“Move over” when approaching utility linemen at work or face fine

Earlier this year, a new state law went into effect and local utilities officials hope that motorists take note.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed House Bill 767, the “Move Over for Linemen Act” in April, but many motorists may not be aware of it.
This law requires any motorist approaching utility linemen at an active work site to change lanes or reduce their speed to a reasonable and proper speed below the posted speed limit.  Any driver who does not change lanes or lower their speed can be fined up to $250 per incident.   
“Grady EMC appreciates the support of our local legislative delegation in supporting this
important piece of legislation,” said Donnie Prince, Manager of Member Services at Grady EMC.  
“The work our linemen do is dangerous enough without the distraction of cars speeding through their work zone.”
During the 2016 legislative session, the EMC’s statewide trade association, Georgia EMC, led a coalition of utilities and businesses consisting of the 41 EMCs, Georgia Power and the  
Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) systems in support of HB 767.
“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the safety of our men and women at Grady
EMC,” said Bo Rosser, President of Grady EMC.  “This law affords our crews the same
protections that other first responders already enjoy.”   
Rosser added, “I would like to commend the volunteer firefighters as well as all first responder personnel who work in the county, because they have been a great asset during storms and other outage related incidents. Their assistance and work with traffic and other related issues during restoration efforts has been greatly appreciated by Grady EMC.”