in 2003, requires motorists to move over or slow down when certain vehicles – including police, fire, EMS, Texas Department of Transportation vehicles and tow trucks – are stopped on the side of the road with emergency lights activated”. Specifically, Texas law states that a driver must either:
~ Vacate the lane closest to the applicable vehicles stopped on the side of the road (if the road has multiple lanes traveling in the same direction), or
~ Slow down to 20 mph below the speed limit. (If the speed limit is below 25 mph, the driver must slow down to 5 mph)
Troopers pointed out that drivers “should only move over if they can do so safely and legally; otherwise, they should slow down”.