It is now a law in Maryland and most, but not all States. I got a ticket in my Elise a couple of years ago. Went to court because the cop was just sitting on the shoulder with his lights on waiting for someone not to move over. Couldn't move over fast enough because of rear visibility in the Elise, but slowed down and was moving over as I passed him. Judged asked the Cop if he felt I had enough room to move over and even though Maryland Law stated that ONLY THE DRIVER has the right to decide if it is safe to change lanes, the new "move over" law apparently "superseeds" the other one. The cops have been out super-enforcing the "move over law" in Maryland.

 

When I lived in California it was required to pull over and slow or stop. Now live in Michigan....same law. Evidently people have been ignoring it here as there have been public safety announcements that cops are stepping up enforcement. I remember seeing a fire truck with siren driving down road with several cars following right behind it...probably thinking the fire truck would run interference for them and they all got pulled over;-)

Also.... in Michigan when school busses are stopped they have a stop sign that folds out from the bus and traffic has to stop in both directions. I see people driving around the school busses with signs showing... that is a BIG $$$ ticket. In California flashing lights mean the same thing without the mechanical sign showing.

 

Here in Texas, we have to yield the right of way to lights and sirens: pull over to the right in other words and slow down/stop. I had a friend who got a ticket (I think it was $300 or so) for it once and it counted as a moving violation. Now, in actuality, sometimes our roads are so clogged, most officers will give you leniency as long as you TRY to yield to the light by slowing down, hazard blinkers, etc. I've seen it a lot of times where the person in the right lane actively won't let cars over, so what can we do about it sometimes?

We also have a new law that says you have to slow down by 20 or change lanes if there are emergency vehicles in the lane next to you, so an officer with someone pulled over, fire truck, etc. This one is also a steep ticket. Yes, if it's a two lane road and they have someone on the shoulder, you'd better slow down 20. Again, lots of times where people won't let someone over and I have to ride the brakes which causes onlooker delays and the ripple effect of traffic.

Honestly, I support and personally act upon these laws. If those lights and sirens were going to my house, I'd want to get out of their way as fast/safely as possible. And changing lanes when there is police activity on the shoulder gives them more room to work in as well as a larger safety margin. The downside is that there are a lot of people who are not aware of these rules or enforce their own rules of the road, so as always, it's to our own credit to pay attention as much as possible. Besides, those new LED emergency lights are BRIGHT, so it's your own damn fault if you don't see them!!

 

A few years ago on the tollway between New York City and Washington DC I saw a highway patrol car approaching fast in the far left-hand lane. I pulled over and slowed to give him plenty of space. No-one else did. He ended up barrelling along the left-hand breakdown lane throwing up all sorts of debris. To the other motorists it was like he didn't exist. I couldn't believe it. There was another phenomenon where broken down cars were sitting in the middle of a multi-lane motorway too. You'd think if your car was having problems, you'd pull over to the verge. For some, apparently not.
In Oz (NSW) we should indicate, slow and pull over to allow an emergency vehicle pass but I've been noticing this action seems to be happening less and less. Most seem to pull over only when said emergency vehicle is up their exhaust pipe.