New York's Move Over Act sounds simple — move over for stopped emergency vehicles — but the statute, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1144-a, covers more vehicles and situations than most drivers realize, carries real penalties, and has its own body of case law on what "due care" actually requires.

Why New York Passed This Law

Section 1144-a was added to the Vehicle and Traffic Law in 2010 and took effect January 1, 2011. It's formally known as the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act, named for two officers killed while working on the shoulder of a highway.

New York State Trooper Robert Ambrose was fatally injured on December 23, 2002, during a routine traffic stop on the New York State Thruway in Yonkers, when an intoxicated driver going more than 80 mph rear-ended his patrol car. Onondaga County Deputy Sheriff Glenn M. Searles died on November 29, 2003, while assisting a stranded motorist off the highway, after a second vehicle lost control and struck him. The law honors their memory and that of others who have lost their lives serving the public on New York's highways.

Who You Have to Move Over For

The statute has been amended several times since 2010 to widen its reach. Effective July 31, 2013, § 1144-a(a) was expanded to cover vehicles displaying blue or white lights, or combinations of red, white, and blue, in addition to the original red and red-and-white lights. Effective March 27, 2024, the move-over obligation was extended further still, to cover any disabled vehicle stopped on a parkway or controlled-access highway — not just emergency or hazard vehicles.

As it stands today, § 1144-a covers four separate categories of stopped or standing vehicles on a highway shoulder:

• Authorized emergency vehicles displaying red, white, or blue emergency lights — ambulances, police vehicles, fire vehicles, and similar personnel defined under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 101.
• Hazard vehicles displaying amber lights — including tow trucks assisting disabled vehicles and state or municipal vehicles removing ice and snow.
• Vehicles displaying a blue or green light, categories added as the statute has been amended over time.
• Any other motor vehicle parked, stopped, or standing on the shoulder of a parkway or controlled-access highway — even without any lights at all.

That last category is easy to miss: on a parkway or controlled-access highway, the duty to move over now applies to essentially any vehicle stopped on the shoulder, not just emergency or hazard vehicles.

Two Separate Duties, Not One

The Move Over Act's move-over requirement works alongside a related but distinct rule. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1180(e) separately requires drivers approaching a stopped emergency vehicle to reduce their speed. Courts have made clear these are two different obligations — meeting one doesn't satisfy the other.

In practice, that means a driver has to do both: slow down, and change lanes if it can be done safely.

The Standard Courts Actually Apply

Whether a lane change was "safe" isn't judged by what the driver believed in the moment. New York courts apply an objective standard — what a reasonably prudent driver would have concluded, given the actual traffic conditions.

What a Move Over Act Conviction Costs

Penalties escalate quickly for repeat violations within 18 months, on top of a mandatory state surcharge and points on your license:

Every conviction, at any tier, also carries a state surcharge of $93 in town and village courts or $88 elsewhere, plus three points on your driving record under the New York State Driver Point System. Because points accumulate over time, several convictions in a short window can trigger a DMV hearing as a problem driver — separate from, and in addition to, the fines and jail exposure above.