Ohio Move-Over Law

What Ohio requires

Ohio wants you a lane over for stopped police, fire, EMS, tow trucks, road crews, and utility vehicles running lights, or slowed and cautious if you can't move. A first offense is a minor misdemeanor up to $300 (the statute doubles the base fine), with no points on your license. Repeat it inside a year and it climbs to $500, then $1,000 with jail time. A bill to add disabled vehicles (SB16) is still in the legislature (ORC 4511.213).

Who you move over for, and the fallback

• Move over for: Stationary public safety/emergency vehicles, road service (tow) vehicles, waste collection vehicles, PUCO inspection vehicles, and highway maintenance vehicles displaying flashing, oscillating, or rotating lights. Private disabled vehicles are not yet covered.
• If you can't move over: On a road with two or more lanes your direction, move into a lane not adjacent to the stopped vehicle if it is safe. If you can't, slow down and proceed with caution at a safe speed (the statute sets no fixed mph).
• Still responders-and-service-vehicles only. Senate Bill 16 (136th GA) would add 'vehicles in distress' (disabled vehicles with hazards, flares, or reflectors); it passed the Senate but sat in House committee as of July 2026, so it is not yet law. First offense carries no license points and no criminal record.

What a violation costs

First offense is a minor misdemeanor, but ORC 4511.213 doubles the fine, so it runs up to $300 (no license points, no criminal record). One prior traffic conviction within a year makes it a 4th-degree misdemeanor (up to $500 and 30 days jail); two or more make it a 3rd-degree misdemeanor (up to $1,000 and 60 days). Injury or death is prosecuted separately.

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