, drivers must pull over and remain stationary or reduce their speed when approaching an emergency vehicle with active lights. If you fail to do so, you could face a citation and

your license could be suspended

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What are the move over laws in Utah?

When approaching an active emergency vehicle, Utah drivers must slow down or move over. According to the Utah Motor Vehicles Traffic Code

(Utah code 41-6a-904)

, drivers must do the following:

Yield the right of way and move over to the side of the road, and remain stationary until the emergency vehicle has passed

If not possible to move over safely, reduce speed and provide as much space between you and the emergency vehicle(s)

What is considered an emergency vehicle in Utah?

In Utah, an emergency vehicle is classified as any vehicle that displays active blinking red, blue, or yellow lights. Some examples of these vehicles include:

Ambulances

Patrol cars

Fire trucks

Tow trucks

Utility vehicles

Highway maintenance vehicles

Penalties for violating Utah's move over laws

Failure to move over and stop your vehicle or reduce your speed correctly is a violation of Utah's move over laws. As a result, you may be subject to penalties such as:

traffic citation

Mandatory four-hour live classroom defensive driving course approved by the Driver's License Division

Possible license suspension of up to 90 days

In addition to being cited, if your failure causes any accidents resulting in serious injury or death, you could be held liable and face both civil and criminal charges depending on the severity.

MORE:

How police catch uninsured drivers

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Can violating move over laws raise your insurance?

Anytime you commit any traffic violation, it will find its way onto your

Utah driving record

, which can affect your insurance rates.

While you might not notice much change after a minor one-time offense, that doesn't mean it won't affect you in the long run.

Insurance companies use your driving record to determine how risky of a driver you are. If you have multiple violations, you may be deemed a

high-risk driver

—which can significantly increase your rates.

clean driving record

will secure you some of the most affordable rates available—so make sure to keep your record in good shape to keep saving on your car insurance!

MORE:

How do driver violation points affect your insurance rates?

Why are there move over laws?

Move over laws help create buffer zones for emergency vehicles and responders. Their main purpose is to protect emergency responders from being injured or struck by moving vehicles while at the scene of an accident.

One of the first move over laws was enacted in the early 2000s after a South Carolina paramedic, James D. Garcia, was struck by a moving vehicle while responding to an accident. Since then, Garcia has been a vocal lobbyist for the protection of emergency responders.

Today, nearly every state has a move over law—but accidents don't happen. In 2021,

65 emergency responders

were hit by moving vehicles.

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