Summer Driving In Florida
June 14, 2010 | in Rules of the Road: Driving Tips
It’s summer driving time again and most traffic laws are consistent across all the states. Speeding, running a red light or passing over a double yellow line are universally illegal. But each state also has its own laws. Florida is no exception.
The Florida “Move Over” law is a perfect example of a traffic law specific to Florida. I had never heard of it until the other day, but basically it means give the emergency vehicle or law enforcement officer room while they’re pulled off on the side of the road. When approaching an emergency vehicle with its lights flashing parked on the side of a multi-lane road, you MUST move over by changing lanes away from the emergency vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so. This is to help prevent crashing into the vehicle or any emergency workers doing their jobs. If you are unable to move over, or if you are on a single lane road, you must slow down to at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit.
If you are caught not moving over or slowing down, you will be issued a citation. You can petition to take a Florida traffic school course or online driver safety course but more importantly, by violating this law, you have put yourself and a public safety person at risk.
A Florida Traffic School Course might be taken as a refresher to the laws (and discounts for auto insurance), or by contacting the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.