Vehicles: highway safety.

Assembly Member Wilson's highway safety legislation expands California's "move over" requirements to protect a broader range of roadside workers and stopped vehicles. The measure builds upon existing Vehicle Code provisions that require drivers to change lanes or slow down when approaching certain stationary vehicles with warning lights.

Under the amended law, drivers must take precautionary action when approaching any stationary vehicle displaying flashing hazard lights or warning devices, including cones, flares, or retroreflective markers. When encountering these vehicles, drivers must either move to a non-adjacent lane when safe and legal to do so, or reduce speed to match current road and weather conditions. The requirements apply to all marked highway maintenance vehicles, whether operated by state and local agencies or their contractors, in addition to previously covered emergency and Caltrans vehicles.

The law maintains current enforcement provisions, with violations remaining an infraction subject to a maximum $50 fine. Exceptions exist for situations where the stationary vehicle is not adjacent to the highway or is separated by a physical barrier. While the measure creates new obligations for local law enforcement agencies, the bill specifies that no state reimbursement is required under California's constitutional provisions regarding state-mandated local programs.