Were You Hit While Stopped on a California Roadway? Here’s What AB 390 Means for Your Claim.
Your car broke down. Or a minor collision left you on the shoulder. You had your hazard lights on. Then another driver hit you, and now you’re the one dealing with injuries, medical bills, and a totaled car.
Since January 1, 2026, California’s expanded “Slow Down, Move Over” law (enacted through Assembly Bill 390) requires every driver to move over a lane or slow to a safe, reasonable speed when approaching any vehicle stopped on the roadside with hazard lights or warning devices out. Violating that duty is not just a traffic infraction. Under California Vehicle Code Section 21809, it is the legal foundation of a personal injury claim.
At Castillo & Montes Attorneys At Law, our car accident lawyers in San Diego have spent nearly 25 years fighting for injured people across Southern California, including those in Riverside and the broader Inland Empire. We’ve recovered over $700 million for our clients, including a $2,750,000 car accident settlement. Call us at 800-497-9774 or fill out our confidential contact form to schedule a consultation.
Key Takeaways
- AB 390 took effect January 1, 2026 and extends move-over protections to ALL stopped vehicles, not just emergency or official vehicles.
- A driver who fails to move over or slow down near a vehicle displaying hazard lights or warning devices violates California Vehicle Code Section 21809.
- That violation can be used to establish negligence per se in a personal injury lawsuit — a significantly stronger legal posture than ordinary negligence.
- The new law contains a warning device condition that insurers may use to challenge your claim. Evidence at the scene matters more than ever.
- The statute of limitations for personal injury in California is generally two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1.
What AB 390 Changed and What the Law Now Requires
Before AB 390, California’s move-over requirement applied to a specific list of vehicles: police and emergency vehicles, Caltrans trucks, tow operators, and other official highway workers displaying flashing lights. A regular driver with a flat tire who was waiting on the shoulder with hazard lights blinking had no special legal protection beyond ordinary traffic rules.
AB 390, authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson and sponsored by AAA, changed that entirely. Under the amended California Vehicle Code Section 21809, drivers approaching any stationary vehicle displaying flashing hazard lights or another warning device, including cones, road flares, or retroreflective devices, must now either move into a lane not immediately adjacent to that vehicle or, if a lane change is not possible, slow to a safe and prudent speed.
California had good reason to act. According to data from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of people killed on the roads in California increased nearly 77% from 2014 to 2023. The state ranked second in the nation for these deaths. With AB 390 now in effect, California joins 28 other states and the District of Columbia in extending these protections to all stranded drivers and passengers.
How a Traffic Violation Becomes a Civil Liability Claim
When a driver passes a stopped vehicle without slowing or moving over, they are not just breaking a traffic law. In California, a violation of a statute enacted to protect a specific class of people from a specific type of harm can give rise to negligence per se. That doctrine matters enormously in a personal injury case.
In ordinary negligence, an injured person must prove that the driver failed to act as a reasonable person would. With negligence per se, the statute’s violation itself establishes the breach of duty. You still have to show causation and damages — that the violation caused your injuries — but the first and often hardest battle of the case becomes much cleaner.
Before AB 390, a stranded civilian driver struck on the shoulder had to argue that the passing driver was careless under general standards.
After AB 390, if that driver failed to move over or slow down for your hazard lights, they violated a specific California statute designed to protect you. The citation, the traffic report, and the dash camera footage all take on different weights. An insurer defending that driver is now defending a statutory violation, not just a judgment call.
Castillo & Montes Attorneys At Law: Your Personal Injury Law Firm in Southern California
Being struck while stopped on the side of the road is a terrifying, life-changing experience. AB 390 gives California courts a clear legal standard to hold negligent drivers accountable, but using that standard effectively requires knowing the details, including the warning device condition that insurers will probe.
With nearly 25 years of experience handling car accident and personal injury cases across Southern California, an Inland Empire office in Riverside, and a fully bilingual team, Castillo & Montes Attorneys At Law is ready to fight for you.
Call us at 800-497-9774 or fill out our confidential contact form to schedule a consultation.
Attorney Domingo Castillo handles workers’ compensation, personal injury, family law & immigration throughout Southern California from our 5 offices: Indio, Pomona, Riverside, San Diego & Cathedral City. We help clients file injury claims, obtain residency & citizenship, and we assist families through divorce, child custody and all family law matters.
