I know you guys are TX banking experts, but I wonder if you have an opinion about whether this is true? (it was forwarded to me from someone I don't know)

Let my misfortune be a lesson for you. This is a long story, but a must read. This really happened to me yesterday (12/10/03). Yesterday, I was driving into town along the Southwest Freeway around 12:30 PM. I was in the far left lane doing the posted speed limit of 65 and going with the flow of traffic. When I got over the Bissonnett/Braeswood overpass, there was an HPD squad car parked on the left shoulder with the officer standing out in front of his vehicle pointing his radar gun at oncoming cars. Your inclination automatically tells you to slow down, whether you were speeding or not. Not a 1/2 mile down the freeway, there was another HPD officer that had someone pulled over on the left shoulder giving the person a ticket. I thought, man this was an obvious speed trap and kept on going. I had slowed down to around 60 at that point as now the posted speed limit was 60.
About a mile up the road, around Gessner, another HPD officer had someone else pulled over to give them a ticket and literally in front of that traffic stop was another HPD officer (yes we are up to 4 cop cars now in about a mile) walking around to the front of his car. Just as I was approaching him, he pointed his radar gun at me and signaled for me to pull over. I was shocked, because I know that I was going the posted speed limit (60) as I immediately looked at my speedometer.
The officer came to my window and said "do you know how fast you were going?" I said yes, I was going 60. He said "you were doing 58" and he showed me his radar gun, which read 58. I said okay. He said "you failed to slow your speed down by 20 MPH or move over to the adjacent lane when an emergency vehicle was stopped in the flow of traffic." I said, I did not know that was a law (of course that is never a defense) and he said it was and asked for my license. The officer wrote me a ticket that carries a $200 maximum fine for this infraction.
Come to find out, this is a new state law as of September 1, 2003 (must slow to a speed not more than 20 miles per hour of the posted speed limit if there is an emergency vehicle in one of the lanes).

The part about moving over one lane is true in Michigan. This stems from people rear-ending police vehicles at high rates of speed on highways, unfortunately resulting in the deaths of state troopers.

Yes, this is now the law in Texas, as well as here in GA. When emergency lights are in use on emergency vehicles (police, DOT, ambulance, etc.) the driver must slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit and if possible, safely move at least one lane over. Probably a pretty good law really, especially for traffic in Atlanta.

I'm not sure what the actual law is in Oklahoma, but as long as I have known, we pull off to the side and stop.

It's a new law in Illinois this year. We also have a new law that states something like if you are 18 yrs old or younger, you can only have one other person in your car that is 18 or younger - trying to discourage groups of kids from cruising in one car.

In Minnesota and North Dakota I haven't heard of slowing down like described but if one is coming up behind you you have to pull over and stop until it passes.

We have a similar law in Kansas. Although I am not certain what the fine is.

The fine for this on Ft. Sill is greater than the fine for open container....go figure.

SuperDave--I don't like that law about more than one kid under 18. That would've wrecked me in high school. Not for the cruising thing, but in general.

Same in Iowa. Put yourself in the position of the trouper.

HWY Patrol stops are one of the most likely to encounter an armed confrontation.

Lots of people in Texas tint their windows. (UNT grad here)

They should not have to worry about being hit by trafic and worry about being shot.

I am sorry you did not know about the law.

I did not know that one, but you also, as of Sep 1, can't have any of your license plate hidden. So, if you have those silly license frames the dealer gave you and it covers any part of any letter or number, take it off.

As far as moving over--I always move over and always have when a car is parked on the shoulder. I started doing this shortly after beginning the practice of law. I was in the library doing some research and came across a book with an entire chapter on accidents that happen while parked on the side of the road. It was gruesome--with pictures and everything. People smashed between cars, killed by their car doors while standing with it open, people thrown hundreds of feet, people shocked by their battery and thrown into traffic. Awful stuff!

I don't get it... Is stopped on the shoulder the same as stopped in the flow of traffic? I'm sure the highway patrol have the right of it here, but something sounds fishy to me! And did he have his flashing emergency lights on? What if you took the time and energy to go to court? Would you win, or would the police? Just curious...

Diane,
What is "fishy" about a patrol car with flashing lights on the side of the road? The original poster did say that their flashing lights were on. As many of the posters have said, there are many gruesome accidents caused by cars hitting cars that were pulled off the road. Don't you think that it is worth while to move over one lane in order to avoid an accident? How about if that cop was your husband, father, son?

I guess Florida joined the crowd for the same law. Move over and slow down!

The week the legislature was discussing the law, two state troopers were killed when drivers rear-ended their vehicles while they were assisting motorists.

Yes. Texas Transportation Code 502.409 Altered or Obscured License Plate is one issue in this thread, Texas Transportation Code 545.157 Passing Authorized Emergency Vehicle is the original. And yes I have heard of many PDs testing the tint on windows with a meter.

I don't feel I owe a higher standard of care to emergency vehicles than I do to the average Joe who is pulled over on the berm. I move to the left lane whether its a trooper, a semi, or even what appears to be an abandoned car. It's amazing how often the drivers behind you will follow your lead. It just doesn't dawn on most people and, to be honest, it did not dawn on me until Indiana made it a law after the death of a state trooper.

My sympathies to Lois, though. Changing lanes in Houston on short notice is not for the faint of heart and neither is scrubbing 20mph off your speed.

I was watching TV one night when they showed some video from a traffic stop. The police officer and the driver were standing between the vehicles. The police officer asked the driver to step from between the vehicles away from the road. Just as they did a car hit the police car, which then hit the driver's car. If they had waited 5 seconds, they would have been smashed between the vehicles.

Never work on your car on the side of the road either. I can't believe it when I see this. Buy the $2 towing insurance and have them tow it to your house and then work on it. Or buy a towing strap and tow it to the nearest Walmart parking lot. There, you will have plenty of room to work and an auto parts store.

New law requires buffer for emergency officials
Motorists must move over or slow down when passing emergency vehicles

By Katherine Sayre

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Department of Public Safety trooper Michael Smith was stopped at the scene of a wreck on Interstate 45 in Houston when a passing truck struck him, throwing him headfirst into a concrete beam. He didn't wake up for three days, and full recovery took a year.

"I still live with a little pain every day," Smith said.

A state law that went into effect Sept. 1 aims to prevent similar situations by forcing drivers to move over or slow down when passing parked emergency vehicles that have their lights flashing.

The law, which is similar to legislation in other states, requires motorists to vacate the lane that is nearest a stopped police, fire or emergency services vehicle that has its emergency lights activated or to slow down to 20 mph hour below the speed limit if there is no other lane. The law doesn't address what motorists should do if they are driving on a multilane road but traffic won't allow them to move over.

Spokeswoman Lisa Block said DPS granted drivers a 90-day grace period before beginning to issue tickets in December. As of last week, the department had given more than 200 tickets.

Violators face a $200 fine. The fine increases to $500 if there's property damage, and if someone gets hurt, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $1,500 and/or up to 180 days in jail.

Lt. Brian Manley, a spokesman for the Austin Police Department, said officers face significant danger as vehicles pass by at nearly 60 mph on MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Interstate 35. It's not clear exactly how many emergency officials have been hurt in the situation, but people who supported the law said it's a significant threat.

"We believe this law was very necessary and is a great benefit to officers out on stops on the highway," Manley said.

No tickets had been filed with Austin Municipal Court as of late last week, and Manley said the department does not keep records of warnings.

He said though the department did not offer a grace period, it is focusing on a public education campaign and will begin enforcement in the near future.

State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, sponsored the bill last year. He said he has received recent calls from people saying law enforcement officers set up traps using the law to issue tickets.

He said he called several law enforcement agencies to remind them that the law should not be used as a money-maker, and several agencies denied setting up traps.

"I think (the law) greatly reduces the possibility of men and women of fire, police and emergency departments from getting killed," Barrientos said, adding that the public needs time to realize that the law protects everyone.

Roger Wade, the Travis County sheriff's office spokesman, said officers have issued 19 tickets and eight warnings since September.

"Sometimes people are drawn to emergency lights like moths to lights," Wade said, adding that some drivers tend to swerve toward emergency vehicles. The law provides the first safety cushion for officers, he said.

Eric Poteet, the Round Rock Police Department's spokesman, said that about two weeks ago, an officer's vehicle was hit by an intoxicated driver during a traffic stop of another vehicle.

The law will help prevent such incidents, he said, and educate drivers about the potential dangers.

"Most of it is, drivers just don't think," Poteet said. "They get on the interstate highway, they set the cruise control, and they just drive."

Smith, who is back on patrol, said he feels safer because he's become more experienced. He also said the law will be beneficial if agencies don't abuse it.

"It causes people to wake up and see what's going on," Smith said.