The Slow-Down, Move-Over Law of the state might be extended to encompass motorists who are stranded on the side of the road with a vehicle that has broken down or is stalled.
After failing to pass a law that was quite similar to this one the previous year, AAA is making another attempt to get it enacted this year in the Kansas legislature.
The present Slow-Down, Move-Over Law in the state applies to vehicles that are used for maintenance, towing, emergency services, and towing, but it does not apply to vehicles that are stopped or disabled for regular drivers.
The AAA is working to change that because it has resulted in repercussions that are both unsafe and fatal.
“Currently exists in Kansas, has been very helpful. It covers law enforcement and tow truck drivers like our emergency roadside service crews and our road crews. Just a lot of different vehicles that generally do their work on the side of the road. It has been very helpful, but there is one kind of shortfall in the current Kansas statute and that this is the Move Over Law does not cover just regular disabled vehicles or stopped vehicles,” Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas stated.
Finding oneself on the side of the road is not a place that anyone would be eager to experience.
Steward stated, “Say you’re on the side of the road changing a tire or a vehicle’s been involved in a crash and maybe somebody is helping them. Those things are actually not covered under the current, and that’s why we have introduced an enhanced bill that would bring those situations into the current law.”
When passing a stopped or disabled vehicle that is equipped with hazards or warning signals, the bill would mandate that drivers change over to the opposite lane or, if that is not practicable, slow down. This would be similar to how emergency vehicles are required to do so.
“With people who work on the side of the road regularly, law enforcement, tow truck drivers, and so forth, they are very experienced with that situation and the dangers on the side of the road. They know what to look for, or they know how to protect themselves. They go through training,” Steward stated. “That is not the case in who maybe has a broken down vehicle or a flat tire on the side of the road. They’re generally not familiar with that situation and may not know the dangers or how to try to avoid being struck on the side of the road.”
According to the steward, other drivers have struck disabled or stopped individuals on the side of the road.
A automobile on the side of the road has been involved in 200 crashes on average over the past five years, according to state data. Ten people have died as a result, and numerous others have been hurt.
One of those deaths occurred on January 1, 2025, when a grandmother and her grandchild were hit by a semi after pulling over on I-35 following a collision.
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While repairing his broken-down car on I-135 last summer, a guy from Overland Park lost his life. A couple was killed in November 2022 while attempting to replace a flat tire on the K-96 onramp.
According to Steward, “I think most drivers heed the move over law, regardless of what it is on the side of the road but we would just want to codify that and make it officially part of the law for those people dealing with a stopped or disabled vehicle on the side of the road.”
Colorado and Oklahoma are among the 25 other states where this is the case.
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If it becomes law, a violation may result in a $75 fire.
The bill would exempt abandoned cars that are left on the side of the road and are frequently tagged by law enforcement from the Slow-Down, Move Over policy.
On Thursday, the Senate Transporation Committee will hold a hearing in Topeka to debate the bill under consideration. Law enforcement, state transportation, and other organizations backed the bill last year.
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