Driving Around Barricades On Flooded Roads In Oklahoma Could Cost You

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A state law that took effect in May allows emergency services to seek reimbursement for responding to anyone who ignores barricades and drives into flood waters.

Governor Mary Fallin signed State House Bill 1232 into law on May 18, 2011.

The bill had an emergency clause attached, meaning it went into effect as soon as Governor  Fallin signed it. 

If a driver violates the new law, a court could fine him or her from $100 to $1,000.  The driver may also face up to 30 days in the county jail.

The law provides for "the court to order restitution in an amount equal to the actual costs of the emergency response and repair or replacement of any damaged or lost emergency equipment."

Read HB 1232.

HB 1232 also puts teeth in those "Merge Now" signs placed ahead of highway construction zones.

The law requires drivers to merge as soon as practicable and without passing, on the left or right, other drivers heading in the same direction.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol will hold a news conference on Tuesday morning at its troop headquarters on Skelly Drive in Tulsa to discuss the new law.