Its Slow Down OR Move Over for Emergency Vehicles NOT BOTH!

The answer to your question is....Twice it has happened.

 

The slowing down if you cant move over part just benefits us it gives us more reaction time even at 40mph hitting a car or person that dart out in front is deadly. There is been countless times where I have my signal to merge over on a 3 lane freeway and the dang 4 wheelers just ride my side and they have the 3rd lane open. It pisses me off I feel like moving them over with my trailer! Then Im the one that is left to slow down from 60 to 40 in a heart beat and it sucks because when such said 4 wheelers pass by they are on their blasted A s S phone doing something. Its not cool when I weigh 77K. RAAAGE!

 

Here in Kansas when the law was first passed it was "Move over OR slow down for stopped emergency vehicles". About a year later they added the Maintenance vehicles to that. It is still Move over OR slow down.

On 4 lanes I have had other vehicles in the left lane where I could not change lanes. I'll slow down, and run with my left tires on the zipper. I've also had to do the same on 2 lane roads with approaching traffic. I also kick the 4-ways on.

When there are more than one of our company trucks running together we always communicate with each other, and try to notify other big trucks of the stopped vehicles. This really works great when there are curves or hills.

I've been the one on the side with the flashing red lights, and working in construction. So I know what its like having vehicles traveling at highway speeds within a few feet of you. I'll also add some insight into the LEO working a "car-stop".

Back in my time as a LEO, you did not approach a stopped car on the right/passenger side. The reasoning was officer safety. If by chance the person you stopped had intentions on shooting you, the right side provides the driver with the least amount of movement, best vision to accomplish this. Walking up on the left side, the driver would have to twist/turn in the seat, open the door, stick his hand/arm out the window, something that required a lot of movement, which you could easily see. You are more protected from that threat on the left side. However of course the highway traffic was the "con" to that. Nowhere to run/move to quickly. It wasn't until my latter years, the practice of approaching on the right was adopted. The only reason was due to the risk of being struck by a passing car or truck.

 

I know a few pavement grinders who got their butts hit by mirrors of passing cars. Those are the same drivers who can't squeeze their 6-foot wide cars between 2 cones placed 10 feet apart if they tried, yet they manage to hit workers with pin-point accuracy.

I think you're absolutely right. Here's what I wrote in a private message to my buddy on another forum, about a little experiment I conducted recently.

...I am now convinced average drivers have their eyes focused on the proximity of windshield wipers. I noticed those drivers like to race to the light that just turned red 700 feet away doing 10+ over the limit, and almost activate ABS. Meanwhile I sneak from behind in the slow lane crawling at 10mph in 2nd gear just as the light turns green. I get up to the speed limit, she/he (call me a sexist if you want, but 7 times out of 10 it is she) blows by me doing 10 over, and the process gets repeated until one of us turn on the side road as the lights in P-ville are not synchronized (or it is synchronized properly from revenue collectors' POV)

I used to think that those people just don't think, but based on this particular behavior despite the current gas prices ($4.30/gal for regular in P-ville), as well as other humorous/dangerous behaviors they exhibit, I began to think that they aren't seeing what's ahead of them.

So I decided to see where you have to be looking in order to not notice traffic hazards and lights. You'd have to be focused on around the base of the windshield to see what they are seeing, and that's with my Asian eyes (it is proven we have limited vertical peripheral vision). When you drive like that, their behaviors almost make sense.

We need better drivers education.

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What's funny is when (like in my hometown) the lights ARE synchronized to the speed limit. If you do right at (or just a hair below) the speed limit, you'll hit every single light green and never have to touch your brakes once. So it's *almost* funny to see the guy in a hurry burning rubber, accelerating past the speed limit, then having to slam on the brakes to wait for the next light to turn green (then repeat, ad infinitum), while I cruise down the lane next to him hitting each light green..

 

Actually depends on jurisdiction some require both others do not, it is up to you as a driver to know the rules for the jurisdiction you are in. Even safer bet do both doesnt kill you to make sure your ### is covered.