Right lane”s the right lane for most driving
Regarding a driver’s use of the roadway, the right-hand lane is the right lane, or correct lane, for the majority of travel. Come on drivers — admit it — many of you, for unknown reasons, log a disproportionate amount of your driving hours in the left lane.
Here’s a pop quiz: On roads with two or more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction, when is it proper (and legal) to drive in the left-hand lane?
A. You are left-handed
B. You will be turning left in Timbuktu
C. Your mother taught you to
D. Your steering wheel is on the right
E. None of the above
The correct answer is “e” — none of the above. There are only a few reasons for being in the left-hand lane on such roadways, and as usual, Washington state has publicly published those reasons for our perusal in RCW 46.61.100, which reads in part:
Upon all roadways having two or more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction, all vehicles shall be in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, except (a) when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, (b) when traveling at a speed greater than the traffic flow, (c) when moving left to allow traffic to merge, or (d) when preparing for a left turn at an intersection, exit, or into a private road or driveway when such left turn is legally permitted.
See? Nothing in there says that it’s OK to ride the left lane because it’s more “comfy” out there. Answer “b” in the pop quiz has an element of truth according to part “d” of the RCW, but only if you are very near Timbuktu. Our own Spokane Municipal Code, section 16.61.100 mirrors the state statute, so local drivers have no special local left lane privileges either. Also, you will notice that at the end of the rule it states, “…when such left turn is legally permitted.” One location that comes to mind that would not qualify is on the South Hill’s Lincoln Heights business district on 29th Avenue, where there is a painted median in the center of the road. Contrary to the postings, “Do Not Cross Painted Median,” drivers do it all daylong, impeding traffic to the max. But I digress.
Our state legislators of the mid-1980s must have been as bothered by left-lane loyalists as I. In a Rules of the Court footnote to the above RCW, labeled Legislative Intent-1986 c93, we see: “It is the intent of the legislature, in this 1985 [1986] amendment of RCW 46.61.100 that the left-hand lane on any state highway with two or more lanes in the same direction be used primarily as a passing lane.”
There are usually some decent reasons, and substantial precedent for our Rules of the Road. They have been crafted and honed during a century of driving in America and elsewhere. The intent of the rules is to maximize safety and traffic flow.
When you monopolize that left lane, you stand a greater chance of obstructing a fire truck, ambulance, or police cruiser. That is one of the main reasons for the rule, along with accommodating speeders. Yes, I will defend your right to speed, and pass me, with more vigor than I will defend your right to ride at my rear bumper. Tailgating is intimidating, dangerous and downright annoying. Besides, if you hit me, you are in the wrong, so go ahead and pass, please! Again, I digress.
In case what I’m saying is not registering, let me point out one more statement from the RCW at hand:
It is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic.
So, once again, use the left lane for its intended purposes: passing, letting traffic merge, and preparing to turn left — otherwise, please get back into the right lane. This way you can avoid curtailing traffic flow, and even possibly avoid being ticketed. At the very least, you can help control my ire — I don’t want my aggressive tendencies to surface, and turn into road rage.
Got a driving pet peeve?
There seems to be plenty in the news about aggressive driving and road rage — it follows that there must be sources of this behavior. So, if there are things that bother you while driving, please let me know — I will be your public voice.