By Gary Wickert

It is the universal trigger and a pet peeve for millions. You’re making good time travelling 75 MPH in the left lane of a freeway with a 70 MPH posted speed limit. You tap your brakes and turn off your cruise control, because a midnight blue 2012 Buick Regal, travelling a steady 65 MPH, adroitly staying abreast of a Kenworth tractor pulling a 53-ft. 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 believes that travelling 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. They are wrong on both counts.

In most states, driving in the left lane for anything other than passing is not only illegal; it's 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. A growing number of states are passing laws that regulate driving in the left lane of a fourlane divided highway. Some allow it only for passing; others require slower traffic to yield the left lane if a faster vehicle is approaching. 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 only" lane. After passing someone and safely clearing the vehicle passed, a driver must move back into the right lane.

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, they are not only wrong, 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 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—including 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.

In other states, this statutory duty of slower traffic to keep right applies "notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits." For example, in California, § 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. In a growing number of states, the law now require drivers in the left lane to move to the right, even if they are driving at or even 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 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. Wisconsin § 346.05(3) renders the speed limit irrelevant and makes left lane travel while travelling slower than "the normal speed of traffic" subject to a fine of $30 to $300. Wisconsin law requires vehicles to travel in the right land if they are traveling at less than “the normal speed of traffic.” A police officer will have discretion in determine what the “normal speed of traffic” is under the circumstances.

Safety is a big concern. 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 drivers are going slow in both lanes, people who want to move faster through traffic must zigzag back and forth to maintain their driving pace. Studies have shown that 98% of drivers exceed the speed limit. Nearly ? of all drivers think it's safe to exceed the speed limit by 5 MPH. Forty-three percent see no risk in going 10 MPH over, and 36% say there's no harm driving 20 MPH over the speed limit. Speed limits are going up on interstates and highways because motorists are driving faster. Speed limits are increased to decrease unsafe speed variations among the fastest and slowest drivers. Enforcement of Left Lane Laws helps to decrease those unsafe speed variations.

Those who travel in the left lane of a four-lane highway at or below the "normal speed of traffic" should know they are breaking the law and creating a hazard to drivers around you. The sign which reads "Slower Traffic Keep Right" is meant for you. Stay to the right unless you are actively passing or about to turn left. The words of Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schultz are meant for you: "Life is like a ten speed; some of us have gears we've never used."