INDIANA – Each year, Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) Troopers and Motor Carrier Inspectors (MCI) join troopers and commercial vehicle inspectors from the Illinois State Police, the Michigan State Police, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol on several joint enforcement initiatives. Recently, these agencies conducted a post-July 4th joint enforcement effort targeting the unsafe operation of commercial motor vehicles and other vehicles. The focus of the initiative was the enforcement of each state’s law requiring all drivers to yield to stationary emergency vehicles.
Indiana Code 9-21-8-35 requires that all drivers operating other vehicles, when approaching an emergency vehicle with flashing emergency lights or sirens activated, immediately yield the right of way to the emergency vehicle by moving to change lanes to an available lane not immediately adjacent to the emergency vehicle. If another lane is not open, drivers are required to proceed with due caution past the stationary emergency vehicle and immediately reduce their vehicle’s speed by at least 10 miles per hour until clearly past the emergency vehicle. This requirement to move over for stationary emergency vehicles applies not only to police, fire, ambulance and EMT vehicles, but also to stationary tow trucks, utility service vehicles, solid waste haulers, highway/road maintenance vehicles, construction vehicles, and survey crew vehicles displaying flashing yellow lights.
During this five-day initiative, Indiana CVE troopers, MCIs, and partnering agencies accounted for the following activity:
ISP would like to remind all drivers that the Failure to Yield to Stationary Emergency Vehicles laws exist in all 50 states to protect our first responders and others working on our roadways from the dangers they face while working in an environment that exposes them to traffic.
