Bill
AB 390
Broadens move over/slow down rule to protect roadside workers by requiring motorists to change lanes or slow when approaching stationary vehicles with warning devices, including co
Status & timeline
- Introduced: February 3, 2025 (As AB 390)
- Enrolled & presented to Governor: July 15, 2025
- Approved by Governor / Chaptered: July 28, 2025 (Chapter 58, Statutes of 2025)
Note on inconsistent materials in the record
- Some draft/“As Introduced” materials in the provided packet appear to be from a different bill text (a labor/“task worker” bill). The final, chaptered law enacted as AB 390 amends Vehicle Code §21809 (commonly known as California’s “move over / slow down” law). This summary describes the enacted Vehicle Code amendments.
Purpose / intent
- Expand and clarify California’s “move over / slow down” roadway safety requirement to protect highway maintenance crews and other roadside workers and hazards by requiring motorists to give additional space or slow when passing stationary marked maintenance vehicles or other stationary vehicles displaying hazard lights or warning devices.
Key provisions
- Amends Vehicle Code §21809. Drivers approaching specified stationary vehicles must approach with due caution and, before passing in an adjacent lane, do one of the following (absent other direction from a peace officer):
1. Move over — change lanes into an available lane not immediately adjacent to the stationary vehicle (if practicable and not prohibited by law); or
2. Slow down — if the lane change would be unsafe or impracticable, slow to a reasonable and prudent speed for conditions (weather, road, vehicle/pedestrian traffic).
- Expands the set of covered stationary vehicles to include:
- Stationary authorized emergency vehicles displaying emergency lights (existing);
- Stationary tow trucks displaying flashing amber warning lights (existing);
- All marked highway maintenance vehicles displaying flashing amber warning lights (new explicit inclusion); and
- Any other stationary vehicle displaying flashing hazard lights or another warning device (explicitly including cones, flares, retroreflective devices).
- Defines “highway maintenance vehicle” to include vehicles used for maintenance of highways/roadways that are either:
- Owned/operated by Caltrans, a county, a municipality, or other political subdivision; or
- Owned/operated by a contractor under contract with those public entities to maintain highways/roadways.
- Exemption: requirement does not apply when the stationary vehicle is not adjacent to the highway or is separated from the highway by a protective physical barrier.
- Penalty: Violation is an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $50.
Fiscal and administrative effects
- Expands the scope of an existing infraction (a state-mandated local program). The statute states no state reimbursement is required under Article XIII B, §6 of the California Constitution because the costs arise from creating or changing an infraction.
- No appropriation or larger fine increases are specified.
Who is affected
- Motorists/drivers on highways in California (new obligations when encountering covered stationary vehicles or roadside warning devices).
- Public highway maintenance entities (Caltrans, counties, cities) and their contractors — explicitly protected by the expanded rule.
- Law enforcement agencies (enforcement of the infraction).
- Local governments — potentially minor enforcement/court workload and citation issuance; state indicates no reimbursement obligation.
Practical effect
- Clarifies and broadens the protective “move over/slow down” legal duty to cover a wider set of roadside situations (including work zones marked by cones, flares, or retroreflective devices), aiming to reduce collisions and injuries to maintenance crews, tow operators, and others working near traffic.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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