SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota’s new Move Over law is expanding at the start of the month to enhance safety for more personnel working on highway shoulders.
For over twenty years, South Dakotans were told to move over for emergency vehicles, and now, starting in July, this will include all vehicles, adding those with flashing blue, yellow, or amber lights.
On multi-lane highways, drivers are expected to move over to the furthest lane from the stopped vehicle. In cases of two-lane roads, drivers are required to slow down at least 300 feet in advance and reduce their speed to twenty miles under the speed limit.
“We’ll have operations where we go out and specifically target Move Over law violations and educate people why it’s so important to move over. The main thing here is people need to look past their vehicle, looking down at the road at possible hazards ahead of them,” Sgt. Kristoff DeKramer said.
These efforts not only improve the work environment for roadside employees but also keep all parties involved safer by lowering the chances of a crash.
“Out on the interstate, if they’re working on there, the traffic is going eighty miles an hour or more, and if they’re driving along the lane that’s adjacent to the shoulder, that’s awfully close. We’re talking about the safety not just of those working out there but for the drivers as well,” Craig Smith, South Dakota Department of Transportation Director of Operations said.
Violating the law could result in a class two misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $270. If the violation results in a crash, the offense becomes a class one misdemeanor.
Both the Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol want to remind South Dakotans that the roads are the offices for these workers and to make sure that they get home safe.
