Big Rigs Will Be Kept Out Of Fast Lane Locke Signs Law Limiting Use Of 3-Lane Freeways

Those big recreational vehicles and even bigger tractor-trailer rigs will be banished from the fast lane of three-lane freeways under a measure signed Monday by Gov. Gary Locke.

“If you’re driving in the center lane between two big rigs on a rainy night, you know what it’s like to drive blind. Now, you’ll no longer have to decide which side of the road to die on,” said Rep. Ruth Fisher, D-Tacoma, a veteran on the House Transportation Committee.

“I like this bill very much,” she said.

So did the Washington Trucking Association during hearings on the proposal. The group’s lobbyist, Larry Pursley, told lawmakers that with lower speed limits for trucks in some areas, the idea was especially good.

“Trucks are more vulnerable when they are changing lanes,” he said.

The new law takes effect on July 28.

The law will bar vehicles of more than 10,000 pounds gross weight or any vehicle towing a trailer from the inside or far-left lane of highways with three or more lanes in each direction.

The law provides exceptions for vehicles needing to turn left or for those authorized to travel in car pool lanes, when such lanes are on the inside.

Moreover, it allows the state Department of Transportation and State Patrol to make exemptions for emergencies or to help traffic move freely.

Not all truckers are happy with the new law.

Billy Jantzen and his wife, Lori, who drive a long-haul 18-wheeler, said it would make more sense to confine trucks to the far left lane and cars to the right.

The Jantzens, interviewed at a truck stop in Olympia, said right lanes on highways are used for merging or exiting, something cars do far more often than trucks.

Not all legislators were pleased with the measure, either.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, said she worries about “all those old people going 30 miles per hour” in the right lane with trucks trailing them.