Michigan Move Over Law: Fines, Points, and Felony Penalties

Michigan’s move over law requires you to slow down and shift lanes whenever you approach a stopped emergency, service, or utility vehicle with its lights flashing. On a road with two or more lanes going your direction, drop your speed to at least 10 mph below the posted limit and move over so there’s a full lane or two vehicle widths between you and the stopped vehicle. If you can’t change lanes safely, slow down and pass with care. A basic violation is a $400 civil infraction with two points on your license, and the penalties climb into felony territory if your failure to comply injures or kills someone.¹

What You Have to Do When You See Flashing Lights

The trigger is visual. Flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights on a stationary vehicle put you on notice, and the obligation kicks in immediately on any public roadway, from a residential street to the interstate.

On a road with at least two lanes running in your direction, you owe two things at once: reduce your speed to at least 10 mph below the posted limit, and move into a lane that puts at least one full lane or two vehicle widths between you and the stopped vehicle.¹

On a two-lane road, or when traffic, weather, or road conditions make moving over unsafe, you still have to drop to at least 10 mph below the posted limit and pass with due care and caution.¹ A police officer directing traffic can override these defaults, and their instructions come first.

Which Stopped Vehicles Trigger the Rule

The law covers a wider range of vehicles than most drivers assume. The obvious category is traditional emergency vehicles: police cars, fire trucks, rescue vehicles, and ambulances. Privately owned vehicles driven by volunteer or paid firefighters and volunteer ambulance drivers also count when they’re showing authorized emergency lights.²

Road service vehicles are the second category. That includes tow trucks, Michigan Department of Transportation safety service vehicles, and any vehicle clearly marked and readily identifiable as one used to help disabled vehicles, when it’s displaying flashing red or amber lights.²

A 2019 amendment added a third group: solid waste haulers, utility service vehicles, and road maintenance vehicles with their flashing lights on. That means garbage trucks on their routes, power company trucks working a downed line, and highway crews get the same protection as a state trooper’s cruiser.³

One boundary worth knowing: the statute applies to these specific categories of authorized vehicles. It does not require you to move over for an ordinary disabled car sitting on the shoulder, though giving any stopped vehicle extra space is still smart driving.

The Fine and Points for a Basic Violation

A failure to slow down and move over as required is a civil infraction with a flat $400 fine.¹ The $400 is only the fine itself. On top of it, the court can add up to $100 in costs plus a mandatory $40 justice system assessment, so the actual bill runs higher than the headline number.⁴

The conviction also puts two points on your driving record.⁵ Two points on their own won’t suspend your license, but they stack with anything else on your record. Reach 12 or more points within two years and the Secretary of State orders a driver assessment reexamination, which can lead to license restrictions or suspension.⁶

Felony Penalties If Someone Is Injured or Killed

The stakes escalate sharply when a violation hurts someone. If your failure to move over or slow down causes injury to a police officer, firefighter, or other emergency responder, the offense becomes a felony punishable by up to $1,000 in fines, up to two years in prison, or both, with six points on your record.¹⁵

If the violation causes a death, the maximum penalty rises to $7,500 in fines and up to 15 years in prison, again with six points.¹ A conviction tied to a fatality also stays on your Michigan driving record permanently, unlike most traffic offenses that drop off after seven to ten years.⁶

What It Does to Your Record and Insurance

Points stay active on your Michigan driving record for two years from the date of conviction. The conviction itself remains visible for at least seven years, and insurers typically pull your full record when they set rates.⁶

Any moving violation that adds points can raise your auto premiums. A single two-point infraction is unlikely to double your rates, but it tends to erase a safe-driver discount and nudges premiums up at the next renewal. The felony versions, carrying six points, signal far more serious risk and can prompt much larger increases or non-renewal.

If You Have a Commercial License

A move over violation is not listed as a “serious traffic violation” under federal commercial driver’s license rules, so it doesn’t automatically trigger the 60-day CDL disqualification that comes with offenses like reckless driving or excessive speeding. The points still land on your driving record. And if a move over violation leads to an accident with a fatality, federal rules do classify traffic control violations connected to fatal crashes as serious traffic violations. CDL holders have less margin for error, and any combination of serious violations within three years can bring a 60- to 120-day disqualification.⁷

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.653a
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Vehicle Code Chapter 257 – Section 257.2
3
State of Michigan. Move Over
4
Michigan Legislature. House Bill No. 5704 – Michigan Vehicle Code Amendments
5
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 257.320a
6
State of Michigan. Chapter 2 – Your Driving Record
7
eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers