Is it illegal in your state to pass on the right?

[badmouse]

Here in NJ it's legal, and of course people do it. Heck, we pass on the shoulder if no one's watching and if it works. [decidedly NOT legal]

As I recall it's not legal in Ohio? Haven't driven there in quite a while.

 

[GigaCluster]

I live in Texas and I had to pass on the right slow drivers on a lonely stretch of I-45. Can anyone knowledgeable in Texas law tell me whether that was legal or not?

 

[Ns1]

iono if it's legal or not but we do it in cali anyway

 

[Anubis]

you mean on a highway? 2-lane road or greater

isnt that legal everywhere

 

[Kelemvor]

It's not illegal if you are still in a legal lane of traffic when you go around the guy. But if you go over the solid line into the shoulder, then it's illegal.

But on a 2 lane each way highway, if there's a slower car in the left lane, there's nothing illegal about moving into the right lane and continuing on your way.

 

[Cheval]

I don't get why this would be illegal? I do it all the time.

 

[Vic]

In my state, it is not only legal to pass on the right, but it is illegal to force someone to pass you on the right.
In other words, if you are in a left lane and someone is passing you on the right, then you are the one breaking the law, not the driver passing on the right. Slower Traffic Keep Right and Keep Right Except to Pass are the law, and the way it should be in every state. My only complaint is that the police don't enfore these laws the way they should.

Also, on a road or highway without a passing lane (i.e. "two lane blacktop), a driver being passed is required to slow down (if necessary) to enable the vehicle that is passing to do so safely.


edit: of course, every passing attempt has to be a legal one, i.e. when done so safely and in a legal lane of travel, not crossing a solid line, etc.

 

[yukichigai]

Yeah, seems like a really weird rule. I've never heard that in any of the states I've driven in, of course they were mostly in the west.

Seriously, there is absolutely no justifiable reason to make passing on the right (provided there is actually a traffic lane there) illegal.

 

[MikeMike]

in ohio, by passing on the right, they mean by passing on the right at like a stop light, when someone is turning left. I believe the law reads something like. "Cannot pass on the right side of a white line"

MIKE

 

[dullard]

Nebraska driver's manual, (large PDF page 42):
"You may pass on the right: When the vehicle you are overtaking is making a left turn. When two or more lanes of traffic are moving in the same direction. In no event shall the driver of a vehicle overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right unless such movement can be made safely upon the roadway."

That said, you are highly encouraged NOT to pass on the right if at all possible.

 

[shiner]

Bah...don't you know that you always pass the Dutchie on the left hand side

 

[FoBoT]

i learned to drive in Washington state, people there did NOT pass on the right

when i moved to New York in 1992 , i quickly learned that EVERYBODY INCLUDING COPS pass on the right

in georgia it is a mix, here in missouri , not too many people do it

 

[KLin]

This is what happens when you try passing vehicles on the right shoulder of a highway. The first link is the story on the accident, and a few other accidents that happened that day.

 

[Mani]

Originally posted by: GigaCluster
I live in Texas and I had to pass on the right slow drivers on a lonely stretch of I-45. Can anyone knowledgeable in Texas law tell me whether that was legal or not?

I hope its legal because there seems to be an excessive number of people in this state that drag ass in the left lane.