TexasCHLforum.com

ELB wrote:

srothstein wrote: .... Be careful about this, I see a large potential for abuse in this.

How so/by who?

elb

By some of the less scrupulous police agencies/officers. As someone else pointed out, tow truck drivers seem to have a habit of turning those lights on all the time. This may not be a bad thing, but it is a fact. Suppose you see a cop sitting there with no lights on, but the tow truck driver sitting there has his lights on. The cop may be just waiting for someone to go by without slowing/moving over.

There were reports of some cities that set up traps like this when the move over law first went into effect. I see it happening again, especially since there was less publicity about this change.

On Sep. 1, 2011, the maximum posted speed limit in Texas (I-10 and I-20 in west Texas) goes to 85, the highest posted limit in the US. The day/night speed differential is removed for anywhere in the state, as is the car/truck difference.

And, one that slipped past and I did not know about until I saw the DPS PR notice is the move over law has been expanded to cover tow trucks. The law said you had to move over one full lane or slow to at least 20 under the speed limit for police, fire, and EMS units with their emergency lights activated. This now includes tow trucks with their warning lights on. Be careful about this, I see a large potential for abuse in this.