PHOENIX — Spot flashing lights on the shoulder? Change lanes or slow down. That’s the message the Arizona Department of Transportation is sending drivers ahead of National Move Over Day on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Arizona’s Move Over law requires motorists passing any vehicle stopped on the side of the road with flashing lights to move over one lane. If changing lanes isn’t safe, drivers must slow down. ADOT stresses that the law isn’t limited to police cars, fire trucks and ambulances — it also covers everyday passenger vehicles with their hazard lights on, such as a driver changing a flat tire.
ADOT says the law protects a wide range of people who work or end up stranded along the state’s highways, including first responders, tow truck operators, maintenance crews, stranded motorists and members of the agency’s Incident Response Unit, which is sponsored by GEICO.
“Our Incident Response Unit members put themselves at risk when they respond to crashes, broken down vehicles and more with the goal of restoring traffic flow as quickly and safely as possible after an incident has occurred,” Abraham Asermely, the unit’s program administrator, said in ADOT’s announcement. He added that when drivers slow down and move over, it keeps crews safer, helps them clear crashes more efficiently and protects the traveling public as well.
The risk is real. ADOT crash reports counted 66 possible crashes involving first responders or their vehicles on Arizona roads in 2025, according to the agency. Leaving an empty lane next to a stopped vehicle gives the people working outside it a buffer and lowers the chance of a secondary crash.
To spread the word, ADOT said it will post traffic safety messages about the Move Over law on its overhead highway message boards.
The bottom line for drivers this weekend and every day: when you see flashing lights on the roadside, give them room.
Source: Arizona Department of Transportation news release, Oct. 16, 2026. Images are frames from ADOT-provided B-roll of its Incident Response Unit.
