Forget speed limits, enforce "Slower Traffic Keep Right"

[TurtleCrusher]

Police can, if they desire, give you a ticket for "obstructing traffic" or "failure to keep right" in most states. It is not done often, but they can if they want to. And I have seen roads, like the Long Island Expressway (Eastbound around Exit 49 Rt110) where there is a Minimum Speed 40MPH sign posted.

Well that makes sense. What is the speed limit on that road though? Surely it isn't 40mph or even 45mph.

 

[bruceb]

Most of the LIE is 55MPH ... I think it goes up to 65MPH once you are in Suffolk County. I haven't been on it in about 2 years or so.

 

[sactoking]

Police can, if they desire, give you a ticket for "obstructing traffic" or "failure to keep right" in most states. It is not done often, but they can if they want to. And I have seen roads, like the Long Island Expressway (Eastbound around Exit 49 Rt110) where there is a Minimum Speed 40MPH sign posted.

Except, I don't think most states have mandatory keep right laws. In the absence of one, FTKR refers to crossing the centerline on an undivided highway and obstruction for going the speed limit would never stick (well, unless you obstructed an emergency vehicle or something).

States with mandatory keep right:
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Massachusetts
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Washington

States w/o mandatory keep right:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington DC
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

 

[AreaCode707]

Except, I don't think most states have mandatory keep right laws. In the absence of one, FTKR refers to crossing the centerline on an undivided highway and obstruction for going the speed limit would never stick (well, unless you obstructed an emergency vehicle or something).

States with mandatory keep right:
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Massachusetts
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Washington

States w/o mandatory keep right:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington DC
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Your list is a little misleading. In California slower traffic must keep right by law. Same in Oregon. Probably the same in some of the other states.

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

 

[Deeko]

If you are going the speed limit you can legally use any lane. Anyone tailgating or people who decide to rear end you are guilty EVERY TIME. Tell me of a case where someone was ticketed for going the speed limit and using the left lane? What was the charge? A citation for abiding by the law?

All of your "flow of traffic" arguments are nonsense. Just a poor attempt at justifying your lawlessness.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Every state has its own version of the "pass left, keep right" law, but in some it is flat out illegal for you to be in the left lane if you are not actively passing or if you are impeding traffic. This is exactly the pathetically hypocritical attitude I'm talking about. Yes - people that speed break the law. However, often times, people in the left lane that aren't passing and are impeding other drivers are also breaking the law. No, its not enforced very often, but that doesn't make you less of a criminal. Ignorance of the law is no defense, sport.

Your state of Oregon is not as strict as some (such as your neighbors to the North, Washington), but here is your law:

811.295 Failure to drive on right; exceptions; penalty. (1) A person commits the offense of failure to drive on the right if the person is operating a vehicle on a roadway of sufficient width and the person does not drive on the right half of the roadway.

(2) A person is not required to drive on the right side of the roadway by this section under any of the following circumstances:

(a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing this movement in ORS 811.410 to 811.425 or 811.808.

(b) When preparing to turn left in an intersection, alley or private road or driveway.

(c) When an obstruction or condition exists making it necessary to drive to the left of the center of the roadway, provided that a driver doing so shall yield the right of way to all vehicles traveling in the proper direction upon the unobstructed portion of the roadway within a distance as to constitute an immediate hazard.

(d) Upon a roadway divided into three marked lanes for traffic under the rules applicable on the roadway under ORS 811.380.

(e) Upon a roadway restricted to one-way traffic.

(3) The offense described in this section, failure to drive on the right, is a Class B traffic violation. [1983 c.338 §615; 1991 c.482 §15]

In other words - despite all your braggadocio, the answer to your question is that those people are guilty of a Class B violation in your state - which, by the way, is the same class of violation as speeding.

http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html

Cliffs:
You are flat out wrong.

 

[sactoking]

Your list is a little misleading. In California slower traffic must keep right by law. Same in Oregon. Probably the same in some of the other states.

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

Nope, in both cases you have to keep right if you're going slower than the normal speed of traffic, notwithstanding posted speed limits. If you go 65 in CA in the left lane you are perfectly within your right to do so.

 

[sactoking]

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Every state has its own version of the "pass left, keep right" law, but in some it is flat out illegal for you to be in the left lane if you are not actively passing or if you are impeding traffic. This is exactly the pathetically hypocritical attitude I'm talking about. Yes - people that speed break the law. However, often times, people in the left lane that aren't passing and are impeding other drivers are also breaking the law. No, its not enforced very often, but that doesn't make you less of a criminal. Ignorance of the law is no defense, sport.

Your state of Oregon is not as strict as some (such as your neighbors to the North, Washington), but here is your law:



In other words - despite all your braggadocio, the answer to your question is that those people are guilty of a Class B violation in your state - which, by the way, is the same class of violation as speeding.

http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html

Cliffs:
You are flat out wrong.

The statute you site is pretty clearly in reference to driving on the right side of the road on a two lane road. It does not apply to a road with a center lane or 4+ lane road.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Every state has its own version of the "pass left, keep right" law, but in some it is flat out illegal for you to be in the left lane if you are not actively passing or if you are impeding traffic. This is exactly the pathetically hypocritical attitude I'm talking about. Yes - people that speed break the law. However, often times, people in the left lane that aren't passing and are impeding other drivers are also breaking the law. No, its not enforced very often, but that doesn't make you less of a criminal. Ignorance of the law is no defense, sport.

Your state of Oregon is not as strict as some (such as your neighbors to the North, Washington), but here is your law:



In other words - despite all your braggadocio, the answer to your question is that those people are guilty of a Class B violation in your state - which, by the way, is the same class of violation as speeding.

http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html

Cliffs:
You are flat out wrong.

That's for a roadway. Roadway =/= Highway/Freeway.

On city roads, yes you keep right. That does nothing to argue against my points.

 

[AreaCode707]

Nope, in both cases you have to keep right if you're going slower than the normal speed of traffic, notwithstanding posted speed limits. If you go 65 in CA in the left lane you are perfectly within your right to do so.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/notwithstanding
Notwithstanding = in spite of, nevertheless "imply that something is true even though there are obstacles or opposing conditions"

So, regardless of speed limit, you have to pull right if you are slower than traffic.

You interpret that exactly backwards of what it means.

 

[alkemyst]

/me drives through thread at 80mph while sexting on my iphone.

 

[bruceb]

Here is a link to the various state keep right laws:

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

 

[zerocool84]

/me drives through thread at 80mph while sexting on my iphone.

Make sure you run over people camping in the left lane.

 

[Deeko]

The statute you site is pretty clearly in reference to driving on the right side of the road on a two lane road. It does not apply to a road with a center lane or 4+ lane road.

It doesn't say that.

That's for a roadway. Roadway =/= Highway/Freeway.

On city roads, yes you keep right. That does nothing to argue against my points.

A) Your post doesn't say highway
B) That law specifically exempts many city roads.
C) https://www.oregonlaws.org/glossary/definition/roadway Roadway does not necessarily exclude highways anyway

And this is just Oregon - which is not as strict as some other states.

Seriously - just give it up. You are wrong. In your own state, failing to keep right is just as bad a penalty as speeding. Period.

 

[ussfletcher]

Your list is a little misleading. In California slower traffic must keep right by law. Same in Oregon. Probably the same in some of the other states.

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

Michigan too, but here you must keep right unless passing.

 

[ussfletcher]

Yes there is.

1. Fuel efficiency still depends on this
2. The roads, entry ways and acceleration lanes were not desined for that. You would not be able to tromp on the brakes fast enough to go from 100 to 50 when someone pulls out in front of you.
3. Variable conditions. Rain and snow effect different vehicles differently (although they all have the same SCALE of problems when it comes to things like STOPPING. Just look at teh spun out SUV's on a snowy day and you will see what I mean). You push the limits and you have no real envelope of safety.

The only place this works is on roadways that are rated for that speed AND that are monitored to make sure everyone is GOING that speed.....

You are throwing out issues that are not due to speed limit.
1. Fuel efficiency is not something that the government should care about for me.. if I can pay for going that fast I should be able to.
2. If you are not driving in an urban area, then there are no problems with this... think about long trips on straight flat freeway.
3. Its called a speed LIMIT for a reason, there is no reason to go that fast when there are unsafe conditions and no one would force you to. However, if the road conditions are fine, there is really no reason not to go that fast.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

It doesn't say that.



A) Your post doesn't say highway
B) That law specifically exempts many city roads.
C) https://www.oregonlaws.org/glossary/definition/roadway Roadway does not necessarily exclude highways anyway

And this is just Oregon - which is not as strict as some other states.

Seriously - just give it up. You are wrong. In your own state, failing to keep right is just as bad a penalty as speeding. Period.

If I didn't say highway, than what roads am I going 55 on? That's the topic at hand.

If you are going the speed limit than the failing to keep right laws do not apply. It is intended for people going below the speed limit. I'd love to see a case of that nature taken to court. It would be dismissed immediately and the cop would be yelled at by the judge.

I'm not wrong. Period.

 

[Deeko]

Yes, you are. I just cited the official law that says you are! Face the facts - people that do this are just as much in violation of the law as the speeders they are so self-righteously stopping.

(1) A person commits the offense of failure to drive on the right if the person is operating a vehicle on a roadway of sufficient width and the person does not drive on the right half of the roadway.

Tell me where it says in that statement anything about the speed limit. It doesn't. You have to drive on the right unless you're in the situations it describes in section 2 - none of which mention the speed limit. If it were intended for people going below, it would be worded as such, like many states' laws regarding this matter. In your state - it is not.

I find it amusing that I've proven you wrong twice now, and your retort is to give up on facts and just say "lolz a court won't convict that!" The law is the law, whether its properly enforced or not.

 

[DrPizza]

Yes, you are. I just cited the official law that says you are! Face the facts - people that do this are just as much in violation of the law as the speeders they are so self-righteously stopping.



Tell me where it says in that statement anything about the speed limit. It doesn't. You have to drive on the right unless you're in the situations it describes in section 2 - none of which mention the speed limit. If it were intended for people going below, it would be worded as such, like many states' laws regarding this matter. In your state - it is not.

I find it amusing that I've proven you wrong twice now, and your retort is to give up on facts and just say "lolz a court won't convict that!" The law is the law, whether its properly enforced or not.

Do you know what "half" means? Are you stupid? The left half is the oncoming traffic. DUHH! He's right, you're wrong. The statute you're referring to isn't what you think it's referring to.

 

[alkemyst]

In some places in Europe drivers have pulled over other's passing on the right for old fashioned beatdowns.

The problem in the US is too many people want to be in the left lane for just 'prestige'. My commute has a 1/4 mile merge lane. The speed limit is 65mph. Most go to about 45/50MPH and then not only try to merge in, but proceed to cut across all three lanes to the far left.

If you look ahead on most US highways during peak hours you will see usually at some point a wall of motorists up front all going the same speed (usually the limit) with a train of traffic blocked behind them yet miles of unused road ahead of them.

Most of the reasons we need so much road expansion is more traffic flow related than volume.

 

[Deeko]

Do you know what "half" means? Are you stupid? The left half is the oncoming traffic. DUHH! He's right, you're wrong. The statute you're referring to isn't what you think it's referring to.

Apologies - I was paging through the many Oregon traffic laws and copied the wrong one. This is the one I wanted:

811.315 Failure of slow driver to drive on right; exceptions; penalty. (1) A person commits the offense of failure of a slow driver to drive on the right if the person is operating a vehicle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing and the person fails to drive:

(a) In the right-hand lane available for traffic; or

(b) As close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.

(2) This section does not apply under any of the following circumstances:

(a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing passing in ORS 811.410 to 811.425.

(b) When preparing to turn left at an intersection, alley or private road or driveway.

(3) The offense described in this section, failure of slow driver to drive on the right, is a Class B traffic violation. [1983 c.338 §619; 1995 c.383 §57]

Doesn't really change much though. As you can see, it states "normal speed of traffic", not "speed limit". If traffic around you is going faster than you, and you aren't actively passing anyone else (creating the ever-exciting wall of slow traffic), you are committing a Class B violation in Oregon. The same class as speeding.

 

[olds]

I have often thought that if they enforced "Slower Traffic Keep Right" that accidents and road rage would go down.

I often speed and pass people. I am sure they think I am in a hurry but they are wrong. I just want to be in front of them. That way when their dumb ass does dumb things it doesn't affect me.

 

[Exterous]

Now, since I rarely see people camped in the wrong lane, I have to wonder if some of the people complaining about people in the left lane are the asshats who simply believe that they're above everyone else on the road simply because they want to drive faster than traffic is going to allow.

Having lived in a number of different states and having had a job where I drove for 33% of my work day I can tell you driving tendencies vary by area.

My drive from Grand Rapids on Sunday night is a great example. On the west side of the state I had very few problems passing people - People tended to be more polite and move over into the right lane when I came up to pass them

Unfortunately once I exit I-96 and get onto US-23 all hell breaks loose. It's like I suddenly teleported to another universe. I had two people who were in the right lane decide they wanted to be in the left lane and got over in front of me as I was trying to pass them. There was no one in front of us for miles. They both stayed in the left lane for as long as I could see their headlights after I passed them on the right (even though we were the only two cars on the highway in sight). While I had the job driving around I kept track of the number of times I had to pass on the right on US-23 vs I-96 (With all that time in the car it was something to keep me occupied and focused on driving instead of spacing out) and US-23 had 2x the number of passes on the right over a 2 week period

My wife even agrees with me and we have very different driving styles. Shes a very cautious driver who always maintains the proper distance and speed - who waits a full second at a complete stop at a stop sign even if no one else is in sight. I tend to be more aggressive when driving

And while I miss the drivers on the western side of the state and bemoan the drivers around here (especially in the winter - they have no idea what a real snow storm is overhere) they are way better than the drivers in Pittsburgh

I have often thought that if they enforced "Slower Traffic Keep Right" that accidents and road rage would go down.

I often speed and pass people. I am sure they think I am in a hurry but they are wrong. I just want to be in front of them. That way when their dumb ass does dumb things it doesn't affect me.

There have been quite a few times I have done that. I don't trust many of the other drivers out there

 

[alkemyst]

I have been known to treat stop signs as yields when no one is around

It's all fun and games until the guy in the other direction plays that same game.

I knew a couple people that don't even stop for red lights after 2am. My ex wife wouldn't stop for stop signs at all late night.

The new neighborhood I live in has tons of cross-streets, a lot that are blind until you get to the actual stop sign. There's at least one accident a week here late night where someone totally blows their stop sign thinking no one else is around.

 

[Exterous]

After having to drive a couple hours yesterday for work, i would like to say i love those truckers that decide to pass 3 other trucks while going only 1mph faster

I know it's a pain in the ass but try to always give the trucker the benefit of the doubt - unless you have driven a large delivery truck around for a couple of weeks you have no idea what they have to deal with (I know I didn't)

It's like all common sense disappears when someone sees a large truck driving around. Everyone always assumes they can cut in front of the truck or beat the truck with no regards to the laws of physics. I am pretty sure I got dangerously cut off more times in a month driving the delivery truck than in all my times in a regular vehicle combined

I even got yelled at a couple of times because people thought I got too close to them after they cut me off. I tried to explain the physics behind stopping a truck laden with thousands of pounds of equipment in the amount of space they gave me but I don't think they understood

Trying to get over into another lane was another constant battle. People would always speed up to prevent you from merging even if there was originally an open area. Often they would slow back down to speeds that were below what I would have been driving at anyway - they just saw a truck and assumed they needed to be in front of it regardless of the situation. I can now completely understand getting over when ever any opportunity presents itself - it will probably be the last one you see for miles

 

[Exterous]

It's all fun and games until the guy in the other direction plays that same game.

I knew a couple people that don't even stop for red lights after 2am. My ex wife wouldn't stop for stop signs at all late night.

The new neighborhood I live in has tons of cross-streets, a lot that are blind until you get to the actual stop sign. There's at least one accident a week here late night where someone totally blows their stop sign thinking no one else is around.

It's not like I blow through them without slowing down - maybe I just worded that wrong. I think 'Rolling stop' would be more apt. Anyway - the part of Michigan around here is pretty flat and open so none of the stop signs they I pass regularly are even close to blind