| Law read on | 2026-11-06[1] |
|---|---|
| Provisions covered | O.C.G.A. 40-6-16[1] |
O.C.G.A. 40-6-16(a) provides that the Code section shall be known and may be cited as the Spencer Pass Law. The official code hierarchy places Section 40-6-16 in Title 40 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic), Chapter 6 (Uniform Rules of the Road), Article 1 (General Provisions). Subsection (b) reaches the operator of a motor vehicle approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle that is displaying "flashing yellow, amber, white, red, or blue lights". Subsection (c) reaches an operator approaching a stationary towing, recovery, highway maintenance, or utility service vehicle that is "utilizing traffic cones or displaying flashing or revolving yellow, amber, or white lights". On the Georgia move-over law and stopped trucks, Section 40-6-16 reaches only the stationary vehicles it names under those conditions, not every stopped truck. Section 40-6-16 speaks to a truck crash near one of those named vehicles only when the vehicle was stationary and met the light or traffic cone condition stated in subsection (b) or (c).[1]
Under Section 40-6-16(b) and (c), an operator approaching a stationary vehicle that meets the conditions of either subsection, whether a truck driver or another motorist, is required to approach it with due caution. Absent any other direction by a peace officer, the operator is then required to make a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the stationary vehicle if possible in the existing safety and traffic conditions. If that lane change would be impossible or unsafe, or if law prohibits it, the operator, again absent other direction by a peace officer, is required to slow to a reasonable and proper speed below the posted speed limit and to be prepared to stop. Subsections (b) and (c) each address the operator of a motor vehicle and contain no separate standard for truck drivers. Under paragraph (d)(1), a violation of subsection (b), the emergency vehicle provision, is punished by a fine of not more than $500.00. Under paragraph (d)(2), a violation of subsection (c) is punished by a fine of not more than $250.00.[1]
Contents
- Approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle under subsection (b)
- Approaching a stationary towing, recovery, highway maintenance or utility service vehicle under subsection (c)
- Definitions of utility service vehicle and utility services in subsection (e)
- Fines under O.C.G.A. 40-6-16(d)
- Enactment and amendments of O.C.G.A. 40-6-16
- See also
- References
Approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle under subsection (b)
Section 40-6-16(b) applies when the operator of a motor vehicle is approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle that is displaying "flashing yellow, amber, white, red, or blue lights". The trigger in subsection (b) joins a stationary emergency vehicle with flashing lights in one of the listed colors. An operator in that situation, including a truck driver, is required to approach the authorized emergency vehicle with due caution. Subsection (b) states these duties for the operator of a motor vehicle and sets no different standard for truck drivers.[1]
For truck drivers and other operators alike, and absent any other direction by a peace officer, paragraph (b)(1) of Section 40-6-16 directs the operator to "Make a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the authorized emergency vehicle if possible in the existing safety and traffic conditions". The words "if possible" link that lane change to the existing safety and traffic conditions at the scene, whether or not the operator is a truck driver.[1]
Paragraph (b)(2) of Section 40-6-16 applies "If a lane change under paragraph (1) of this subsection would be impossible, prohibited by law, or unsafe". When that lane change is impossible or unsafe, or prohibited by law, the operator is required to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle to a reasonable and proper speed for the existing road and traffic conditions. The reduced speed under paragraph (b)(2) "shall be less than the posted speed limit", and the operator is also required to be prepared to stop, absent other direction by a peace officer. The speed rule in paragraph (b)(2) sets no different speed for truck drivers.[1]
Court decisions decide how due caution and a reasonable and proper speed apply to particular facts, including facts from truck accidents, and this entry does not cover those decisions. Where a truck crash occurs near a stationary authorized emergency vehicle displaying the flashing lights listed in subsection (b), paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of Section 40-6-16 state the duties of the approaching operator.[1]
Approaching a stationary towing, recovery, highway maintenance or utility service vehicle under subsection (c)
Section 40-6-16(c) applies to the operator of a motor vehicle approaching "a stationary towing or recovery vehicle, a stationary highway maintenance vehicle, or a stationary utility service vehicle". The duty arises when that vehicle is "utilizing traffic cones or displaying flashing or revolving yellow, amber, or white lights". The operator approaching such a vehicle, including a truck driver, is required to approach it with due caution.[1]
Absent any other direction by a peace officer, paragraph (c)(1) of Section 40-6-16 calls for truck drivers and other operators to make a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the towing, recovery, highway maintenance, or utility service vehicle if possible in the existing safety and traffic conditions. Unless a peace officer gives other direction, and if that lane change would be impossible or unsafe, or if law prohibits it, paragraph (c)(2) requires the truck driver or other operator to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle to a reasonable and proper speed for the existing road and traffic conditions, a speed that "shall be less than the posted speed limit", and to be prepared to stop.[1]
Under Section 40-6-16, the light colors differ between subsections. Red and blue lights appear in the subsection (b) list for a stationary authorized emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, but red and blue are absent from the subsection (c) list of flashing or revolving lights. When a truck crash happens beside a stationary highway maintenance vehicle, subsection (c) states the approaching operator's duties only if that vehicle was using traffic cones or showing flashing or revolving lights in the listed colors. For truck crashes beside a stationary towing or recovery vehicle, subsection (c) likewise applies only when that vehicle has traffic cones in use or shows flashing or revolving lights of a color named in subsection (c).[1]
Definitions of utility service vehicle and utility services in subsection (e)
Under Section 40-6-16(e)(1), the term utility service vehicle means "any vehicle being used by an employee or contractor of any entity", where the vehicle is used in connection with the provision of utility services. The entities in that definition include, but are not limited to, "a political subdivision of this state or a local authority or commission related thereto, an electric cooperative, or a public or private corporation". For a truck crash beside roadside utility work, subsection (c) reaches a stationary vehicle only if it meets this definition and is utilizing traffic cones or displaying the listed flashing or revolving lights.[1]
Section 40-6-16(e)(2) provides that utility services "means and includes electric, natural gas, water, waste-water, cable, telephone, or telecommunication services". The same definition reaches "the repair, location, relocation, improvement, or maintenance of utility poles, transmission structures, pipes, wires, fibers, cables, easements, rights of way, and associated infrastructure". Paragraph (e)(2) lists these services and this infrastructure work without any reference to truck drivers.[1]
The terms defined in Section 40-6-16(e) are utility service vehicle and utility services. The terms authorized emergency vehicle and highway maintenance vehicle in subsections (b) and (c), like the term towing or recovery vehicle in subsection (c), carry no definition within Section 40-6-16. Subsection (e) defines the stationary vehicle and the services it supports, not the truck driver or other operator approaching it.[1]
Fines under O.C.G.A. 40-6-16(d)
Section 40-6-16(d)(1) provides that a violation of subsection (b), the duty toward a stationary authorized emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, "shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00". Section 40-6-16(d)(2) provides that a violation of subsection (c) "shall be punished by a fine of not more than $250.00". Subsection (c) is the provision for stationary towing, recovery, highway maintenance, or utility service vehicles that are using traffic cones or that display flashing or revolving lights. Each figure in subsection (d) is stated as a maximum, introduced by the words not more than. Paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) attach their fines to violations of subsections (b) and (c), which state duties for the operator of a motor vehicle, and neither paragraph sets a different fine for truck drivers. Subsection (d) ties each fine to a violation of subsection (b) or (c), not to the occurrence of a truck accident.[1]
Enactment and amendments of O.C.G.A. 40-6-16
According to the history line on the official code page, Section 40-6-16 was enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 427, section 1. The same history line lists amending acts at Ga. L. 2006, p. 231, section 2 (SB 64), Ga. L. 2011, p. 593, section 1 (HB 156), Ga. L. 2016, p. 61, section 1 (HB 767), and Ga. L. 2024, p. 518, section 1 (HB 1193), and it shows the 2024 amendment as effective July 1, 2024.[1]
The notes on the official code page for Section 40-6-16 state that the 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, substituted the present introductory paragraph of subsection (c) for the former provisions. Under the former text, subsection (c) reached "a stationary towing or recovery vehicle or a stationary highway maintenance vehicle that is displaying flashing yellow, amber, or red lights". The current text of that paragraph also reaches a stationary utility service vehicle, and it applies when the vehicle is "utilizing traffic cones or displaying flashing or revolving yellow, amber, or white lights".[1]
According to the same notes, the amending act of that year also substituted wording in paragraph (c)(1) so that it names the utility service vehicle. That amendment designated the existing provisions of subsection (d) as paragraph (d)(1) and deleted "or (c)" following "subsection (b)" in that paragraph. It added paragraph (d)(2), which sets the $250.00 maximum fine for violations of subsection (c). That same amending act also added subsection (e), which defines utility service vehicle and utility services. The notes describe these changes in terms of vehicle types, light colors, fines and definitions, with no wording added for truck drivers.[1]
The notes on the official code page also state that the amendment made by HB 1193 took effect July 1, 2024, according to those notes. That amendment inserted "or revolving" at the beginning of subsection (c). The same amendment substituted "or white" for earlier wording in that passage that listed white and red lights.[1]
See also: Flanagan Law truck accident practice
See also
On related publications
- Georgia truck-crash law notes (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
- Liability and comparative fault in Georgia (caraccidentlawyers.wiki)
Law checked on against the primary sources cited below. Statutes and rules change; read the current official text before relying on a deadline or rule.