O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 40-6-74 (2019)

Operation of vehicles on approach of authorized emergency vehicles

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle or a vehicle belonging to a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency making use of an audible signal and visual signals meeting the requirements of Code Section 40-6-6, the driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right of way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle or law enforcement vehicle has passed, except when otherwise directed by a police officer. (b) This Code section shall not operate to relieve the driver of any authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway.

History

(Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 556, § 76; Code 1933, § 68A-405, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 633, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 5.)

Annotations

Cross references. - Limitation of liability of persons rendering emergency

care, §§ 31-11-8,

51-1-29,

51-1-30,

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Charge must fit evidence. - Trial court did not err in refusing to give a charge on O.C.G.A. § 40-6-74 if the charge was not adjusted to the evidence. Lucas v. Love, 238 Ga. App. 463, 519 S.E.2d 253 (1999). Construction with O.C.G.A. § 40-6-6. - Read together, O.C.G.A. §§ 40-6-6 and 40-6-74 mandate that a driver has a duty to yield the right of way to an authorized law enforcement vehicle when the law enforcement vehicle approaches making use of an audible signal and visual signal under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of 500 feet to the front of such vehicle, and furthermore the statutes do not restrict an

‘‘audible signal’’ to only sirens, and § 40-6-6 does not apply only when the authorized law enforcement vehicle is responding to an emergency call; accordingly, it was proper to give instructions as to §§ 40-6-6 and 40-6-74 in a suit by a driver who ran into a house while the house was being moved and escorted by police vehicles. Hersh v. Griffith, 284 Ga. App. 15, 643 S.E.2d 309 (2007). Insufficient evidence for conviction. - There was no violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-74 when the evidence was that the officer’s purpose was to stop the defendant for speeding and the state failed to prove that the defendant obstructed the roadway and prevented the

officer from passing the defendant. Jackson v. State, 223 Ga. App. 27, 477 S.E.2d 28 (1996). Evidence was not sufficient to support a conviction for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle since it was established that the police officer was pursuing the defen-

dant, rather than seeking to pass the defendant. Burrell v. State, 225 Ga. App. 264, 483 S.E.2d 679 (1997). Cited in Findley v. McDaniel, 158 Ga. App. 445, 280 S.E.2d 858 (1981); Willis v. Love, 232 Ga. App. 543, 502 S.E.2d 487 (1998).

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 298 et seq. C.J.S. - 60 C.J.S., Motor Vehicles, §§ 35, 53, 54, 56. ALR. - Validity of statute or ordinance giving right of way in streets or highways to certain classes of vehicles, 38 A.L.R. 24.

Right of way at street or highway intersections, 47 A.L.R. 595. Right of way of vehicle carrying policeman, 65 A.L.R. 140. Construction and application of statutory provision requiring motorists to yield right-of-way to emergency vehicle, 87 A.L.R.5th 1.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1992–2022 · leading case: Jackson v. State, 477 S.E.2d 28 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Jackson v. State, 477 S.E.2d 28 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 8× “OCGA § 40-6-74 (a) provides: “Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle or a vehicle belonging to a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency making use of an audible signal and visual signals meeting the requirements of Code Section 40-6-6, the driver…”
Burrell v. State, 483 S.E.2d 679 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 6× “Appellant Kini Tollison Burrell appeals his March 1995 conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI”), in violation of OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (1), and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, in violation of OCGA § 40-6-74. At approximately 9:30 p.m.”
Willis v. Love, 502 S.E.2d 487 (Ga. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 2× “” Willis contends there was such a duty based on OCGA § 40-6-74 which requires a driver to pull over and yield to an approaching emergency vehicle “making use of an audible signal and visual signals.”
Lucas v. Love, 519 S.E.2d 253 (Ga. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 2× “(b) Lucas also maintains that the trial court erred in refusing to give his requested charge on OCGA § 40-6-74 regarding a driver’s duty to stop when approached by emergency vehicles with lights flashing.”
Harden v. Burdette, 420 S.E.2d 626 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 2× “Harden contends she is entitled to partial summary judgment on the issue of negligence because undisputed evidence shows that Burdette was not sounding a siren at the time of the collision in violation of OCGA § 40-6-74 (a) and that Burdette then crossed the centerline of the…”
Williams v. State, 477 S.E.2d 367 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “Morris Dean Williams was convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol while having a probationary license (OCGA § 40-5-58), driving under the influence of alcohol (OCGA § 40-6-391), and failure to yield right of way (OCGA § 40-6-74). Williams enumerates…”
Tamara Perry v. Greene Cnty., Georgia, 392 F. App'x 761 (11th Cir. 2010). “§ 40-2-41, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, in violation of O.C.G.A. § 40-6-74. On December 9, 2009, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants.”
Hersh v. Griffith, 643 S.E.2d 309 (Ga. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 12× “OCGA § 40-6-74 (a) provides that “[u]pon the immediate approach of [a law enforcement vehicle] making use of an audible signal and visual signals .”
State v. Larry Shaw (Ga. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 6× “7 As to OCGA § 40-6-74 (a),1 this statute concerns a driver’s failure to yield to emergency vehicles.”
State v. Donaldson, 510 P.3d 943 (Or. Ct. App. 2022). “State, 223 Ga App 27, 477 SE 2d 28 (1996) (involving OCGA § 40-6-74); and McFerrin v. State, 339 So 2d 127 (1976) (involv- ing “Title 36, Section 19 and 20, Code of Alabama 1940, Recompiled 1958”).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.