Montana Move-Over Law

What Montana requires

Montana treats a move-over violation as reckless endangerment of emergency personnel, not a simple ticket (MCA § 61-8-388). Slow down for stopped police, emergency, and highway worker vehicles with lights going, and get out of the lane next to them if the road has two or more lanes your way. A first offense runs $100 to $500 and up to 90 days in jail. Cause a death or serious injury and it reaches $10,000.

Who you move over for, and the fallback

• Move over for: Stopped police and other authorized emergency vehicles, plus highway worker vehicles (maintenance, construction, and tow trucks) running emergency lights. Not a plain disabled car with hazards.
• If you can't move over: Slow down and, on a road with two or more lanes your way, move into a lane not next to the stopped vehicle. If you can't change lanes, move over as far as you safely can and pass with caution.
• The old citation MCA 61-8-346 was repealed and recodified in the 2023 session. The move-over duty now lives in 61-8-388, and violating it is charged as reckless endangerment of emergency personnel or highway workers (61-8-389), punished under 61-8-715. That makes Montana's penalty much stiffer than the old 'up to $100' figure some guides still list.

What a violation costs

A violation is 'reckless endangerment of emergency personnel' (or highway workers). First conviction: $100 to $500 and up to 90 days in jail (MCA 61-8-389, penalties under 61-8-715). Second: $500 to $1,000 and 5 days to 6 months. Cause death or serious injury and it reaches $10,000 and up to a year.

More for Montana