'Move Over' or pay up, police warn

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Expect to get pulled over if you don't move over or slow down your vehicle when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road.

That's because Austin Police Department is joining forces with numerous Central Texas law enforcement for the "Move Over" initiative.

The "Move Over Law" has been around since 2003, but now officers are making more efforts to enforce it. They say not enough people know the law, and too many are choosing to ignore it.

APD will concentrate the two-week effort along the Interstate Highway 35 corridor.

In the last year, 11 law enforcement officers in Texas died from being hit while pulled over on the side of the road.

The Move Over Law requires drivers to move over a lane or slow down to 20 miles per hour under the posted limit when there's an emergency vehicle, with lights on, on the side of the road.

Starting Monday, APD officers will work in teams of two. One pulls a driver over. The other clocks speeds of passing drivers.

A similar initiative last year during two weeks in July resulted in 145 warning and 147 tickets.

APD has always enforced this law, but until now, it wasn't a coordinated effort.

Law enforcement agencies from Georgetown to San Antonio are taking part in the two-week initiative.

The cost of violating the "Move Over Law" is and expensive one: a ticket is $200. But for police, the cost of not enforcing this law is much worse.