By Wayne Wilson, Highway Safety Education Campaign Manager, Caltrans
Roadside workers put their lives on the line every day to help people traveling on California’s roads. Their work allows us to arrive at our destinations and return home safely. Many of these people are tow truck drivers, Freeway Service Patrol teams, and Caltrans crews who stop to assist drivers. To mark their valuable service, every third week in June is Roadside Assistance Worker Appreciation Week, dedicated to honoring roadside workers and the critical work they accomplish. This year, we also want to urge drivers to uphold California’s Slow Down, Move Over law.
The law is simple: If you see any vehicle stopped on the side of the road with flashing hazard lights, you must slow down or move over a lane when it is safe to do so. If you cannot move over, you must slow to a safe and reasonable speed. This protects workers, stranded drivers, passengers, and families traveling on our roads.
Too many people are struck and killed on the roadside near fast-moving traffic. In 2023, crashes involving a parked or working vehicle claimed 176 lives across California. Many of these tragedies were preventable if drivers had slowed down or moved over. Roadside Assistance Worker Appreciation Week, observed June 14 to 20, is a reminder that highway workers deserve the same consideration from drivers as everyone else on the roadways.
What First Responders See
To understand the danger roadside workers face, see the reality they experience on the job. Romell Effinger, a AAA tow truck operator who has helped drivers for nine years, lived through a moment that changed how he sees this work.
One night on Highway 99, during a heavy storm, he was helping a stranded driver near an off-ramp when a car spun out beside him. A second car crashed into it, pushing the vehicle toward the back of his truck and into the space where he had been standing only moments before. The California Highway Patrol had to shut down the highway so he could finish the job safely.
Experiences like this stay with roadside workers. They stand inches from fast-moving traffic, where failure to provide that much needed buffer can mean the difference between life and death. Romell’s story is not rare. National data shows that Black Americans experience the highest traffic fatality rates per mile traveled, which means our communities are more at risk when drivers do not slow down or move over.
Why This Week Matters
Roadside Assistance Worker Appreciation Week is more than a thank you. It is a call to action. Summer is one of the busiest travel seasons in California. More cars on the road means more breakdowns, more flat tires, and more workers helping people on the shoulder. When drivers are distracted, speeding, or not paying attention, these workers face even greater danger.
Caltrans and the Office of Traffic Safety are working to make sure every driver understands their responsibility. Slowing down or moving over is not just courtesy; it saves lives. It protects the people helping us, and it protects families sharing our roadways.
A Shared Responsibility
In our communities, we look out for one another. This law is one more way we can do that. The next stranded driver could be someone you love. The worker helping them is someone’s family. Let’s help get them all home safely.
Slow down. Move over. Save a life.
Visit http://www.beworkzonealert.dot.ca.gov or more information about California’s Slow Down Move Over law.
