Effective July 1, House Bill 767 requires any motorist approaching utility linemen at an active work site, as indicated by traffic cones or fl ashing yellow, amber, white or red lights, to change lanes or reduce their speed to a reasonable and proper speed below the posted speed limit. Any motorist who does not change lanes or drop their speed to avoid the utility workers can be fi ned up to $250 per incident. The new bill applies to all types of utility workers, including electric, natural gas, cable and telecommunications workers, right-of-way crews or utility contractors.

"This bill will help the selfless linemen and women in Georgia go home safely to their families after working around the clock to keep our lights on, even in extreme weather conditions." - Gov. Nathan Deal said April 19th when he signed the bill.