Maryland Has Two New Traffic Laws

Maryland has two new important traffic laws that those who drive in Maryland need to know.

The "Move Over" Law

Maryland now requires drivers to give an extra lane of space to an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the road. The new law applies whenever an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of the road and a car is approaching the emergency vehicle from behind. When that happens, drivers are required to move over a lane if it's safe to do so. If the driver can't safely move over one lane, he or she has to slow down to a safe speed.

This is NOT a law that changes what happens when an emergency vehicle is coming up behind you in traffic. If you're driving and you see an ambulance in your rear view mirror, you should get out of the way, but not because of this new law. This law just requires you to either give a lane of space to a police car or ambulance stopped on the side of the road, or to slow down so things are safer for the first-responder.

The law only applies to you if you're approaching an ambulance, police car, or other first responder vehicle from the same direction the vehicle is pointing. As I read it, the law does not require you to give extra breathing room to an emergency vehicle when the ambulance, say, is pulled over and facing the wrong way in traffic. It's still a very polite thing to give that extra space to a first-responder.

Maryland is one of the last states to adopt this kind of law. As I understand it, the only two U.S. jurisdictions that don't presently require you to move over a lane for an emergency vehicle are Washington D.C. and Hawaii. If you really like to legally crowd police when you drive, your options are pretty limited.

The Handheld Law

Maryland also now bans the use of a cell phone while driving without the use of a hands free device.

There are a few exceptions: There are three quick exceptions; emergency calls, turning your phone on or off, or starting or finishing a phone call. So, you can answer your phone, say "hang on, let me plug in my headset" then plug in your headset. Beyond that, unless you're calling 911, it's illegal in Maryland to talk on your cell phone while you drive without a headset.

One good question is whether you can be pulled over for talking on a cell phone without a headset. Strictly speaking, the answer is no; talking on a cell phone is not what's called a "primary offense" (a primary offense, as you've probably guessed, is one that the police can pull you over for). You have to have been pulled over for some other offense before a police officer can give you a ticket for talking on your mobile phone while driving without a hands free device. However, negligent driving is a primary offense, meaning a police officer can pull you over for negligent driving, and then ticket you for talking on your cell phone without a headset.

School bus drivers and people driving on a provisional license are barred from using a cell phone while they drive in any event; regardless of whether they have a headset. And teen drivers have already been barred from driving while using a cell phone in Maryland.

by: Matt Kaiser

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