Failure to maintain safe distance from motor vehicle; penalty. (1) A person operating a motor vehicle commits the offense of failure to maintain a safe distance from a motor vehicle if the person approaches a motor vehicle that is stopped and is displaying required warning lights or hazard lights, or a person is indicating distress by using emergency flares or posting emergency signs, and the person operating the motor vehicle

(a) On a highway having two or more lanes for traffic in a single direction, fails to:

(A) Make a lane change to a lane not adjacent to that of the stopped motor vehicle; or

(B) Reduce the speed of the motor vehicle to a speed that is at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180.

(b) On a two directional, two-lane highway, fails to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle to a speed that is at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180.

(2) A person is not in violation of the offense described in this section if the stopped motor vehicle is in a designated parking area.

(3) The offense described in this section, failure to maintain a safe distance from a motor vehicle, is a Class B traffic violation. [2003 c.42 §2; 2009 c.198 §1; 2010 c.30 §17; 2017 c.305 §1]

Note: 811.147 was added to and made a part of the Oregon Vehicle Code by legislative action but was not added to ORS chapter 811 or any series therein. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.