Ohio’s Move Over Law requires that drivers give extra space to vehicles displaying hazard lights, flares, or emergency signs on the roadway. Revisions to the law passed in 2025 impose harsher penalties on drivers who violate the law and creates a new vehicular assault offense for causing serious harm to another person as a result of violating the Move Over Law.

What Is Ohio’s Move Over Law?

Move Over Laws exist in all 50 states. Ohio’s Move Over Law is codified in R.C. §4511.213. It requires that drivers cautiously shift over one lane—or slow down changing lanes is impossible—when passing stationary vehicles on the side of the road with appropriate flashing lights displayed.

The original law took effect in 1999 and required that drivers move over to accommodate law enforcement officers, emergency responders, and tow-truck operators. It was expanded in 2013 to apply to other stationary vehicles displaying flashing lights, including public safety vehicles, road service vehicles, waste collection vehicles, vehicles used by the public utilities commission to conduct motor vehicle inspections, and highway safety maintenance vehicles.

What Are the Key Updates in the 2025 Version?

The 2025 revisions to Ohio’s Move Over Law impose harsher penalties for multiple violations and create new criminal offenses for drivers who injure or kill another person in violation of the Move Over Law.

Harsher Penalties for Repeated Violations of Ohio’s Move Over Law

A first time violation of Ohio’s Move Over law is a minor misdemeanor, punishable by a $300 fine. Drivers who violate the law multiple times within one year now face a $1,000 fine, plus possible jail time.

Increased Penalties for Vehicular Homicide Caused by Violating the Move Over Law

For violations of the Move Over Law that result in vehicular homicide, the fine increased from $750 to $10,000 if the offense is a second degree misdemeanor, and from $1,000 to $10,000 if the offense is a first degree misdemeanor. In addition to the increased fine, the new law imposes a mandatory minimum one-year driver’s license suspension, up from three months under prior versions of the law.

New Crime of Vehicular Assault Resulting from Violation of the Move Over Law

The 2025 revisions create a new category of vehicular assault for serious physical harm caused by a violation of the Move Over Law. A violation is a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by a $5,000 fine.

How to Safely “Move Over”

Many drivers mistakenly believe that drifting slightly within their lane is sufficient to comply with the Move Over Law. This is not the case. Here is what compliance with Ohio’s Move Over Law should look like:

• When safe to do so, change lanes completely into the next lane, leaving ample space for the stopped vehicle.
• If you cannot change lanes safely, stay as far to the side of your lane as possible and slow down to 10 to 20 mph below the posted speed limit when passing the stopped vehicle
• Anticipate the need to move over: signal early, check your mirrors and blind spots, and smoothly change lanes

Why Move Over Laws Matter

Move Over Laws in Ohio and across the country reduce collisions, protect roadside workers, and save lives. Nationwide, the statistics on roadside deaths are staggering:

• One tow-truck driver is killed in a roadside collision every six days
• Twenty-three highway workers and one law enforcement officer lose their lives to roadside accidents every month
• Five firefighters are killed in roadside accidents every year.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that more than 56 Ohio State Troopers have been struck and injured or killed since 2016. Between 2017 and 2021, the Ohio State Highway Patrol issued more than 26,000 citations for violating the Move Over Law.

Protecting Roadside Workers and Other Drivers

Law enforcement officers, EMTs, tow-truck operators, and roadside workers are at increased risk of being injured or killed on the side of the road. Yet every day, drivers speed through work zones, drive too close to tow-truck operators, or ignore lane restrictions.

Robenalt Law encourages drivers to remain vigilant for the presence of roadside workers and to comply with Ohio’s Move Over Law. When you see a stopped vehicle, be safe and move over to give them the room they need.

Contact Robenalt Law Today

With offices conveniently located in Cleveland and Columbus, Robenalt Law represents injured people and their families in personal injury claims throughout Ohio and nationwide.

Call our Cleveland office at (216) 223-7535 or our Columbus office at (614) 695-3800 or contact us online to schedule a free, confidential, no-obligation appointment to discuss your situation and how we can help.