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Most car people aren’t huge fans of cops writing a lot of tickets. Maybe that’s because more than a few of us have paid out the nose for speeding a time or two (or five). But it’s different when you see them dishing out penalties to drivers camping in the left lane, forcing everyone to pass on the right, sometimes with a single-finger salute accompanying the maneuver.
This clip from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona is satisfying to watch for that exact reason. It’s not that we have a problem with folks driving the speed limit or even a little below, but they ought to know they have no business in the passing lane. That’s what it exists for—passing, not leisurely strolling while everybody else drives around you.
Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Sloup has no problem enforcing that law. It is a law, by the way; an actual written rule of the road. Arizona is just one state with restrictions on left-lane driving, along with Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and more. The legislation says drivers should always stick to the right lanes except:
- When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing the movement.
- When the right half of a roadway is closed to traffic while under construction or repair.
- On a roadway divided into three marked lanes for traffic under the rules applicable on the roadway.
- On a roadway designated and signposted for one-way traffic.
This isn’t just vital for the flow of traffic; keeping folks in the right lane except when necessary is also safer. Making a pass on the left provides way better visibility for drivers given that’s the side they’re closest to when behind the wheel. If you come up on a slow car in the left lane and they’re barely keeping pace with those to the right, moving over can actually be riskier for you. That’s where blindspot alerts come in handy.
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