Relative to motorist duties when approaching highway emergencies involving a stopped or standing vehicle.
Summary
SB 273 expands New Hampshire’s “move over” style roadway safety requirements. Under current law, drivers approaching certain highway emergencies must slow down and, when practical, give a wide berth to emergency responders and vehicles with warning lights. This bill broadens that duty to include stopped or standing vehicles that are displaying warning signals such as hazard lights, flares, cones, caution signs, or other nonvehicular warning signs, as well as locations where police have made a traffic stop. The bill also requires drivers to vacate, as soon as possible, any lane that is wholly or partially blocked.
The bill is titled “Sherrill’s Law” and is aimed at improving safety for roadside workers, law enforcement, stranded motorists, and others near disabled or stopped vehicles. It applies to drivers other than emergency response vehicles and preserves the existing requirement to obey traffic control devices and directions from authorized traffic directors. The act takes effect 60 days after passage.
Impact
SB 273 amends RSA 265:37-a, the state statute governing motorist duties when approaching highway emergencies. The practical effect is to expand the set of roadside situations triggering reduced speed and wide-berth obligations, adding stopped or standing vehicles with warning signals and police traffic stops to the list of covered incidents. Because the bill modifies a statute tied to penalties, the fiscal note anticipates possible but indeterminable impacts on judicial and correctional systems, with no direct revenue change and no appropriations required.
Sentiment
The available context suggests the bill was generally viewed as a roadway safety measure rather than a controversial policy change. Its broad sponsorship from multiple senators and representatives and its adoption by both bodies indicate substantial support. The committee materials provided do not show recorded opposition or divided votes, and the bill’s framing around protecting people at roadside emergencies likely contributed to favorable sentiment.
Contention
The main policy issue is the scope of the duty imposed on drivers. The bill extends the wide-berth requirement beyond emergency vehicles to include stopped or standing vehicles with warning signals and police traffic stops, which may raise questions about driver compliance, enforcement, and how much discretion remains when traffic conditions make moving over impractical or unsafe. The fiscal note also flags that because the bill affects a penal statute, any enforcement could have downstream costs for courts and corrections, though those costs are not quantifiable from the available information.