A friend and I were discussing good versus bad drivers over the weekend, and we both agreed that it’s completely annoying when someone’s going right at the speed limit or a little above it in the “fast” lane of a highway.
I remember reading an article written by The Washington Post’s traffic guy, Dr. Gridlock, where someone wrote in and said that in Florida, troopers will actually pull you over for driving in the left lane at the speed limit – something about impeding the flow of traffic or something like that. Anyone know if this is actually a viable thing to do?
And on a related subject, why do so many people NOT know what flashing headlights means? In Europe it’s widespread – “please move over so I can pass.” Here, though, most people either take it as a threat or have no idea.
Yes, you can get a ticket for going the speed limit in the left lane of a highway. It’s going to depend on the laws in your state, but here in Texas, they recently passed a law that states that you may only drive in the left lane to pass other cars. Of course, no one obeys the law, and very few tickets are given out for this, but yes… it’s possible.
Another way to get a ticket by driving the speed limit in the left lane is to drive the speed limit under dangerous conditions. In this scenario, you could get a ticket in any lane. If the road were coated with ice, or if it were raining 20" an hour are a couple of examples of these dangerous conditions.
you can get a ticket if you are blocking traffic by going the speed limit. The idea is that somone behind you could be having a medical emergency and you are being a nusance. Of course, you can also get a ticket for speeding “to get out of the way.”
There are actually so many laws you can get a ticket just about anytime.
[quote]
And on a related subject, why do so many people NOT know what flashing headlights means? In Europe it’s widespread – “please move over so I can pass.”*
Here in Michigan, it can mean a number of things, depending on context. If the person is behind you, it means “You’re a roadblock. Move over so I can pass.” If the person is heading towards you, it can mean one of two things:
A) “You’ve left your brights on. Other people have to see where they’re going too, you know.”
or
B) “Watch out! The cops have set up a speed trap ahead.”
I live in Florida, and my brother is a police officer and I know several others. You can get a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic. Particularly if the officer just wants to get around you and go home cause it’s the end of his shift.
Flashing headlights: if I’m behind you, get out of my way. If I’m coming at you, generally there’s a cop somewhere. If I leave them on, it means you’ve got your brights on and you’re pissing me off.
I just met a motorcylce cop who works on Route 27 (I think) in Florida and he said he’d ticketed guys going 10mph too slow in the fast lane, but said he couldn’t ticket people going the limit, and I don’t think he would have the legal recourse to do so. I mean, the speed limit is the speed limit, period. I think you’d have a good defense in court if you got ticketed for going 65 in a 65 mph zone, dontcha think?
As for going too slow, the charge is obstructing traffic or creating a traffic hazard.
I hate to disagree but I think this is wrong. You are NEVER (legally anyway) allowed to surpass the speed limit…even when passing. This includes medical emergencies as well. Ambulances drive the speed limit, no more. Granted…it’d take a serious jerk of a cop to ticket you for speeding to the hospital with your dying child but technically they could. The theory is that the speed limit is there for your and others safety. Speeding with your sick child just endangers more people (mind you, if it was my child I’d be driving 90 on the shoulder if necessary). Someone in the ‘fast lane’ is abiding the speed limit…you passing them at 10 mph over the speed limit are the one who can be pulled over.
Another spin on this is turning right on a red light. Even if it is legal you are not obliged to make the turn on red no matter how clear traffic is. If you’re stuck behind someone like this it’s tough luck for you. They are free to wait till the light turns green if they wish.
I haven’t been able to find a reference online, but I seem to remember a case about 5 or 6 year ago in Ontario where a man was given a ticket on the 401 despite travelling the speed limit (traffic on the 401 usually seems to go about 20km over the speed limit). He started yet another campaign to raise speed limits. I ran a search but don’t really have enough facts to narrow it down. Still I can see a cop ticketing you for obstructing traffic, especially if you are in the left lan.
Welp, i don’t know what other states are doing now a days, but PA just passed a law this past spring basically declaring that the fast lane is no longer the fast, but the Passing lane. The law basically is this: you have 2 miles to pass a car that is in the right hand lane, if you do not pass a car within 2 miles of moving over into the left/fast lane, the cops can ticket you. Why?? i have no idea, but the state thought it was a good idea. As for doing the speed limit in the left lane, no they can not give you a ticket for that, unless they wish to end up in endless lawsuits.
I’ve gotten out of a speeding ticket already when this jerk cop thought he had me. He claimed i was doing 59 in a 55 mph zone. I took the guy to court to fight the ticket, because a cop friend of mine said that you are allowed, in PA anyways, to go 5 mph over the posted speed limit due to the fact that not all car speedodometers <sp?> are dead on accurate. Needless to say the judge agreed with me and let me off the hook. Shame i couldn’t claim Dislexia when i got busted doing 53 in a 35. oh well, such is life i guess.
If they decide that the left lane is the passing lane here near Chicago, then I wonder where all those cars will go. Won’t this affect highway capacity? Wouldn’t this seriously change how roads wear out? Is there exception for when you have a left exit?
This question came up at a meeting of MADD a few months ago in Florida. The officer who was there said…
“The idea of a fast lane is rather like an urban legend. The speed limit is exactly that, the limit. You may go no faster than the posted speed in any of the lanes. There is no law that says a ‘Fast’ lane exists.”
Jeff, I hate to disagree too, but I know what you said is wrong.
In Virginia, at least, Va. Code § 46.2-920 provides in pertinent part:
Ambulances - “Any ambulance, rescue, or life-saving vehicle designed or used for the principal purpose of supplying resuscitation or emergency relief where human life is endangered” - may legally exceed the speed limit. They may also disregard traffic lights and signs, park or stop where otherwise prohibited, and pass or overtake other vehicles where otherwise prohibited.
Well I was just recently looking a similar subject up in the books 'o law here in Ca. and found a law that states:
Section 21656. On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, a slow-moving vehicle, including a passenger vehicle, behind which five or more vehicles are formed in line, shall turn off the roadway at the nearest place designated as a turnout by signs erected by the authority having jurisdiction over the highway, or wherever sufficient area for a safe turnout exists, in order to permit the vehicles following it to proceed. As used in this section a slow-moving vehicle is one which is proceeding at a rate of speed less than the normal flow of traffic at the particular time and place.
This may not be the situation you are looking for because in this situation you are getting ticketed for not yielding, even though you may be going the speed limit.
Also, regarding flashing your headlights, California has this mandated as a way to alert a driver that you wish to pass.
21753. Except when passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall safely move to the right-hand side of the highway in favor of the overtaking vehicle after an audible signal or a momentary flash of headlights by the overtaking vehicle, and shall not increase the speed of his or her vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle. This section does not require the driver of an overtaken vehicle to drive on the shoulder of the highway in order to allow the overtaking vehicle to pass.
The real reason for thinking of the left lane as passing lane (in my humble opinion, of course) as opposed to fast lane isn’t necessarily to prevent people from breaking the speed limit. It’s to prevent the bad drivers who nudge up to and then lock with the car on the right so that no one can pass. It’s times like those when I would like to mount some sort of projectile weapon on the hood.
I’m not sure if this was an actual law, or just urban legend, but if it was a legend it was well known enough for a few cops to believe it. In colorado on a two lane road(one lane in each direction), you were allowed to go over the speed limit while in the act of passing, The idea being that you don’t want people lingering longer than needed in the oncoming lane of traffic. My dad got out of a speeding ticket by saying he was passing, and I talked a cop out of one by mentioning the law, although the cop said that the law had been taken off the books.
I can’t seem to find my Texas Penal Code book just now (1993… a bit dated, but still somewhat useful), but IIRC, here in Texas, there is a similar law to the one Bricker posted from Virginia. The one here goes a step further though. It provides that if an individual driving a vehicle that is not designated as an “emergency vehicle” has an emergency situation, they may exceed the speed limit. It gets specific with what constitutes an emergency, and does not include “… but I had to take a piss really bad officer”.
As I recall, the speed limit is always defined as a speed at which a vehicle can safely be operated under the conditions of the road. The posted limit is a maximum speed based on the design and use of the road and is meant to indicate a speed at which the regulating department considers it safe to drive under ideal conditions (good weather without glare, free-flowing traffic, well-maintained surface free of water, oil, or debris - etc.)
As was said before, this type of law tends to give the maximum flexibility to the enforcing officer. It’s going to be between him/her and the judge how strictly or broadly to interpret the law in your case and in most circumstances, they seem to do a creditable job.
What you are talking about is called the “basic speed law” whereas posted limits are considered the “prima facie” law. California code goes on to describe exactly what the prima facie limits are in all situations.
As an interesting side note, the town of Apple Valley in California is doing a study that raises the prima facia limit of highways (highways now have a prima facie of 25 mph) to 35 mph. This is specifically mentioned in the law, in fact sections 22352 & 22352.1 of the Vehicle Code are about this study. In the law, highways are not what most people think of. Right now in Ca. almost all city streets that have a limit of 25 are considered highways as opposed to state highways that most people think of when they hear the word highway.
Anyway, I thought it was interesting at least…
Shame i couldn’t claim Dislexia when i got busted doing 53 in a 35. 
oh well, such is life i guess.