All 50 states have a move over law. What it costs you to ignore one depends a lot on where you are. In Texas a first ticket is a misdemeanor with a $500 minimum fine. In California the fine tops out at $50.
We read the current statute in the seven states that come up most in Google's suggestions for this law: Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, New York, Florida and California. We also pulled the Emergency Responder Safety Institute's death counts, because the people this law protects most often are not police officers. In 2023 they were tow truck drivers. All sources were checked on October 29, 2026.
What a move over law asks you to do
The rule is close to the same everywhere. When you come up on a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck or road crew with lights flashing, move out of the lane next to it. If you can't do that safely, slow down.
States differ on how much slower. Texas and Florida put a number on it: 20 mph under the posted limit, or 5 mph when the limit is low. Pennsylvania also says 20 under. Georgia, New York, South Carolina and California use softer words like "due caution," a "reasonable and prudent speed," or a speed under the limit while being prepared to stop.
The bigger difference is what counts. Some states cover only official vehicles with lights. A growing number now cover any car stopped on the shoulder with its hazards on. That matters if you're the one parked there, waiting for a tow.
Move over law fines by state
Here is the first-offense penalty and what each law covers. Links go to the statute text.
| State | First-offense fine | Repeat offenses | Tow trucks covered? | Any stopped car covered? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $500 to $1,250 (misdemeanor) | $1,000 to $2,000 within 5 years | Yes | No |
| Pennsylvania | Up to $500 | Up to $1,000, then up to $2,000 | At emergency response areas | Yes, if marked with hazards, flares or signs |
| South Carolina | $300 to $500 | Same | Tow trucks responding to an incident | Yes, if hazards are on (since May 15, 2026) |
| Georgia | Up to $500 (police, fire, EMS) | Same | Yes, up to $250 | No |
| New York | Up to $150 | Up to $300, then $450, within 18 months | Yes | On parkways and controlled-access highways |
| Florida | $30 base penalty | Same | Yes, wreckers with amber lights | Yes, with hazards, flares or people visible |
| California | Up to $50 | Same | Yes, with amber lights | Yes, with hazards, cones or flares |
Sources: Tex. Transp. Code 545.157, 75 Pa.C.S. 3327, S.C. Code 56-5-1538, O.C.G.A. 40-6-16, N.Y. VTL 1144-a with the general penalty in VTL 1800, Fla. Stat. 316.126 and 318.18, Cal. Veh. Code 21809.
Source: State statutes listed above, checked Oct 29, 2026. Georgia shown for tow trucks; Florida is a fixed base penalty, not a maximum.
These are the fines written into state law. Some states add court costs and fees on top (Florida's penalty statute lists several), so the total on a real ticket can be higher.
Where it gets expensive: injuries and repeat tickets
The first-offense number is only the start in some states. In Texas, a violation that injures someone becomes a Class A misdemeanor. A second injury offense is a state jail felony, and a court can suspend a repeat offender's license for up to six months.
Pennsylvania stacks fines on top of the base ticket when someone gets hurt. Passing an emergency scene or disabled vehicle and causing bodily injury adds up to $1,000. Serious injury adds up to $5,000, and a death adds up to $10,000. PennDOT must also suspend the license for 90 days after a third conviction or a crash that seriously injures or kills someone. If the victim was a responder or someone at the disabled vehicle, that suspension runs six months for serious injury and a year for a death.
New York's law sets no fine of its own, so it falls under the state's general traffic-infraction penalty. That allows up to 15 days in jail on a first conviction, along with the fine.
Georgia charges less for passing a tow truck
Georgia's law, known as the Spencer Pass Law, has two tiers. Failing to move over for a stopped police car, fire truck or ambulance costs up to $500. Failing to move over for a stopped tow or recovery truck, highway maintenance truck or utility truck costs up to $250.
None of the other six states on our list sets a lower fine for tow trucks. In Texas, a stationary tow truck with its lights on carries the same $500 to $1,250 fine as a patrol car. California lists tow trucks in the same sentence as emergency vehicles. In South Carolina, a tow truck authorized to respond to a traffic incident counts as an "authorized emergency vehicle."
Who gets hit on the shoulder
The Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) keeps a running count of responders struck and killed by vehicles while working on or beside the road. Its yearly tallies show how often that person is a tow operator.
| Year | Tow operators killed | Police | Fire and EMS | All responders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 45 |
| 2024 | 12 | 26 | 3 | 46 |
| 2025 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 36 |
| 2026 (through Sept. 16) | 4 | 16 | 3 | 26 |
Source: ERSI struck-by-vehicle fatality reports for 2025 and 2026 to date; earlier years from ERSI's report archive. "All responders" also includes road service technicians and DOT and safety service patrol workers.
Source: Emergency Responder Safety Institute yearly struck-by-vehicle fatality reports; 2026 is through Sept. 16, 2026.
From 2023 through 2025, tow operators made up 43 of the 127 responders on ERSI's lists, about a third. In 2023 more tow operators died this way than police officers.
If you're the one stopped on the shoulder
The newer laws in South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and California protect you too, but only if other drivers can see you're stopped. Each one is tied to a signal. South Carolina's and California's need hazard lights, or in California cones or flares. Pennsylvania's covers a disabled vehicle marked with at least two of hazard lights, caution signs or flares. Florida's applies when hazards or flares are out, or when people are visibly present.
So turn your hazards on as soon as you stop, and keep them on until the tow truck has you loaded. While you wait, it helps to know what the tow itself may cost. Our guide to how much a tow company can charge lists the legal caps by state. If your car is ever hauled off a private lot instead, here's what makes a parking-lot tow legal in four states.
And when you're the one driving past, the rule is simple: if you see amber lights on the shoulder, move over a lane. In most of these states, that's what the law requires.
