Moving Over For Stopped Vehicles
Veh. & Traf. Law § 1144-a — due care around stopped emergency and hazard vehicles, and on a parkway or expressway a lane change
Due care. A driver exercises due care to avoid colliding with an authorized emergency vehicle stopped on the shoulder or the road and showing red, red and white, or blue lights, and with a hazard vehicle, a tow truck or a snow plow among them, showing its amber, blue or green lights.
A lane change on parkways and expressways. On a parkway or a controlled access highway, that due care includes moving out of the lane that holds or adjoins the shoulder where the vehicle is stopped, when the move is otherwise lawful.
On parkways and controlled access highways the duty also covers any motor vehicle stopped on the shoulder or in the road, not only emergency and hazard vehicles.
The speed section adds an appropriate reduced speed when approaching and passing an emergency vehicle stopped with its lights on, or a hazard vehicle on the shoulder showing amber lights.
Sources for this section (2)
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1144-a — Operation of vehicles when approaching a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehicle, hazard vehicle, or certain other motor vehicles
- Veh. & Traf. Law § 1180 — Basic rule and maximum limits
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.