Slow Down, Move Over Laws: National Survey of Drivers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors, 2025
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Summary
This study addresses the critical safety issue of roadside fatalities, noting that over 2,100 individuals were killed while stranded or working on the roadside between 2019 and 2023. To mitigate these risks, every U.S. state has enacted Slow Down, Move Over (SDMO) laws requiring drivers to change lanes or reduce speed when passing roadside workers or disabled vehicles. The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of these laws by measuring drivers’ knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviors regarding SDMO compliance through a large-scale national survey. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety collaborated with Ipsos North America to administer the survey in September and October 2025. The study utilized Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel, a representative sample of U.S. households, resulting in 5,887 completed responses from drivers. The experimental design involved showing participants short, computer-generated videos of Interstate highway scenarios featuring traffic passing a disabled vehicle, tow truck, or police car on the right shoulder. Respondents were then queried about their own behavior, the behavior of other drivers, their knowledge of applicable laws, and their personal beliefs regarding appropriate actions. The survey also explored support for SDMO laws and identified information sources drivers use to learn about traffic regulations. The findings reveal a significant disconnect between driver behavior, legal knowledge, and actual legal requirements. While more than 90% of drivers reported personally moving over or slowing down during their last encounter with a roadside hazard, they were far more likely to move over than to slow down. Crucially, legal awareness was low: only 66% of drivers believed their state law required special actions when passing a stopped police car, and only 58% believed the same for tow trucks, despite all states having such mandates. Among those aware of the laws, over 90% knew the requirement to move over, but fewer than half knew about the requirement to slow down. In states mandating slowing down even when moving over, fewer than one in five drivers were aware of this specific requirement. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of drivers believed violators were unlikely to be caught. Despite these knowledge gaps, over 90% of drivers expressed that drivers *should* move over or slow down, and 90% supported SDMO laws when they were explained. Drivers indicated that road signs were the most likely source for learning about new laws, though information preferences varied between those who knew and did not know about SDMO laws. The study concludes that while driver attitudes toward SDMO laws are overwhelmingly positive, substantial gaps exist in understanding specific legal obligations, particularly regarding the "slow down" component and the scope of vehicles protected. The authors recommend increased public education efforts to clarify which vehicles trigger the law and to reinforce the necessity of reducing speed. The high level of driver support suggests that public outreach could effectively leverage positive social norms. Additionally, the report provides regional and state-level data to help identify local needs and establish baselines for monitoring future trends in driver compliance and knowledge.
Key finding
Although more than 90% of drivers reported personally moving over or slowing down for roadside workers, fewer than half accurately knew the specific legal requirements, particularly the mandate to slow down.
Methodology
survey
Sample size: 5887
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | aaa_foundation | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 18 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence