Effective September 1, 2025, Animal Control Vehicles and Officers will be covered under Texas's "Move Over or Slow Down" law. This law requires drivers to take precautions, such as moving to a non-adjacent lane or slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit, when passing stationary animal control vehicles on the road to ensure the officers' safety while they are working.

The purpose of the law is to provide a safe buffer zone for these roadside workers and to reduce the risk of accidents, even if the roadside vehicle doesn't have its lights on.

This measure was enacted in part due to tragic accidents that occurred when officers were working on the roadside.

(Section 545.157 (a), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: (7) a vehicle operated by an animal control officer, as defined by Section 829.001, Health and Safety Code, for the purpose of removing an animal or animal carcass from a roadway, or an individual authorized to dispose of a carcass of an animal under section 361.117, Health and Safety Code, for the purpose of removing an animal carcass from a roadway, and using visual signals that comply with standards and specifications adopted under Section 547.105;)