Springfield, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The Illinois State Police (ISP) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are warning drivers to Move Over or Get Pulled Over. The Move Over Law, known as Scott’s Law in Illinois, requires drivers to move over and slow down when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle with its emergency lights activated. If changing lanes is unsafe or impossible, drivers must slow down to a safe speed, proceed with caution, and be prepared to stop if necessary.
“We’ve all heard it, move over and slow down for emergency vehicles on the side of the road with their emergency lights activated,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Despite this, we continue to see to crashes, including deadly crashes, because someone refused to move over and slow down. To help end this reckless behavior, we want the public to know that if you fail to move over and slow down in Illinois, you will get a ticket. The days of receiving a warning are over. Move over or get pulled over.”
The Move Over Law not only applies to law enforcement vehicles, but ambulances, fire vehicles, IDOT Emergency Traffic Patrol vehicles, tow trucks, and other authorized emergency vehicles as defined under the Illinois Vehicle Code. However, ISP and IDOT urge drivers to move over and slow down for any vehicle with flashing lights stopped on the side of the road.
“The main goal of the Move Over Law is to eliminate preventable crashes, injuries and deaths,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi. “But the easiest way is to please slow down and give plenty of extra distance to people and vehicles on the side of the road. With your help, we can make our highways and streets safer for everyone.”
When seatbelt laws first took effect in the 1980s, adoption of this life saving practice was slow. To increase compliance with the law and reduce the number of unnecessary traffic deaths, law enforcement began issuing citations, not warnings, when there was sufficient evidence seatbelts were not being used. Today, seatbelt use is commonplace, in large part because of the strict enforcement of seatbelt laws, and many lives have been saved. ISP and IDOT are looking to make the automatic response to move over and slow down for an emergency vehicle as commonplace as wearing a seatbelt.
To provide advanced notice that a driver needs to move over and slow down because of an emergency vehicle stopped on the road ahead, ISP partnered with Google Public Sector and HAAS Alert to provide a warning to drivers through apps like Waze and Google Maps, as well as through certain vehicle onboard infotainment systems, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, RAM, and Volkswagen.
The fine for a Move Over Law violation is between $250-$10,000. If the violation results in the injury or death of another person, it’s a felony and driving privileges could be suspended up to two years.
Already in 2025, ISP has suffered five move over crashes resulting in four troopers injured. Since the beginning of 2019, ISP has suffered 71 Move Over Law injury crashes, including three troopers killed. There were hundreds more Move Over Law crashes over those years involving fire and IDOT vehicles, ambulances, tow trucks, and others.
The Move Over Law is named Scott’s Law in Illinois in remembrance of Lieutenant Scott Gillen of the Chicago Fire Department. Gillen was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver while assisting at a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
More information about Illinois’ Scott’s Law can be found on the ISP website, as well as a Scott’s Law dashboard that includes information and data about ISP crashes.
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