Why is it illegal to pass someone on the right on the highway in the US? In Canada if there’s a three lane highway which, in my case, isn’t very prominent, there’s really no law that enforces it, it’s more of a respect thing here on two lane highways both ways if someone is going slow in the left lane to go into the right but I’m just curious as to why it’s actually enforced in the US?
It probably depends on the state, but in mine the restriction on passing on the right is for two-lane or unmarked roads. It is not applicable to multiple lanes in the same direction.
There are but I’ve never seen it enforced. I’ve watched cops get stuck behind people in the left lane who aren’t passing (presumably because they’d have to exceed the speed limit to do so and there was a cop behind them) even though the law was that you couldn’t go more than a certain distance in the left lane without passing someone. This happened dozens of times.
I was living in Colorado a few years back as a new teenage driver and the law, which I was at the time unaware of, was indeed enforced upon me. Granted I didn’t get a ticket, but I was pulled over and handed a warning slip from the police officer.
There’s a cop in Wells, Nevada that likes to drive ten under the speed limit and then pull people with out of state license plates over for “passing a cop”. So, y’know, a lot of traffic rules are arbitrary.
Limit’s 55. I’d be doing 55. He was doing 45. He wrote 70 on the ticket. It was cheaper to pay than to travel 800 miles to contest the ticket, which had to be done in person. So yeah, he made it illegal.
Oh definitely. Dad made us do martial arts at the local police captain’s dojo so we knew how to handle ourselves around police. Also because he needed to bribe them after taking a wrongful death case against a local cop and they kept pulling him over for “broken” taillights. It was an enlightening experience.
Dude was old and drove like an ass. I used to tell him he was gonna get his driver’s license taken away and he was gonna have to drive the forklift home on the shoulder of the highway every day lol
It’s more dangerous, if you’re about to pass a vehicle which limits your vision like a semi, box truck, delivery van, etc. and you can’t really see what’s ahead of you in the right lane, if you’re sitting in the left side of the vehicle, you won’t get good visibility until you are a decent amount of the way into the lane already.
By the time you’re far enough In to see what’s ahead of you it may be too late to switch back if there’s a slow vehicle and you can rear end them. Passing on the left you can see what’s ahead by just moving close to the left and craning your head a bit.
No passing on the right law is combined with obligatory moving to the slower right if that lane matches your speed more.
This creates lanes with different speeds without the need for swerving between slower cars. And you can choose the lane(speed) you’re most comfortable with without being disturbed. This contributies to a more steady and safer flow of traffic.
In Europe (in my case the Netherlands, but it’s similar in surrounding countries) you cannot pass on the right and you can get fined for it. If you do pass on the right you’re taking a bigger risk because it is not expected.
You can also get fined for staying in the left or middle lane for too long. But that’s somewhat rare. You can get away with it a bit to pass an extra truck (our trucks speed limit is slower) or if the right lane is full and slower than the lane to the left of it, but don’t drive excessively slow on the left. Especially on the Autobahn.
It’s not a law in Ohio. I consider myself a pretty safe driver as my job requires me to drive a lot in a van full of chemicals and I can say it’s best to pass on the left for at least 2 reasons. First, driving in a predictable manner is key for making the roads safer for everyone. Second, as driver you have a better view of the lane you are merging onto since you are seated on the left side. Imagine passing a semi trailer on the right. If there is stopped traffic in the right lane you are less likely to see it.
There are laws to enforce it, but actual enforcement is light.
As to why this is a law, it comes down to safety. It is generally safer that traffic speeds have a gradient in one direction. The left lanes are less likely to see merging of traffic and the driver is on the left side, making it easier for the driver to notice passing traffic.
It’s to make the standard practice passing on the left, so people aren’t surprised by someone passing on the right. Since drivers sit on the left, another vehicle approaching on that side is easier to see.
Slower moving traffic should be on the right. So to pass someone you should need to move to the left lane. In some states in the US it is also illegal to be in the left lane unneeded, and I known of cops that would use the justification of being in the left lane to pull someone over even if it not illegal.
It’s actually not illegal in Texas. At least according to the cop that pulled me over for flashing my lights at someone doing 55 in the left lane when the speed limit was 70. He told me to just go around it’s not illegal.
It’s not illegal in Oregon either and I actually looked up the statute to confirm.
You seriously got pulled over for flashing your lights at a left lane camper? I thought it was actually codified in law down there (or maybe one of the neighboring states) that you can flash your light to indicate your desire to pass.
I don’t know about the US, but in Germany the right lane is for getting on and off the high way, so going very fast there might be dangerous. It also just makes things less chaotic, traffic becomes more predictable and driving less exhausting.
There are laws about passing on the right in Ontario:
Section 150 of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act states that using the right lane for passing a car in the left lane is legal as long as it can be done safely and one of the following conditions be met.
The law states the car you’re passing must be making or signalling a left turn; that the road must be wide enough for two lanes of traffic in both directions; or that the highway be designated for one-way traffic only.
20 years ago I asked my dad this and he said it was because if you pass on the right and then try to merge back into the left lane, any mistakes force you (or the other car) into oncoming traffic.
I think it’s also about being predictable and consistent. Generally, slow traffic stays to the right and fast traffic stays to the left. Breaking convention increases the chance of surprises and accidents.
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