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Comment by dcotter | Hacker News Reader

Know what's already illegal? Passing on the right:

> Laws that cover passing when crossing the centerline of the roadway is not required (where there are multiple lanes in the same direction), often say something like this:

> The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.

source: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/beat-tick...

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Depends on the state.

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2011/chapter66/artic...

Which is probably a good thing since drivers from out of state (ahem, Texas) tend to prefer to left lane, will go 10-15 under the posted speed limit, and promptly go 10-15 OVER the posted speed limit when you attempt to overtake them.

Passing on the right is legal in Most states, including mine. Goung slow in the left lane however, is a crime.

It's not illegal everywhere, and it's silly that it's illegal anywhere.

Not silly. Here's why:

1. Passing on the right, i.e. passenger side, means being in the driver's blind spot longer.

2. On- and off-ramps are almost always on the right, as are police making traffic stops, ambulances, cars pulled over on the shoulder, sidewalks, pedestrians, cross streets, etc.

3. Slower traffic is supposed to be in the right lane (because of #2), so a car accelerating to pass the car in front of it, suddenly in a lane of slow traffic, is a safety hazard to the slower drivers, regardless of #2.

I'm writing from the US, so for me left lane = driver's side.

The right lanes are generally explicitly intended to be slower lanes. Making them optionally faster lanes can be dangerously disruptive. As well as, when the rightmost lane is used to pass, difficult for new vehicles to merge from side roads.

These laws are made so people know what to expect for safe driving. When we're all being chauffeured in autonomous vehicles it'll be safe to rethink them.

Those jurisdictions typically have more strongly enforced "slower traffic keep right" laws also. Why the double standard?

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