They should make this law everywhere!

[BioPassat]

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11036983

Can you imagine the revenue!

 

[MPBsr]

Been the law in NJ for years, but hardly enforced.

 

[Sip'n Diesel]

I tend to agree. another useful law that should be enforced would be the "following too closely" (tailgating) or whatever it's called... unless the "victim" is in the left lane not passing anyone

I was thinking about making a bumper sticker that says "SOMEBODY PASS SOMEBODY!"

 

[TeDeEye1]

This was pased in IL a couple years back, but I have never heard or seen it enforced.

 

[Blackknight]

This is already the law in Michigan but I have never seen it enforced. They even put up signs that say slower traffic keep right, I think that wording leaves too much room for debate though, it should say "Keep right except to pass."

 

[MrMopar]

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11036983Can you imagine the revenue!

This statement alone shows that you are not at all interested in the safety aspect of such a law.

 

[Funguy]

It's the law here in Colorado on roads with speed limits of 65 or higher. I have not seen it enforced. Besides, people need to drive in the left lane anyway when traffic is heavy. I see several of my co-workers who always drive in the left lane but move RIGHT TO PASS in rare cases. Weird to me as I do the exact opposite. So many people drive stupid and these laws aren't going to change it.

 

[German_1er_diesel]

How can highway driving be safe without this law? People passing on the right sounds like a recipe for countless accidents.

 

[MrMopar]

How can highway driving be safe without this law? People passing on the right sounds like a recipe for countless accidents.

Road traffic fatality rates have been declining for 30+ years in the USA, and that's been the bulk of the time that these "left lane lingering" laws have not existed.

That doesn't even account for the laws not being enforced. Since Illinois enacted this law a few years back, I'd like to see the total count of citations that the State Police hand out for this violation. 12.9 million citizens in the state, probably something like 7+ million drivers, and I bet the number of left lane citations is less than 1,000 since the law has been passed. The actual conviction rate must be under 500, because anyone and everyone can just pay a little extra money to have a judgement withheld from their driving record.

Illinois averages something like 1,000 traffic fatalities a year, and a lot of that is from stupid teenagers texting while driving, or DUI problems. After that, we've got roads clogged with Mexicans, Haitians, Dominicans, Guatamalans, and an assortment of other illegal aliens - all driving cocked-up, driving without licenses, driving without insurance, driving like they're still in their home country.

If you can show me an accident report with a death as the result of someone lingering left on the interstate, I'll eat my hat. These low fatality rates show that highway driving is safe without these laws, or is safe without these laws being enforced.

 

[GoFaster]

You won't see an accident report with left-lane dawdling listed as a cause, but how many unsafe lane changes happen because of the left-lane dawdler?

Diligent lane choice helps traffic flow better. German autobahns have a better safety record than North American highways and that's with no speed limit in many cases, but on those roads, you DON'T dawdle in the left lane and DON'T pass on the right (the two requirements go hand in hand - cannot be otherwise) or the "polizei" will get you on video and they WILL ticket you for it!

 

[Funguy]

I understand though that you better not be eating a hamburger, doing your nails or talking on the phone on the autobahn either. That could have a lot to do with their better safety record. I do think that folks driving too slow in the left lane can cause, road rage and unsafe passing and accidents but I would really like to see people calm down and drive with their big heads. You can pass the slow poke safely on the right. And get to your destination 60 seconds before him...........waste of fuel in my opinion though

 

[TornadoRed]

I never passed on the right until I moved to California. There I learned that when the left lanes filled up, the right lanes would often move faster. This was in a county without any exits from the left lane. And this was before the advent of carpool lanes.

 

[Funguy]

I find it amusing when I pass the left lane lovers because the right moves faster. I have noticed there are several parts of my commute where the right lane nearly always moves faster.

 

[Rickstah]

I'm glad someone else passes on the right lane if the left lane driver doesn't move...done that as long as I can remember, but my wife has broken me from giving The Look when I pass, lol, not to mention when concealed carry went into effect several years ago we all got more polite to one another, snicker, let little foh pahs slide by without rancor, as it were. Multi-lane roads here often have one or the other or both lanes going faster than the left so it is just pick one and go on.

I've seen Oklahoma ST come up behind lolligaggers and turn on the lights, sort of goose them over, then go on past, have never been sure if they were just getting the people out of their way so they could get where they were going faster, or were looking out for the welfare of us all .

 

[Matthew_S]

I've found that when traffic is anything more than extremely light the left lane is the only lane where the speed limit is enforced. Because of that I rarely drive in it unless it's the only lane available for passing. When I used to commute 30 miles a day on I5 there were a number of times I blew through a WSP speed trap at 25 over and watched the guy in the left lane that I was passing get stopped instead of me.

 

[MrMopar]

I'm glad someone else passes on the right lane if the left lane driver doesn't move...done that as long as I can remember, but my wife has broken me from giving The Look when I pass, lol

In another post, I pointed out how I almost ALWAYS pass on the right if left isn't moving.

I got scorned for pointing out that when both lanes are locked with Sunday drivers I swing far right into the breakdown lane to pass, or split the lanes if I'm on my motorcycle. Both of these are behaviors I wouldn't recommend - but I'm a professional.

 

[aja8888]

In another post, I pointed out how I almost ALWAYS pass on the right if left isn't moving.

I got scorned for pointing out that when both lanes are locked with Sunday drivers I swing far right into the breakdown lane to pass, or split the lanes if I'm on my motorcycle. Both of these are behaviors I wouldn't recommend - but I'm a professional.

...professional what?

 

[Powder Hound]

Hear, hear. Both behaviors are just nuts, IMO. But if you want to become a statistic, then make sure your estate can handle the damage you'll cause.

So many of these laws aren't because you can't, but because there are some who can't, and behavior needs to be uniform so there is some predictability.

My only qualm about such a law is, what do you do when the right lane is in such bad repair that you don't want to use it if you value your car. I've been on roads like that sometimes. I try to stay out of the left lane when given a choice, but there's times when I'll drive it because the right lane will shake the car apart.

 

[aja8888]

I-10 east in Louisiana is a nightmare in the right lane due to the massive truck traffic. Pot holes, dropped concrete, etc everywhere.

 

[TurbinePower]

I-10 east in Louisiana is a nightmare in the right lane due to the massive truck traffic. Pot holes, dropped concrete, etc everywhere.

If I remember correctly, that was the road they were doing some pretty major reconstruction work on when I made my trip out to Baytown in July.

You're right, it was pretty hideous.

 

[MrMopar]

So many of these laws aren't because you can't, but because there are some who can't, and behavior needs to be uniform so there is some predictability.

It's a stupid law because it tries to tell me what I am/not capable of doing when I'm driving. I'm a superior driver - better than 99% of the general public. My insurance rates are at rock-bottom because I don't get tickets (convictions) and I don't file insurance claims.

It's ridiculous to attempt to regulate the behavior of 100% of the driving public when it's the worst 10% that causes most of the problems - hence the lack of enforcement. The people getting tickets for this are a handful of fark-ups who are likely doing a bunch of other shiatty driving because they shouldn't even have a driver license (or don't have a driver license) and the tickets are a step towards trying to get them off the roads via license suspension or revocation.

The bigger problem is that there is never a lack of new laws that come along to try to regulate more of our behavior, and they're frequently very blatantly stupid laws. It's boilerplate drivel churned out by legislatures that are "tough on crime" and feel the need to appear relevant by advancing legislation against whatever johnny-come-lately "problem" makes an appearance on the local news stations. Oh, and the representatives and senators never fail to find a way to spend about 130% of the revenue that these laws are expected to bring in.

More and more laws against stupid stuff brings about disrespect for the law in general.

No society can exist unless the laws are respected to a certain degree. The safest way to make laws respected is to make them respectable. When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law. These two evils are of equal consequence, and it would be difficult for a person to choose between them.
~ Frédéric Bastiat

 

[Funguy]

I always wonder at what point does the traffic in the right lane become heavy enough to make the right lane law null and open the left lane to normal traffic. I see folks at off hours driving all alone down the left lane and wonder what planet their brains are on. But when rush hour traffic builds there is obviously a point where both lanes need to be used. I don't know of any of these laws that accomodate that

 

[PDJetta]

I have not read all of the other posts, but I like to drive in the left lane if the other lanes are beat up from truck traffic and if the left lane is in better shape. Suspensions last longer this way. The highways (and roads) in the eastern United States where I drive are in just pitiful shape! Most are rough and should have been repaved years ago. Also, there is space to pull to the left if someone cuts you off. I will drive at or close to the left traffic speed flow and if someone is coming up behind me and if I am not behind another driver, I move to the right well before the one behind will attempt to pass.

--Nate

 

[PDJetta]

This discussion reminds me of what I saw yesterday on I-95. I was in the right lane (3 lane highway) going about 65 and a car was in the left lane going maybe 70 - 75 MPH. A Virginia State trooper with his headset lights on and siren blaring was flying up the highway in the left lane and I saw him about a mile before he got to where me and the laft laner were driving. The person in the left did not budge (how could they no notice the trooper?) when the trooper flew up on them. The trooper slows down drastically to avoid rear-ending the left lane driver and for 10 seconds the driver DOES NOT move right, speed up, or slow down. The trooper was right on his a$$ too! I was stunned! Even though the right was clear, the trooper flys to the left and passes on the shoulder at 70+ MPH, kicking up all sorts of debris on the road! My first thought was "What if the driver in the left lane thought that the trooper was attempting to pull them over and moved left onto the shoulder at the same time the trooper floored it past on the left?!" Both the actions of the trooper and left lane driver were quite reckless!

--Nate

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

The problem in this area with a law like that is even the left lane 'dawdlers' are usually exceeding the speed limit. The limited access highway nearest my house has a 60 MPH limit. I usually go 75 and have to stay in the right lane.

But better than that, you can drive in the breakdown lane on parts of this road during peak hours. And the breakdown lane usually moves fastest. The fun part is playing chicken with the cars trying to merge onto the highway. The state fixed the problem by posting yield signs on each onramp. Big help.

I get lots of phone calls from people coming to visit who haven't been here before asking what the F is going on with the people racing by them in the breakdown lane.

 

[Funguy]

I remember driving on the NYS thruway many years ago. Heavy traffic heading towards NYC. Too my surprise I was QUICKLY past by a trooper running on the grassy left shoulder! I don't think there is any call that could justify that sort of recklesness outside of dysentery . Too long ago to really remember the speeds involved but as a then young and reckless kid I remember thinking, you got to be kidding OMG!

Oh and I understand using the left lane when the right is damaged. Just isn't the case in this part of the country.

 

[El Dobro]

In my work commute, where I drive has five lanes on both sides. The amount of lanes doesn't matter to the laft lane travelers. There's plenty signs that tell slower traffic to keep right and keep right, pass left, but it doesn't matter. They'll still hop on the highway and cut straight across all the lanes to get to the left lane. At least in NJ, it's legal to pass on the right, as long as it's a multiple lane, divided highway.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

When I drove to Montana a few years ago my brother warned me that people travel in the left lane on parts of I90 because the right lane is so beat up by trucks. It's not a problem, because often there literally isn't another car in sight.

 

[GoFaster]

I always wonder at what point does the traffic in the right lane become heavy enough to make the right lane law null and open the left lane to normal traffic. I see folks at off hours driving all alone down the left lane and wonder what planet their brains are on. But when rush hour traffic builds there is obviously a point where both lanes need to be used. I don't know of any of these laws that accomodate that

In Europe, the whole "keep right except to pass" and "no passing on right" set of rules is only in effect during free-flowing traffic conditions. If it's jammed up, none of that applies. I don't know how they wrote that in the legislation ... probably that it doesn't apply when moving below a certain speed.

In Germany, some autobahns allow the use of the shoulder during traffic jams. They use the overhead LED sign displays to indicate this. Keep in mind that all the sections of autobahn that have those LED signs also have cameras monitoring conditions along the whole length. If it's jammed, the authorities know it and the last overhead sign before the jam-up displays the dreaded "STAU" symbol (prohibition on left-lane driving and passing on the right no longer apply) and whether or not you can use the shoulder ...

 

[German_1er_diesel]

In Europe, the whole "keep right except to pass" and "no passing on right" set of rules is only in effect during free-flowing traffic conditions. If it's jammed up, none of that applies. I don't know how they wrote that in the legislation ...

German traffic laws, §7-2, 2a:
If multiple lanes are congested or traffic is flowing slowly (up to 60 kph), passing on the right is allowed (max. 20 kph speed difference).