Drivers Slower Traffic Keep Right

Slower Drivers Keep Right Capacitance. Unsubscribe from Capacitance? Traffic Myths: No. 4 - Driving in the Turn Lane - Duration: 1:22. Portland Police 8,899 views. Slower traffic should keep right under the law. But how often does that happen? It is a universal pet peeve: a car or truck that cannot keep up with the flow of traffic.

• Ever hear the phrase 'Slower traffic keep right'? It's a classic — and following it doesn't hurt such fast-lane fools one bit. But they sure act like it does.
• But driving slower than the posted speed limit in normal conditions can affect the flow of traffic and endanger others, says the New York State DMV. Drivers going below the minimum speed can be charged with a moving violation for blocking or impeding traffic.

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When Denver was recently named one of the best American cities for driving, one question immediately occurred to us: Are they out of their freaking minds?

A number of factors fueled our doubts. For one thing, the source of 'USA's Best Cities for Driving,' which ranked Denver as the sixth-best motoring city in the nation (behind Charlotte, Fort Worth, Chicago, Philadelphia and Columbus but ahead of New York City, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston in the top ten) is Insure My Rental Car, which isn't exactly our go-to website for unimpeachable, rigorously researched analyses. For another, a report released by Bankrate in December 2018 deemed Colorado the eighth-worst state for driving — and last time we checked, Denver is actually located there.

But the most important reason for our reaction had to do with our experiences on the streets of the Mile High City, which have been bad for years and are only getting worse.

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Why? Here are our top ten reasons, out of a possible one billion.

Number 1: Highway Construction

Major highways in the metro area are torn up just about everywhere you look. Take Interstate 70, where the controversial Central 70 project regularly results in lane shutdowns and shifts through construction zones and even full closures. Moreover, sections of the twelve-mile stretch in question are going to remain a mess until at least 2022 unless critics succeed in the tall task of killing the whole thing — and if that happens, two other highways (I-270 and I-76) would need renovating to handle the increased traffic.

From a commuter's standpoint, that's a lose-lose proposition, at least in the short run — if 'short' can be used to describe something that would last years.

Construction is also happening along C-470, and in May 2018, we were told it was supposed to be finished this spring. Based on what it looks like right now, however, that's a pipe dream.

The Colorado Department of Transportation tries to keep traffic flowing through areas under construction, particularly during rush hours, and much of the work is being done at night. But that hasn't prevented gridlock from being a regular occurrence in these sections and on either side of them — and as a result, many of us are torn between measuring our commute times with a sundial or an hourglass.

Either of which would work all too well.

Number 2: Surface Street Construction

Whoever makes orange street cones is making a mint in Denver. Turn any corner in the city and you're likely to encounter at least one of them — and they're typically accompanied by plenty of pals.

Some of the work gets done pretty quickly, including the repair of potholes, which the city pledges to fill within three business days of them being reported. But there are also many areas that are under siege from crews for weeks or months at a time.

For evidence, click on the construction map for north Denver. A recent visit revealed two temporary intersection closures, more than a dozen temporary bus stop closures and so many lane restrictions or road closures (some temporary, some permanent) that the graphic looks like an intricate maze with no exit.

Number 3: Dangerous Ramps

The transitions between Denver highways and surface streets can be a little slice of hell, even when they've been completely eliminated. Note that the

to westbound I-70 (another gift from Central 70) has led to a slew of unexpected and unpleasant consequences for residents of RiNo and the Cole neighborhood.

Loads of working ramps bring risks of their own. In March 2017, a Denver Police Department list of the most dangerous intersections in the city was dominated by highway exits. Interstate 25 at Yale Avenue experienced twenty accidents between January 1 and March 5 of that year, and this total was only good enough for tenth on the roster. During the same period, Interstate 25 at Sixth Avenue bore witness to sixty crashes.

Think the situation's gotten better since then? Doubt it.

Number 4: Traffic Volume

Construction slowdowns on highways and surface streets are exacerbated by the number of cars on the various roadways — and thanks to rapid growth in Denver, which reportedly added

people during a recent seven-year period, there seem to be more and more of them with every passing day.

As a result, routes where the speed limits could easily be reached or even succeeded not long ago are becoming veritable bogs, and spots that were previously troublesome can now be the equivalent of a still life, except with Fords and Toyotas rather than bowls of fruit.

Number 5: Slow Traffic That Won't Always Keep Right

There are no shortage of

. Some of them are distracted by personal electronic devices or the beauty of the place they live, while a percentage are self-appointed highway guardians who apparently want to teach everyone else around them a speed-limit lesson.

Whatever their reasons for dragging anchor, though, such travelers are flat-out dangerous to themselves and others, since drivers who feel frustrated at being stuck behind them may make risky lane changes in a desperate attempt to put them in their rearview mirror forever. But even when this kind of behavior doesn't precipitate crunching metal, it's totally unacceptable, especially at a time when traffic is getting more and more congested.

Ever hear the phrase 'Slower traffic keep right'? It's a classic — and following it doesn't hurt such fast-lane fools one bit. But they sure act like it does.

Number 6: Out of Sync

Of course, if the traffic signals on major routes are properly synchronized, drivers don't have to mash their gas pedal into the floorboard to get from point A to point B in under a century — but that's rare in Denver despite

. And the time it takes for some traffic signals to cycle through can feel like several eternities. The one at Speer and Wewatta, near the Pepsi Center, has been timed at 150 seconds, or two and a half minutes.

No, we're not kidding.

Number 7: Cyclists and Scooters

The interactions between cars and two-wheeled vehicles such as bicycles and scooters range from irritating to deadly — in 2018, Denver registered

— and there's plenty of blame to go around.

Earlier this year, the Denver Streets Partnership issued a report card for 2018 in regard to Vision Zero, an action plan launched by Mayor Michael Hancock that aims to eliminate traffic deaths in the Mile High City by 2030. The city earned an overall grade of 'C,' with gains related to added bike lanes and reconfigured intersections more than offset by shortfalls when it came to traffic calming, sidewalk installation, enhanced lighting, the redesign of pedestrian crossings and so on.

Bike advocates complain that the city hasn't done enough to make cycling safe, and new rules for scooters haven't ended those moments when cars must screech to a halt in order to avoid turning a joy rider into a stain on the pavement.

Number 8: Rapid Weather Changes

perfectly symbolized the ways in which conditions in Denver can go from benign to bizarre with the snap of a finger. That morning, warnings about a monster storm seemed completely absurd. Then the wind whipped up, and within a matter of minutes, snow was being hurled sideways, covering cars with sickening splats.

Even longtime Denver residents had difficulty dealing with the meteorological craziness. So you can guess how lots of recent arrivals managed.

Drivers Slower Traffic Keep Right Sign

Number 9: Transplants

It's not fair to generalize about the driving skills of folks who've moved to Denver from other parts of the country. Some of them lived in places that get their share of inclement weather and they're able to react appropriately. But thousands upon thousands of others seem to respond to the sight of snow or even rain with either molar-clenching panic that causes them to drive far more slowly than necessary or a blithe disregard for slick stuff that turns them into rolling threats to the health and welfare of everyone around them.

And unfortunately, they're seldom in Geo Metros.

Number 10: SUVs

Sport-utility vehicles are Denver favorites whether their owners are into off-roading or not. But far too often, SUV drivers, as well as pilots of souped-up passenger trucks, seem to believe the laws of physics don't apply to them.

Put a Denver newcomer into one of these rides on a wet or icy road and you've got a formula for disaster. But folks who've lived in the Mile High City for years aren't immune from this delusion. We've all had the experience of bracing for impact as an SUV careens down the highway looking as if the only way it will stop is if it collides with something larger and more stationary. Usually the worst doesn't happen. But sometimes it does.

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It is the universal trigger and a pet peeve of millions of drivers. You're making good time traveling 75 MPH in the left lane of a freeway with a 70 MPH posted speed limit. You tap your brakes, turning off the cruise control, because a midnight blue 2012 Buick Regal is firmly ensconced in the left passing lane, traveling at 65 MPH and staying abreast of a Kenworth tractor pulling a 53-foot trailer. Fifteen minutes later traffic is bumper to bumper behind you as far as you can see, and you resort to flashing your lights, to no avail. The driver of the Buick Regal believes that traveling at or near the speed limit in the fast lane is acceptable—and that they are teaching the impatient drivers behind them a valuable lesson in driving safety. In a perfect world, a sheriff's deputy would suddenly appear and pull the Buick Regal over for unsafe driving and violation of state driving statutes. Far too often, however, instant karma doesn't occur, but an accident does. Driving in the left lane for anything other than passing is not only illegal, its unsafe and results in thousands of accidents annually, according to a study by the Traffic Operations & Safety Laboratory within the engineering department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When looking for deeper pockets or additional defendants in automobile collision litigation, don't look past the driver who may have put the entire sequence of events into action. If a driver is parked in the left lane on a four-lane highway and is not passing someone or making a left turn, he or she is breaking the law in a majority of states and can be ticketed.

A growing number of U.S. states are passing traffic laws that regulate driving in the left lane. Some allow it only for passing and others require slower traffic to yield the left lane if a faster vehicle is approaching. For a chart on the law in all 50 states regarding traveling in the left lane see HERE. In Texas, for example, signs on Texas multi-lane highways that read 'Left Lane For Passing Only' indicate that the left lane on a divided highway is not a 'fast' lane; it is a passing lane only. After passing someone and safely clearing the vehicle passed, a driver must move back into the right lane. In Texas, impeding the flow of traffic by continuing to drive in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200.

There are two types of drivers: (1) those who get upset when somebody is illegally hanging out in the left passing lane, and (2) those who are blissfully ignorant that hanging out in the passing lane is both illegal and dangerous. When slower drivers are scattered between the right and left lanes, faster drivers must weave back and forth, slowing and speeding up repeatedly. For those who believe that they shouldn't have to move over if they're driving the posted speed limit, not only are they driving illegally, but evidence shows that slowing down and changing lanes is more dangerous than speeding. A car going 5 MPH slower than the speed limit has a greater chance of causing an accident than one going 5 MPH faster than the speed limit. That is why every state has some law on the books restricting the use of the left passing lane.

It is the universal trigger and a pet peeve of millions of drivers. You're making good time traveling 75 MPH in the left lane of a freeway with a 70 MPH posted speed limit. You tap your brakes, turning off the cruise control, because a midnight blue 2012 Buick Regal is firmly ensconced in the left passing lane, traveling at 65 MPH and staying abreast of a Kenworth tractor pulling a 53-foot trailer. Fifteen minutes later traffic is bumper to bumper behind you as far as you can see, and you resort to flashing your lights, to no avail. The driver of the Buick Regal believes that traveling at or near the speed limit in the fast lane is acceptable—and that they are teaching the impatient drivers behind them a valuable lesson in driving safety. In a perfect world, a sheriff's deputy would suddenly appear and pull the Buick Regal over for unsafe driving and violation of state driving statutes. Far too often, however, instant karma doesn't occur, but an accident does. Driving in the left lane for anything other than passing is not only illegal, its unsafe and results in thousands of accidents annually, according to a study by the Traffic Operations & Safety Laboratory within the engineering department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When looking for deeper pockets or additional defendants in automobile collision litigation, don't look past the driver who may have put the entire sequence of events into action. If a driver is parked in the left lane on a four-lane highway and is not passing someone or making a left turn, he or she is breaking the law in a majority of states and can be ticketed.

A growing number of U.S. states are passing traffic laws that regulate driving in the left lane. Some allow it only for passing and others require slower traffic to yield the left lane if a faster vehicle is approaching. For a chart on the law in all 50 states regarding traveling in the left lane see HERE. In Texas, for example, signs on Texas multi-lane highways that read 'Left Lane For Passing Only' indicate that the left lane on a divided highway is not a 'fast' lane; it is a passing lane only. After passing someone and safely clearing the vehicle passed, a driver must move back into the right lane. In Texas, impeding the flow of traffic by continuing to drive in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200.

There are two types of drivers: (1) those who get upset when somebody is illegally hanging out in the left passing lane, and (2) those who are blissfully ignorant that hanging out in the passing lane is both illegal and dangerous. When slower drivers are scattered between the right and left lanes, faster drivers must weave back and forth, slowing and speeding up repeatedly. For those who believe that they shouldn't have to move over if they're driving the posted speed limit, not only are they driving illegally, but evidence shows that slowing down and changing lanes is more dangerous than speeding. A car going 5 MPH slower than the speed limit has a greater chance of causing an accident than one going 5 MPH faster than the speed limit. That is why every state has some law on the books restricting the use of the left passing lane.

In 29 states, any car traveling slower than surrounding traffic must be in the right lane. In 11 states, the laws are even stricter—reserving the left lane only for turning or passing. In a growing number of states—especially Texas, Washington, and Ohio—police are engaging in an aggressive program to ticket violators. In Germany, the autobahn has a lower accident rate than American highways, despite there being no speed limit. The reason for this is that German drivers stay to the right unless they are passing.

The law in many states provides that a driver may use the left lane only when passing another vehicle, moving over to let merging traffic on to the road, moving over because there is an emergency vehicle on the shoulder (law in some states), or because he or she will soon make a left turn/take a left exit. Driving in the left lane makes other cars slow down and creates a traffic backup. Researchers have found that a few slow cars can create traffic jams, such as when there is a slow driver in the left lane next to an equally slow driver in the right lane. Traffic experts confirm that driving slower than surrounding traffic is more likely to cause an accident than speeding. Do-gooders and know-it-alls driving the speed limit in the left lane, albeit slower than the flow of traffic, believe they are teaching faster drivers a lesson. In fact, they are breaking the law and endangering those around them.

In other states, this statutory duty of slower traffic to keep right applies 'notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits.' For example, in California, Cal. Vehicle Code § 21654 requires 'any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction' to drive in the right-hand lane, 'notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits.' Laws such as this refer to the 'normal' speed of traffic, not the 'legal' speed of traffic.

Colorado is another state that takes its 'Left Lane Law' seriously. C.R.S. § 42-4-1013(1) of the Colorado statutes makes it illegal for a person to drive in the left lane (passing lane), where the speed limit is 65 MPH or more, unless they are passing another vehicle, or the volume of traffic does not permit them to safely merge into a non-passing lane. Before it passed its Left Lane Law, Colorado drivers could proceed in the left-hand lane if they were traveling at the posted speed limit. What sense did it make to cite a driver for impeding traffic, when simultaneously the driver was obeying the posted speed limit? Impeding statutes were only enforceable when a vehicle was traveling below the posted or prima facie speed limit. New approaches to driving safety, combined with higher posted speed limits, now simplify the issue and allow law enforcement to take appropriate enforcement action to enhance the flow of traffic. The new approach acknowledges that by mitigating traffic-flow conflicts caused by slower-moving drivers, accidents resulting from the confluence of slow driving and aggressive driving would likely be reduced. If a motorist is stopped by a Colorado State Trooper for violating the Left Lane Law, the driver may receive a citation. The penalty for the citation is $35.00 with an additional $6.20 surcharge bringing the total to $41.20. The violation includes three points against the violator's Colorado Driver's License. If the citation is issued by a state trooper, the points can be reduced to two points if the penalty is mailed in within 20 days.

A growing number of states now require drivers in the left lane to move to the right, even if they are driving at or exceeding the speed limit. The speed of their vehicle is irrelevant. There is a duty to keep right and use the left lane for passing only. This is the case in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This type of statute, such as Wisconsin's Wis. Stat. § 346.05(3), which ostensibly condones speeding, usually contains language such as:

(3) Any vehicle proceeding upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn or U-turn at an intersection or a left turn into a private road or driveway, and except as provided in s. 346.072.

This statute requires vehicles to travel in the right lane if they are traveling at less than 'the normal speed of traffic.' It will be the job of lawyers to define what 'less than the speed of normal traffic' means, but simply traveling the speed limit doesn't suffice. If 'normal traffic' is moving at 70 MPH in a 65 MPH, is somebody violating the law when passing while driving the speed limit? The police officer will have discretion to determine what the 'normal speed of traffic' is under the circumstances. If a vehicle wants to pass on the left but can't because of a slower-moving vehicle in the passing lane, there would appear to be a violation.

What Does This Sign Mean Slower Traffic Keep Right

One issue which becomes problematical with the new laws is reflected by the concern of fleet owners and trucking associations, who argue that truck drivers should be able to pass slower moving 18-wheelers, but it can take a while because their rigs can be electronically limited to a certain speed. For an article written by Gary Wickert on speed limiters, how they work, and federal laws requiring Electronic Control Modules (ECM) on certain trucks, see HERE. The irony of the new Left Lane Laws isn't lost on the astute here. People do not want a ticket when they're speeding, but they want someone else to get a ticket for driving the speed limit.

Regardless of your opinion of the Left Lane Laws, most states have them, and aggressive lawyers looking for additional target defendants will make use of them where appropriate. Having slow drivers in all lanes can cause faster drivers to slow down and weave back and forth to change lanes, increasing the possibility of accidents. Drivers are most at risk of accidents when changing lanes. When some drivers are going slow in the left lane, and the right lane, then people who want to move faster through traffic must zigzag back and forth to maintain their driving pace, even if it exceeds the speed limit. They must change lanes looking alternatively over both shoulders, increasing the potential for accidents. Cultural differences also play a role here, as Europeans driving in the U.S. may be used to not having a speed limit.

Studies have shown that 98% of drivers exceed the speed limit. Twenty-one percent of drivers think it's perfectly safe to exceed the speed limit by 5 MPH. Forty-three percent saw no risk in going 10 MPH over, and 36% say there's no harm driving 20 MPH over the speed limit. There are stretches of road in Texas where the speed limit is 85 MPH. In Nevada, the speed limit is 80 MPH. The speed at which 85% of motorists travel is called 'prevailing speed.' The prevailing speed is not the speed limit, as much as we'd like to insist it is. As a result, we have a proliferation of laws which regulate the use of the left passing lane. Speed limits are going up on interstates and highways because motorists are driving faster on them. Speed limits are increased to help decrease unsafe speed variations among the fastest and slowest drivers. Enforcement of Left Lane Laws helps to decrease those unsafe speed variations.

Proving that a vehicle was traveling illegally in the left lane can turn a driver who thinks he or she is being 'prudent' by teaching others a lesson into a criminal and a defendant simultaneously. Violating a Left Lane Law can also result in negligence per se—the doctrine whereby behavior is automatically considered negligent because it violates a statute. Enforcement is inconsistent, but the law is the law. Toledo, Ohio police used to ticket truck drivers for driving at the 60 MPH speed limit in the left lane. Police looking for criminal activity frequently use the 'keep right' law as a pretext to stop a suspicious car.

Much will depend on the facts of your case, but don't overlook the 'safe' driver who violates Left Lane Laws as a possible defendant should an accident and damages result from an accident that otherwise could and should have been avoided.

Drivers Slower Traffic Keep Right

If you should have any questions regarding this article or subrogation in general, please contact Gary Wickert at [email protected]