Why Stopped Vehicles on Interstates Are So Dangerous

A vehicle stopped on a high-speed interstate — whether it is a patrol car, a work truck, a tow truck, or a disabled sedan — creates one of the most dangerous scenarios on Georgia roads. The speed differential is the core problem. A driver traveling at highway speed who does not register a stationary vehicle until the last moment has very little distance in which to brake or steer away, and the resulting collision is effectively a high-speed impact into a fixed object.

Overnight hours compound the risk. Darkness reduces the distance at which a driver can identify a stopped vehicle, and drowsiness, impairment, and distraction are all more prevalent in the early morning hours. Work zones add another layer. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) reports that crashes in Georgia work zones resulted in 4,685 injuries and 40 deaths in 2024 alone. GDOT notes that work zone crashes are commonly rear-end collisions and roadway departures — precisely the pattern reported in this incident. The people most exposed in those crashes are not always the ones who caused them; they are frequently the workers, officers, and stopped motorists who had no ability to get out of the way.

Georgia’s Move Over Law

Georgia’s Move Over law, codified at O.C.G.A. § 40-6-16, has been on the books since 2003. It requires a driver approaching a stationary emergency, law enforcement, utility, highway maintenance, or towing vehicle displaying flashing lights to move over one lane if it is safe to do so. If changing lanes is not possible or would be unsafe, the driver must slow to a speed below the posted limit and be prepared to stop.

The Georgia legislature wrote the law in direct response to the number of officers, first responders, and roadside workers struck by vehicles while they did their jobs on the shoulder. Georgia later expanded it to cover a broader set of vehicles, including utility and maintenance crews.

A Move Over violation is a misdemeanor traffic offense, and a citation is a criminal charge rather than a determination of civil liability. But in the personal injury context, a violation of a safety statute like this one can also be relevant to a civil negligence claim. Under Georgia law, the violation of a statute enacted to protect a class of people from a particular type of harm can support a finding of negligence — a doctrine often described as negligence per se. Whether that applies in any given case depends on the facts.

What Injured Parties in Roadside Crashes Often Face

When a deputy, a road crew member, or a tow operator sustains an injury while stopped on the roadside in the course of their work, they may pursue compensation through more than one system. Georgia workers’ compensation may cover medical treatment and a portion of lost wages for an on-the-job injury regardless of who was at fault. Separately, an injured worker may have a claim against the at-fault driver, sometimes called a third-party claim, which can address categories of loss that workers’ compensation does not reach, such as pain and suffering.

Insurance coverage is frequently a practical hurdle. A minimum-limits auto policy in Georgia may be far smaller than the medical bills generated by a serious highway collision, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage often becomes central in these cases.

For families, the immediate concerns are usually more basic: what the injuries actually are, how long recovery will take, and whether someone can return to the work they were doing. In this case, none of that information has been shared with the public. The Georgia State Patrol confirmed that two people were hospitalized. The investigation is ongoing.