cars passing on highway

Should You Only Use The Left Lane To Pass?

Do you love the left lane?

When you head out on the open road, do you automatically steer toward the left lane because that’s traditionally where “faster” drivers are known to go? And while there’s nothing wrong with using the left lane as it’s intended, people who drive slowly in that lane could find themselves in trouble with the law.

Much of the current misunderstanding over the left lane stems from the 55 mph national speed limit that was enacted in 1974, according to the National Motorists Association (NMA), a grassroots drivers’ alliance that lobbies for traffic regulations and safety issues. Before this, passing on the left was an unwritten rule of the road, but after the speed limit was enacted, drivers believed that if they were maintaining the posted speed limit then they could chill anywhere. “Because the speed limit was too low, drivers trying to pass weren’t allowed to and it caused a lot of problems, and it still does,” says Shelia Dunn, Communications Director of the NMA.

Reserving the left lane only for passing other cars—known as “lane courtesy”—reaps surprising benefits, however. Here’s why you should reserve your left-lane use for passing only.

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You’ll Avoid Tickets And Fines

Police officer writing ticketPeople have different interpretations of how to drive in the left lane, but staying there when you’re not passing isn’t allowed in most states, despite what some drivers might think. Blame the confusion on the lack of a nationwide law. In 29 states, there are laws that any car moving slower than the surrounding traffic should be in the right lane, while other states are stricter and designate the left lane only for turning or passing. In Georgia, it’s actually a misdemeanor to move slower in the left lane than surrounding traffic. This year, Tennessee cracked down and now has established a $50 fine for slow left-lane drivers.

It’s Safer

Beyond avoiding fines (always a plus!), abiding by lane courtesy makes the roads safer for everyone, as faster drivers have a quick and easy way to get around slower drivers. “You’re less likely to get into an accident because traffic is always flowing and more consistent,” says Dunn.

You’ll Save On Gas

Following the letter of the law can save you a few bucks, too. Maintaining your speed and sticking to the right can get you better gas mileage. You’re also doing planet Earth a solid. Less weaving in and out of lanes is more fuel-efficient and better for the environment, so even if you forgot to recycle last week, you can still be a tad proud of yourself if you stick to the right.

You’ll Stress Less

Trying to zip around cars doesn’t significantly improve your commute time, either. “If you remain at a consistent speed limit and only drive to the left if you need to, you’re going to ultimately get to your destination faster,” says Dunn. Plus, lane courtesy might just be the quickest cure for road rage. “If you’re weaving in and out and cutting people off, you may cause road rage in others, and that’s what we really need to stop,” says Dunn.

Of course lane courtesy is easier said than done, especially in states with heavily trafficked motorways. But you don’t have to give up entirely. “Don’t just park yourself in one of the middle lanes,” recommends Dunn. “You should really be cognizant of trucks and what everyone around you is doing, and try to drive right as much as possible.” But staying in the right lane doesn’t mean you can zone out, either: Remember to be aware of and make room for merging vehicles.

In the end, lane courtesy actually helps all drivers treat one another as equals on the road—and makes the highways and freeways a safer space for everyone.

Before you take off to your next destination, get a fast, free auto insurance quote from GEICO to see how much you could save.

Next: The rules of the road aren’t always cut and dry, so take our “Are You a Good Driver?” quiz to find out how you compare with your fellow motorists.

By Kara Cutruzzula

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    Leave a comment

  1. Andres says,

    What is unbelievable is your still have irrational and illogical posting like from B. Parsons 2/8/18 with false beliefs, assumptions, and premises.

    A person should not drive in any lane they wish at the speed limit. Sometimes you have to go slower, sometimes you have to go faster. The passing/left lane is for precisely that, passing, not driving. No one knows whether someone is speeding or not anyways. How many people have really had their speedometer calibrated for accuracy? My guess is not many!

    There is no picking and choosing which laws to follow here. People are free to driven at or below the speed limit in the correct and lawful right lane. No one is forcing anyone to drive faster if they don’t want to.

  2. Patricia Cellamare says,

    It was very informative. The articles offer different prospective when one encountered unforeseen issue regarding driving in our current day society. Therefore the availability of electronic distraction to the public has increased all the unnecessary finder bender.

  3. B. Parsons says,

    Unbelievable that an article like this is posted. Continue to enable the lawbreakers with flawed logic. A person can and should be able to drive in any lane they wish once they are at the speed limit. No one has the right to speed, save for emergency vehicles. Breaking the law is breaking the law. Picking and choosing which laws to follow is ludicrous.

    • move over says,

      You are the problem and not the solution. Regardless of the speed limit, you use the left lane for passing only. All 50 states now have this law. It’s a good law and keeps traffic moving, keeps vehicles from bunching up so if there is an accident less vehicles involved. Keeps road rage down. Would you intentionally hold up the line at a grocery store? If not then why so on a highway. Furthermore you do not know the situation in the vehicle behind you. Maybe a passenger in the car behind you had a heart attack or stroke and they are trying to get them to the hospital as fast as possible where seconds do count. I am all too familiar as my father had a stroke while a passenger in my vehicle. It was nerve racking that I could not get him there faster. He passed the next day. Who knows but if I maybe got him there 5 minutes earlier the TPA they had administered may have worked. Plus it’s called lane courtesy.

  4. Kurt says,

    The rule seems so simple, yet so many comments rationalizing camping out in the left lane. If you feel the need to regulate other drivers speed, become a police officer. When you selfishly block other drivers in the left lane, YOU cause road rage. Now myself or some other innocent driver, minding our own business, driving the speed limit, becomes a victim in YOUR accident. You decided to not move over and innocent lives are put at risk, WHY? What do you think you’ve accomplished? In my state, the majority of drivers go faster than me. You think you can stop them all? They also have lots of guns here. You’re just not being smart!

  5. melinuxfool says,

    The general rule I was taught is that one should always stay in the right-most lane on any road, highway or not, and only depart from the right-most lane to overtake slower vehicles or position yourself for an upcoming left turn, and indeed, the law in my state agrees with what I was taught, and applies no matter what the speed of the road, and no matter how many lanes there are on the road.

    But you get to a three lane highway, and everyone wants the center lane, leaving the right lane nearly empty, leaving me to wonder why we even bother having three-lane highways at all if people are going to drive as if the right lane doesn’t even exist.

    • Brady says,

      In Some places the righthand lane has a lot of merging and exiting traffic and can get very dense and cluttered. Cruising in the middle lane lessens that.

  6. Sam Vanderburg says,

    This really does little to expose the dangers of staying in the left lane. How about digging deeper into that?

    • move over says,

      How about using your brain. It’s simple. Stay out of the left lane unless passing. Would you intentionally hold up the line at a grocery store? If not then why do it on the highway???

  7. Dug says,

    Sounds like they have a contradiction. Either let people drive in the left lane at the speed limit, or raise or eliminate the speed limit. They caused this problem by not being consistent.

    • move over says,

      No contradiction. It’s simple. Stay out of the left lane unless passing, heavy traffic or something blocking the right lane. NO matter what your speed is. How hard is that? In my 50 years of driving I have never had a problem staying out of the left lane unless passing.

      • Joe Delrie says,

        I have had a problem staying out of the left lane when the right lane is nothing but potholes and the left lane is in much better shape. I’ve lost a tire and a windshield trying to stay in the right lane. If road conditions are good, I usually have no problem staying in the right lane, but when I stand to do severe damage to my vehicle by staying in the right lane and the left lane is better, I’ll move over until conditions improve.

  8. Jesse says,

    Most states have left lane passing only law. In fact it’s against the law to pass on the right. So my question is which law is more illegal to break? Which one keeps the harmony on the open road? It sure isn’t non-law enforcement people playing cops, that’s for sure.

  9. Eric Andrews says,

    Being safe and making commutes smooth is not selfishly driving whatever speed you want over a speed limit. Speed limits are created for safety purposes and for traffic flow. There will likely always be people that are selfish or don’t care about the law. The solution for society is not to cater to these people and move out of their way so that they can do what they want. The solution is to realize that speed limits are there for good reason, everyone abide by them for the safety and smooth flow of everyone on the road, and enforce punishment for those that speed. You also can’t assume all speeding vehicles have an emergency either. Official emergency vehicles have flashing lights and sounds.

    If you are under the speed limit, or if you are in a place like Germany where there are sections with no limit, then moving over makes sense for traffic flow and safety. If you are at the limit in the left lane, then there is no need to move over unless there is an emergency vehicle approaching from behind or there is open room in the right lane to move over for potential emergency vehicles. Speeding (selfishly thinking your schedule, impatience, or driving skills are above the law) and following too closely are what need to change, not those who are abiding by the speed limit (aka the law) in the left lane.
    Posted signs that instruct to “keep right except to pass” applies to passing when you are still within the speed limit. Passing is not an exception to the posted speed limit unless maybe you’re an emergency vehicle. Even emergency vehicles need to maintain safe speeds.

    Being late to work or any type of appointment does not qualify as an emergency that justifies speeding and thus reduced safety for the rest of society.
    If you are exceeding the speed limit without a legitimate emergency, then you are putting everyone else’s safety at risk and do not deserve respect or courtesy to pass. You deserve to be put in jail and taught how to be an unselfish law-abiding citizen.

    • Ray says,

      Eric Andrews there is a sign on the highway put up by state officials that says “Slower traffic keep right”………..stop being a selfish stubborn driver and move over for faster traffic. Law enforcement also put out a video telling people to move over for faster drivers. They said they will catch and deal with speeding drivers. They said to just get out of the way and don’t exacerbate situations on the road and they will sooner or later get that speeder.
      You’re not being a good driver by refusing to get out of the way ….but you are putting yourself and others on the road in possible danger by not moving and stirring up possible road rage………….think of others and not just your rights on the road

      • Lynn Clark says,

        Well, good luck with that thought, Ray! There is not enough law enforcement on the roads to stop drivers maintaining excessive speeds. In Florida, there are drivers traveling at 10 – 20 mph OVER the speed limit. I am normally traveling about 5 mph above the limit on a given highway, and while I am cognizant if someone is “on my tail,” I do not feel obligated to immediately get out of his/her way if that person is driving at a speed well over the limit. In other words, slow the heck down and stop endangering other drivers!

    • Steve says,

      Keeping right except to pass takes precedence as not doing so causes significantly more issues than speeding; for example, accidents and traffic congestion. It is your legal obligation to always be passing if not in the right lane.

    • Sam Vanderburg says,

      Yes, if you are driving at the speed limit, there is need to be in the right lane. It is called your own safety. Statistics show that the most dangerous lane is the left lane for several reasons: crossovers into your lane from opposing traffic is a certain guarantee of death. Defensive driving courses teach you to stay out of the left lane except when passing. Your obedience does not meant that person behind you will. And they will not respect your right to obey the law. But, there is not need for the increased risk of injury or death by remaining in the left lane other than for passing.

    • Ricardo says,

      Regardless if you’re driving the speed limit , the left lane is for passing and it’s people like yourself that disrupt traffic as well as causing accidents because you fail to understand the simple concept that” THE LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING ” !!!! What part of that don’t you understand ??????

      • Brady says,

        There’s more to accidents than that. For example, if someone rear ends another car in the lefthand lane, then it’s the rearenders fault and they caused the problem. Also, in dense traffic it gets much worse having only one lane for passing. You need to use both lanes evenly to get faster and more efficient flow.

        • move over says,

          The law doesn’t apply to dense traffic. Please look up the law before thinking you know it all. That in itself is a problem with drivers.

        • move over says,

          That is true for most instances. Some states if you deliberately slam your brakes (commonly known as brake check) for no good reason other than to teach the vehicle behind you a lesson you will be charged with reckless driving.

          Also the left lane law does not apply to heavy traffic. They all state you are to drive in the right most lane if permitted and can only drive in the left lane either for passing, or there is an obstacle in the right lane or there is heavy traffic.

          Bottom line is stay out of the left lane if you can. Period.

        • andres says,

          You can be killed in a “not-at-fault” collision just as well as an at-fault collision. Are you really advising people to impede the left lane and cause wrecks on purpose (a known extremely high hazard – look up the Solomon Curve), just because you will be found not at fault (usually).

    • Robert says,

      And if most people with any common sense would realize there’s these signs lights and other roadside aids that are called Traffic Control Devices for the simple reason they mathematically manage the traffic flow. You have to be speeding at a high rate and beat a light to get ahead of the flow.

    • move over says,

      So breaking the law is ok for enforcing the law. That is what you just posted. Camping out in the left lane no matter what your speed is just as illegal as speeding unless there is something prohibiting you from driving in the right lane. You make zero sense. And it’s twisted logic like yours that get’s people killed no different than excessive speed.

      The law says to drive in the most right lane unless you are passing or there is something prohibiting you from driving in said lane. If you preach to not break the law, don’t be a hypocrite.

      • Andres says,

        Actually, studies show that speed is virtually NEVER the cause of a collision or fatality. It is a myth that “speed kills.” It is propagated by those that benefit financially from the myth being believed.

  10. Yvonne Carlan says,

    Oftentimes in Florida, a driver passing in the left lane can’t get over b/c the middle lane is jammed with cars. Then you have the “jerk” who is on your tail b/c he is traveling 20 mph over the speed limit. He/she just can’t wait until you have the opportunity to move over, so this driver zig-zags over to the right lane to pass everyone on the road. You can tell he/she is just too impatient to wait. That’s the reason for so much road rage these days!

    • melinuxfool says,

      Which wouldn’t happen if the drivers in the center lane had been following the keep right rule in the first place. If the right lane is wide open like that, then people ought not be handing out in the center lane.

    • move over says,

      So you state the other driver gets over to pass you on the right but you can’t get over to let him pass on the left?

  11. MC says,

    I really wish more drivers would follow this advice. I hate passing someone on the right, but people who refuse to move over leave no choice. It’s so much more dangerous. I often end up driving in the far right lane here in Florida – usually there is nobody in it.

  12. Charles Sanderson says,

    It just really depends, most of the time, yes the left lane should be used for passing. Having over a million safe driving miles in 18 wheelers, big trucks whatever I have see some real knuckleheads that think the left lane is all theirs to put around in. When I was driving we called it the travel lane as long as you were not slowing traffic behind you, especially when going by on ramps inside city limits or anywhere there were several on ramps in short distances. That is why some OTR drivers are staying in the left lane through your smaller cities that only have 2 lanes going both ways. It is much safer for people getting on the highway, for the 18 wheelers and others.

  13. Jo A says,

    If in right lane can’t get over,will slow down let one or two cars on coming down the ramp my lane

  14. Anthony Paul Onyejekwe says,

    It makes a lot of sense to maintain lane courtesy to avoid accident. It is good to use it and pass a car and then get back to your lane. It is very relaxing if one does that. It make one not to drive very fast as speeding cars are always approaching very close if one is on the left lane.

  15. Ronnie says,

    In Florida, one of the last things Governor, Jeb Bush, signed before leaving office was you don’t have to move over in the left lane if one is doing the speed limit. It is a ridiculous law.
    I see road rage and drivers zipping in and out of lanes to get around the cars that hold back in the left lane. The I-4 corridor is one of the worst when it comes to drivers in the left lane not keeping up with other lanes. It creates accident.

    • Brady says,

      You shouldn’t have to move out of the left lane if you’re going the speed limit. This is because the only people that you would encouter would be speeders break the law, which they’re not to do. If they weren’t speeding in the first place, there’d be no need for congestion or anyone needing to change lanes.

      • melinuxfool says,

        Obeying the speed limit does not give you the right to break the other rules of the road. You still have to stop at stop sings, ice your turn signals, and use lanes their proper purpose. If a lane is marked left turn only, then that lane is off limits to you unless you are turning left, whether you are going the speed limit or not. If it’s marked passing only, then it’s off limits to you unless you are passing slower vehicles, whether you are going the speed limit or not.

        The speed limit is not the only rule of the road. Anyone who can’t figure out that there more to driving a car than just obeying the speed limits should not be driving at all.

        • andres says,

          Excellent post.

          The logic of I’m obeying the speed limit therefore I can break all other laws with impunity amazes me.

          Of course when you point out that they are advocating for the rape and murder of speeders (using the same logic), they quickly go berserk from having their logic exposed.

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