Right-of-way and intersections
On an ordinary two-lane local road, you come up on a tow truck stopped on the shoulder with its amber hazard lights flashing. What does the Move Over Law require of you here?
- Reduce your speed and take care to avoid hitting it. Correct answer
- Nothing, because the law applies only on parkways and interstates.
- Nothing, because a tow truck is not an emergency vehicle.
Why
The Move Over Law protects authorized emergency vehicles and hazard vehicles stopped on the shoulder or on any part of the highway with their emergency lights, amber hazard lights, or amber and blue lights on. Tow trucks and snow plows are examples of hazard vehicles with amber lights. The law has two levels. On all roads, you must reduce speed and take care not to hit the vehicle. On parkways, interstates and other controlled access roads with more than one lane, you must also move out of the lane next to it unless traffic or another hazard makes that unsafe. So on a local road like this one, the manual asks you to slow down and take care, and doing nothing is never an option. Violating the law counts as a moving violation.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is Reduce your speed and take care to avoid hitting it.
More on right-of-way and intersections
- On a multi-lane parkway, a private car with a flat tire is stopped on the shoulder. It has no emergency or hazard-vehicle lights. What does the Move Over Law ask of you?
- A private car behind you shows a flashing green light. The driver is a volunteer ambulance member. What is true about this vehicle?
- You reach the yield line of a roundabout and cars are already circling inside it. Who has the right-of-way?
- You are approaching a roundabout that has two entry lanes. When and how should you choose your lane?