09/05/2026
🚨 SLOW DOWN. MOVE OVER.
IT’S THE LAW. 🚨
A quick reminder from the Paynesville Fire Department:
While our firefighters were working a crash scene, several vehicles continued through the area at a high rate of speed, passing within feet of firefighters, law enforcement, and others working in the roadway.
Minnesota law requires drivers approaching an authorized emergency vehicle displaying its warning lights to move over when it is safe and possible to do so. If you cannot move over, you are required to slow down to a reasonable and prudent speed until you have safely passed the emergency scene.
And to be clear, “reasonable and prudent” does not mean continuing through the scene at highway speed or simply maintaining the posted speed limit.
An emergency scene is an unpredictable environment. Firefighters may be moving equipment, patients may be in the roadway, vehicles may be damaged or obstructing lanes, and responders may need to move unexpectedly. Your speed should reflect those conditions and allow you to react if something changes.
If you approach an emergency scene:
- Move over when it can be done safely.
- Slow down significantly when you cannot move over.
- Pay attention to responders, equipment, traffic control, and what is happening around you.
- Be prepared to stop.
Those emergency lights are there for a reason. They mean people are working in or near the roadway and are relying on passing motorists to give them enough time and space to do their jobs safely.
We understand that most people want to get where they are going. But taking an extra few seconds to slow down or move over could be the difference between a firefighter going home safely or becoming part of the emergency.
Please give us room to work- and give every responder the opportunity to go home at the end of the call.
Slow down. Move over. It’s not just courteous. It’s the law.
- Paynesville Fire Department
