Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Since many drivers are unaware the left lane is designed as a passing lane and traveling in it for an extended period of time can be against the law, troopers are focusing on left lane violators this week.
The emphasis patrol is statewide, according to the Washington State Patrol. The idea is to bring increased awareness.
Trooper Will Finn calls them left lane squatters.
State patrol Sgt. J. Paul Cagle shares the text of the law, for those who would like to avoid getting pulled over:
RCW 46.61.100(2): Upon all roadways having two or more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction, all vehicles shall be driven in the right hand lane then available for traffic, except for overtaking and passing another vehicle in the same direction, when traveling at a speed greater than the traffic flow, when moving left to allow traffic to merge or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection, exit or into a private road or driveway when such left turn is legally permitted.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I keep seeing people complaining about all the ‘slow’ drivers getting in their way. I have to ask, is there some special time of day you all drive when you encounter these slow cars? Because whenever I drive on I-5, it’s somewhere between NASCAR and a Mad Max film. I’ve driven 75mph in the middle lane and had idiots passing me on the right. I’m already going faster than the posted speed, and that’s too slow for these dullards.
The RCW should be rewritten. How many people lived in WA when it was written? Think about it, all traffic in the right lane? How fast would I 5 move then? The answer is not traffic tickets, the answer is birth control.
Like censorship a post to a rao song relevant to subject
We have a problem here in the twin cities area-we have the semis who don’t realize that 60 is the speed and so when they come on a vehicle driving at the speed-they have to move over to pass-this blocks the left lane more miles-but I have never see WSP pull these semis over for this, and then we have the group have to go thru the 60 MPH zone at 70-80MPH, and they just can’t seem to slow their vehicles to 60-65 thru the 60 MPH section-so they have to block the left lane and kiss the bumper in front of them and flash their lights to somehow signal the car in front to move the hell out of their way-hmm….I wonder how boring it would be if all vehicles traveled at the same speed? We need 4 lanes thru the twin cities, 1 lane for the fast idiots, 1 lane for the freight hauling zombies, 1 for the campers/squatters, and 1 for the idiots that actually see nothing wrong with just wanting to drive the speed limit. by the way-the difference between 70 MPH and 60 MPH in driving down the road for 60 miles is a you get there less than 10 minutes, which is less than the time it took to get that espresso -lol
About time and sure hope they catch the Geico insurance guy I followed the other day from Exit 68 to 82. He immediately had to get into the left lane and camped out there all the way except one time he briefly pulled over for someone. He had plenty of opportunity to move over but must have thought it was his duty to keep all traffic moving at his speed. You’d think someone with their company name plastered all over their car would have been trained to be a better advertisement for their company and be more courteous.
Or the ones that are going ten or more mph below the speed impeding the flow of traffic in the middle and right hand lanes as well as the hammer lane
Semis need to move right also. Driving down the center lane in rainy weather with an open right lane slows traffic and leads to accidents. Most drivers are reluctant to pass with spray and puddles on the road. Move over except to pass the rejects doing 50 on the freeway.
Dave C great answer
It’s about time. I travel I5 every day and it’s a huge issue. When there are 2 cars both driving 55 to 60 in a 70 mph zone, it gets old. And in the past 5 years, I have noticed the majority of offenders are semis and Oregon drivers.
I approve this message full heartedly. Move over squatters
The obvious answer is because WA tends to lean Left (lane) and most of the residents have entitlement issues, they think it’s their personal lane. 🙂
See a car aproach from the rear move right, even if your doing 80. Why would you want a tailgater when theres all that space to drive as fast as you want.
Good. Getting tired of idiots plugging up the fast lane and causing traffic congestion.
Good, I hate left lane squatters. They impede the flow of traffic and usually cause the idiot road rage drivers to rear their ugly heads. Left lane squatters are dangerous for a multitude of reasons.
About time they do this it is a pretty common policy in Oregon to pull these Squatters over!
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t that RCW seem to be intended for roads other than LIMITED access freeways? Somehow it seems that the state patrol has better things to do with their time than worrying about the “speed lane” violators…like check the average SPEED of traffic on the freeways……. not to mention the dingalings on cell phones that are flipping cars over …….. just saying…