Traffic Incident Management Quick Clearance Laws:
A National Review of Best Practices

This publication may contain dated technical, contact, and link information.

---

Executive Summary

This report is intended to better support Quick Clearance Law implementation efforts by preparing States to respond to questions regarding the necessity of Quick Clearance legislation and identifying examples from existing State Move Over, Driver Removal, and Authority Removal legislation that serve to both support and challenge successful incident management operations. Through this investigation, carefully crafted statutory content and language that best support Quick Clearance objectives, and agency/industry partnerships that provide demonstrated, united support for safe, Quick Clearance objectives and related legislation were observed to be key factors supporting implementation of Quick Clearance Laws.

Move Over Laws

Move Over laws require drivers approaching a scene where emergency responders are present to either change lanes when possible and/or reduce vehicle speed. The most effective Move Over laws:

• include transportation maintenance, freeway service patrol, and towing and recovery personnel/vehicles in addition to emergency personnel/vehicles;
• require a driver to change lanes into "a lane not adjacent to that of the authorized vehicle" and/or slow down to " a speed that is 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed" if changing lanes is "not possible or unsafe under prevailing road, weather, or traffic conditions"; and
• require companion driver education initiatives and reasonable enforcement directives.

Key partnerships and constituents in support of Move Over legislation include:

• emergency and transportation agencies and the towing and recovery industry to support inclusion of all on-scene incident responders in Move Over law provisions;
• law enforcement agencies to alleviate concerns associated with the:
  • enforcement of Move Over law provisions, and
  • potential for additional safety risks resulting from lane change activity; and
• the automobile insurance industry to facilitate and support driver education initiatives.

Driver Removal Laws

Driver Removal laws require that vehicles involved in typically minor traffic incidents - with no apparent physical injury and/or minor property damage - be moved out of the travel lanes to a safe location where drivers can exchange information and/or wait for law enforcement assistance. The most effective Driver Removal laws:

• apply consistently Statewide (not just in the metropolitan areas of a State);
• include incidents occurring on the median, shoulder and adjacent areas;
• authorize any licensed driver on-scene to remove the vehicles;
• promote off-site vehicle removal locations such as "an exit ramp shoulder, the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross street, a designated crash investigation site, or other suitable location";
• include concurrent Hold Harmless legislation or language that protects the driver from liability "in the absence of gross negligence" or waives at-fault determination for the incident as a result of moving their vehicle; and
• require companion driver education initiatives and reasonable enforcement directives.

Key partnerships and constituents in support of Driver Removal legislation include:

• law enforcement agencies to confirm the:
  • enforcement-related benefits resulting from consistently applied legislation (i.e., Statewide),
  • potential for enhanced safety if vehicles and/or cargo are removed from the shoulder/median, and
  • minimal anticipated impact to crash investigation procedures; and
• the automobile insurance industry to facilitate and support driver education initiatives that consistently direct drivers to move their vehicles to a safe refuge.

Authority Removal Laws

Authority Removal laws clarify the authority and responsibility of pre-designated public agencies to clear damaged or disabled vehicles and spilled cargo from the roadway to prevent the occurrence of secondary incidents and to allow normal traffic flow to resume. Authority Removal laws typically provide indemnification for these agencies if removal duties are performed in good faith and without gross negligence. The most effective Authority Removal laws:

• apply consistently Statewide (not just in the metropolitan areas of a State);
• include incidents occurring "within the roadway right-of-way" including on the median, shoulder, and adjacent areas;
• apply consistently to both attended and unattended (abandoned) vehicles;
• authorize removal if the vehicle/cargo "constitutes a hazard or obstructs traffic";
• authorize removal by law enforcement or State transportation department personnel;
• authorize removal of the vehicle, as well as any associated appurtenances, cargo, and debris that poses a hazard;
• promote off-site vehicle/cargo removal locations such as "an exit ramp shoulder, the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross street, a designated crash investigation site, or other suitable location";
• exclude exceptions for commercial motor vehicles or - if significant resistance from industry is encountered- allow only "reasonable opportunity for the owner to contact a towing company of choice";
• limit delayed removal activities until after crash investigation has been complete to incidents involving serious injury or fatality;
• directly assign "all costs incurred in the removal and subsequent disposition" of incident-involved vehicles/cargo to the owner; and
• include concurrent Hold Harmless legislation or language that protects responders from liability "in the absence of gross negligence" as a result of their actions.

Key partnerships and constituents in support of Authority Removal legislation include:

• emergency and transportation agencies and the towing and recovery industry to support efforts to:
  • assign incident-related removal costs to the vehicle/cargo owner; and
  • expand the scope of Hold Harmless clauses to include all on-scene responders
• law enforcement agencies to confirm the:
  • enforcement-related benefits resulting from consistently applied legislation (i.e., Statewide),
  • potential for enhanced safety if vehicles and/or cargo are removed from the shoulder/median,
  • potential for enhanced safety if provisions are applied uniformly to attended and unattended (abandoned) vehicles, and
  • minimal anticipated impact to and from crash investigation procedures; and
• law enforcement and transportation agencies and the commercial vehicle and cargo insurance industry to alleviate industry concerns regarding excess vehicle/cargo loss.

Interagency agreements and memoranda of understanding can be an effective interim approach to formalizing Quick Clearance strategies and can provide a basis for pursuing future related Quick Clearance legislation. In addition, although each type of legislation considered in this investigation has the potential to offer significant safety- and delay-related benefit, synergistic benefits also may be realized through combined Quick Clearance Law implementation.