Slow drivers in Delaware might want to start getting out of the left passing lane because a proposed bill would make being a slowpoke in the left lane illegal.
If passed drivers could get fines from $28.75 up to $230 for “driving continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic,” according to the Bill.
Similar “left-lane laws” already exist in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that require drivers to stay right when going slower than normal.
Here is the synopsis of House Bill No. 140:
This bill is intended to prohibit slower moving vehicles from driving in the left lane and blocking traffic, which commonly leads to road rage and has motivated several other states to adopt “left lane” laws. This bill provides that vehicles may overtake slower moving vehicles on the left, but otherwise shall not drive in the left lane, which is intended to serve as the passing lane. The Code already provides that a vehicle being passed shall not increase its speed. There is an exception in the bill for making a legal left turn. This bill also establishes fines for violations of these provisions.
Law or no law, experts say that it’s a smart move to stay right if you’re driving slower than the rest of traffic even if those other drivers are speeding.
“People believe that they can go 85 mph in a 65 or 55 zone -- they’re going to go that speed no matter what,” said AAA Mid-Atlantic Public and Government Affairs Director Jim Lardear. “They’re going to weave in and out of traffic, which creates a dangerous situation for everyone on the road. So as a reminder, just move right and let the faster traffic go by.”
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Delaware Title 21 already calls for passing on the left in the First State.
