A state lawmaker worries that the Minnesota law that requires motorists to move over for emergency vehicles might be causing more harm than good.

So state Rep. Mike Beard, a Republican from Shakopee, has a bill moving through the House that would change the law by requiring drivers to move over or slow down. 

Beard said “anecdotal research” shows the move-over law has increased the number of accidents, as motorists try to move over too quickly when they see an emergency vehicle, said a story by House Public Information Services.

And he said other states with similar laws include the option to simply slow down:

“They don’t seem to have the same panicky, knee-jerky reaction that we have in Minnesota where it says move over or else is what the implication is. I thought in order to come into conformance, especially on our interstate system, with all the other states around else that we should add the words ‘or slow down’ to the law as it exists.”

Beard’s bill was approved by the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee, which he chairs, and sent to the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee.