Georgia Move Over law

Dunno how many people have heard about this. This is a law that was passed during the middle of April. Basically, if you see a cop on the side of the road writing someone a ticket, you CAN NOT be in the lane closest to them. So if theyre pulled over on the right side of the highway you have to merge at least one lane left.

My roommates little brother just got his permit like 5 days after this law was passed, and almost no one knew about it. So he was driving and saw a cop pulled over on the side of the road but he just stayed in the far right lane. 20-30 ft after he passed the cop, a motorcycle cop pulled him over too.

And its a minimum of $500 fine! Just getting the word out

http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/moveoverlaw.html

 

yeah i knew about this but i ve always thought it was a rumor.

i guess too many cop haters are running them over when the try to make money.... i mean give tickets.

 

This was actually passed as much for the LE guys/gals as the DOT/EMS guys and gals. There was actually already a law on the books, but it wasn't very well known (obviously...) and this one is clearer...

 

i think this is a great idea. i remember hearing about this around the begining of the year before i moved. glad to see it passed. driving my big ole truck on the highway i always move into the middle lane or slow down if someone is on the side of the road.

 

doesn't bother me, I am always in the fast lane~

 

LOL yeah me too but sometimes there are ars pulled over in the fast lane.

 

IIRC the recent passing was for a revision and a plan to increase public awareness...... the law itself has been around for a couple of years now..... if you can imagine standing on the side of the interstate 10' from traffic flying by at 70-80mph, you can understand the value of a law like this....

 

you can still just slow down in the lane you're in

 

Correct. You would need to do one of the two things-merge into the lane next to you or slow down to... I beleave 35mph. Crazy? I know, will it cause traffic? most definitely. Just one more thing to be pulled over for.

 

???

I think everyone that did not even think about slowing down and get over when they saw FLASHING lights prior to all the noise about this should use this as a common sense lesson...or not so common sense lesson!!!
:bowdown: :wavey:

 

The law is very much needed. But, I feel a $500 fine is absurd. I don't believe a speeding ticket at 120mph would cost that much.

 

Apparently one of my friend's friends got a $1600 for going 90 in a 65 but I don't know the full details of the story. He drives a REALLY fast m3.

 

The law doesn't specify a specific speed, it says something to the effect of slowing down so that the driver can come to a complete stop quickly, if needed......

It's steep, but I think the thought process is that because a violation of this law creates an immediate danger to both the public safety worker and the citizens that are out with them. I think I'd read somewhere that in 2003 or 2004, 50+ DOT workers around the state were killed on the job as a result of being struck by vehicles. A Lilburn officer was struck and seriously injured very recently by a driver that wasn't paying attention while the officer was on a traffic stop. Perhaps the courts believe that by issuing such a hefty fine people will pay it more attention......

 

Every trucker on the road does it too, especially if it's another big truck. Actually I've seen them get over for some schmuch in an RV that was just taking a break or something and well off the road.

It really is just a courtesy thing. Honestly I've known about this for a while, but that's because I'm a LEO one or two months a year and the law is getting more and more common in the different states.

Here's a huge frikin article that you can scan through if you're curious about this stuff. S. Dakota started thier move over law in 2003 BTW.

http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=6&id=32426

 

Now we just need a law like this to help protect the cyclists that ride on the roads. Trying riding your road bike and having SUVs flying by inches away from you... Needless to say I have had a few friends hit and car vs human is not a pretty picture.

 

Yeah it's been around for at least a year and a half. I had a friend that got pulled over because of it a couple of falls ago, and she ended up with a $500 tickethnoes:

 

+1 my old man was a cop and my cousin is a cop... i couldn't imagine getting a phone call because he tripped or was pushed into traffic by a car door or something.

btw, do i have to change lanes to go around a a bicycle rider? not a cop just a bike rider. the reason i ask is because some crazy fuck thought it was a good idea to ride in full sponsor regalia in duluth AM rush hour.

 

Yeah those are the idiot cyclists. ^^ To be riding during rush hour is just crazy !!

I read some where in GA that cyclists suppose to stay to the right of the road which is stupid in my opinion. Should be more like TX where cyclists are able to control the entire lane they are in.

I dont think u nee to change lanes but give them some room in case they swerve or so. I cant stand the ones that dont move over and still try to pass cyclists with on coming traffic in the other lane. I cant see that 3 secs making the difference for the person in the car getting some where on time.

 

+1 I've been doing this for years before the law was ever passed. It is a common courtesy and more importantly it is safer for anyone in the shoulder. If you cannot change lanes due to other traffic, then slow down. No brainer.

Amen brother.

In the state of Georgia, bicycle's are considered vehicles and are subject to all laws of the road - yes, a cyclist can be ticketed for blowing stop signs, reckless driving, speeding naughty, etc.( http://www.georgiabikes.org/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/GBLEPG 052306.pdf - see page 5 "Legal status of cyclist.")

A cyclist should keep as far to the right of the lane as possible, DOT says 18-24 inches of clearance from curb. They also recommend a 3 foot minimum passing clearance between an motor vehicle and a bicycle (someone should plaster that to some signs around here...grrr).

Monk, in the situation you mentioned, the cyclist has every right to be in traffic regardless of rush hour or not. Now, would I ride in rush hour traffic...umm, definitely not. The cyclist doesn't have to get out of your way. If you want to overtake him, you would pass him as if he was a car. If there isn't enough room to pass him in the lane you are in, you should change lanes. Now if he was doing crazy things, which is likely, shame on him and get his license plate.

 

[40-6-294]

Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the
roadway as practicable ​

​

​

except

• when turning left
• avoiding hazards to safe cycling
• when the lane is too narrow to share safely with
a motor vehicle [§40-6-294 (a)].​

...

Moving to the left or even taking the center of the lanes is legal in the abovementioned circumstances.​

Staying to the right is not always required and not always the safest place to be.


[/threadjack]

Sorry, no more cycling speak from me.
​

 

i know he has every right to be there, but doing that in rush hour on satellite blvd. is just like painting "hey everyone i'm a selfish asshole" on your back. traffic was completely screwed up for a long ways behind him.

i know ga's bike lanes (or the complete lack thereof) are a joke, but this guy needs to use some common sense.

are you being serious about the lic. plate or joking? there was no plate on there. but there should be if he's bound by traffic law.

 

I think crazy is a better way to describe said cyclist. You wouldn't catche me on most GA roads during rush hour.

+1

I was totally kidding.

 

Clay what bout that pink pair of spandex shorts you wear?

I believe what is written on the back in rhine stones could be a plate, eh?

Whats it say? Daddy's Boy

 

I was stopped on 985 about an month ago for this. There was cop in median with light on looked like he was coming out, I pulled over in slow lane but there was another cop that had somone stopped on right hand side. I got pulled over for merging away from cop pulling out towared cop already had car stopped. I only got warning because guy that stopped me owned STI as well. I had no idea about this new law but they are serious about this for sure.

 

They are "cherry blossom red" spandex, get it right...geez.

:rofl:

 

<Theme from Brokeback Mountain in the background>

 

i got a ticket for 101 in a 70 and my fine was $735 plus another $50 b/c at first i plead not guilty so i had to pay the extra b/c i was later found guilty

 

Dang, nevermind then. I figured it couldn't be that high, but I guess it is. I hope never to find out for myself.

 

^^ ouch.