Speed Laws & Move Over
⏱ ~3-min readAceMark Guide
What this topic is really about
New York's Move Over Law (Ambrose-Searles Act) protects police, fire, EMS, tow trucks, and other hazard vehicles. On roads with multiple lanes in the same direction, drivers must move over to leave an empty lane; if that is not possible, they must slow down.
Under Vision Zero, New York City lowered its citywide default speed limit to 25 mph in 2014. Lower speeds dramatically reduce the chance that a struck pedestrian is killed, which is why the limit was reduced from the prior 30 mph.
See the mechanism
New York's Move Over Law (Ambrose-Searles Act) protects police, fire, EMS, tow trucks, and other hazard vehicles. A diagram for this topic isn't available yet — the worked example below walks the same reasoning step by step.
An exam-style question, fully explained
Under New York's "Move Over" Law, what must a driver do when approaching a stopped emergency or hazard vehicle displaying flashing lights on a multi-lane road?
- Identify what the question tests: Under New York's "Move Over" Law, what must a driver do when approaching a stopped emergency or hazard vehicle displaying flashing lights on a multi-lane road.
- New York's Move Over Law (Ambrose-Searles Act) protects police, fire, EMS, tow trucks, and other hazard vehicles.
- On roads with multiple lanes in the same direction, drivers must move over to leave an empty lane; if that is not possible, they must slow down.
Traps the examiner sets
- Read each option carefully — distractors on Speed Laws & Move Over are designed to look plausible.
- Re-check the exact wording of the question stem before committing to an answer.
- Watch the qualifiers ("always", "only", "except") that flip a correct-looking option.
Test your recall
Answer each from memory — you'll see instantly whether you're right and why.
Run a focused 10-question mini-mock on Speed Laws & Move Over and see it stick.
Practice more of this topic →