Why is it illegal to pass someone on the right on the highway in the US? In Canada if there’s a three lane highway which, in my case, isn’t very prominent, there’s really no law that enforces it, it’s more of a respect thing here on two lane highways both ways if someone is going slow in the left lane to go into the right but I’m just curious as to why it’s actually enforced in the US?
It’s not enforced in the US at all.
Just like how keeping to the right except to pass isn’t.
There are but I’ve never seen it enforced. I’ve watched cops get stuck behind people in the left lane who aren’t passing (presumably because they’d have to exceed the speed limit to do so and there was a cop behind them) even though the law was that you couldn’t go more than a certain distance in the left lane without passing someone. This happened dozens of times.
That depends on how the cops feeling. A guy I used to work with got pulled over for doing the speed limit in the left lane for “impeding traffic”
There’s a cop in Wells, Nevada that likes to drive ten under the speed limit and then pull people with out of state license plates over for “passing a cop”. So, y’know, a lot of traffic rules are arbitrary.
I don’t know about the US, but in Germany the right lane is for getting on and off the high way, so going very fast there might be dangerous. It also just makes things less chaotic, traffic becomes more predictable and driving less exhausting.
It’s to make the standard practice passing on the left, so people aren’t surprised by someone passing on the right. Since drivers sit on the left, another vehicle approaching on that side is easier to see.
It probably depends on the state, but in mine the restriction on passing on the right is for two-lane or unmarked roads. It is not applicable to multiple lanes in the same direction.
It’s not a law in Ohio. I consider myself a pretty safe driver as my job requires me to drive a lot in a van full of chemicals and I can say it’s best to pass on the left for at least 2 reasons. First, driving in a predictable manner is key for making the roads safer for everyone. Second, as driver you have a better view of the lane you are merging onto since you are seated on the left side. Imagine passing a semi trailer on the right. If there is stopped traffic in the right lane you are less likely to see it.
