Drivers on New York’s highways know when you see a police car or tow truck on the side of the road, to slow down and move over to avoid any chance of a collision. Now, the state's "Move Over Law" could soon be expanded so that drivers must move over for any vehicle parked, stalled or standing on the shoulder of a highway.

John Longo says that most drivers respect the Move Over Law. But it hasn’t quite caught on with all drivers.

“Even for the police, they tend to ignore the the the whole process," said Longo, a driver.

Right now, the law mandates drivers slow down and move over when passing an emergency vehicle or tow truck stopped on the shoulder.

Assembly Member Ken Zebrowski has written legislation to expand the Move Over Law. The bill passed the Senate and Assembly and awaits a signature from Gov. Kathy Hochul to become law.

“We definitely saw an increase in safety for first-responder vehicles, police officers, tow trucks and things like that, so it should be the same type of safety increase for all the other vehicles," Zebrowski said.

According to AAA, 1,700 people nationwide have been hit and killed outside of a disabled vehicle from 2016 to 2020.

“Thirty-seven of those fatalities were right here in New York state," said Lauren Paterno, Northeast government affairs representative for AAA. "So we really feel like these deaths are preventable, but we all have to do our part to stay alert and slow down and move over when possible.”

Longo hopes the bill gets passed, making New York’s highways a little safer for everyone.

“There seems to be a lot of people getting into accidents that are good samaritans. I think they're mainly standing alongside their cars that were broken down there. They're in danger,” Longo said.