State patrol targeting the scourge of Northwest driving
Jun 20, 2017, 10:47 AM | Updated: 11:00 am
Emphasis patrols on left-lane camping begin Tuesday. (AP)
(AP)
Puget Sound drivers rejoice: The Washington State Patrol is going after left-lane campers, the scourge of our Northwest roads.
Emphasis patrols begin Tuesday.
When drivers are asked about their top complaints about other drivers, left-lane camping is usually near the top. Lack of merging skills or etiquette is usually a close second.
Left-lane camping refers to a driver who stays in the far left lane on a highway and isn’t passing anyone else. Washington law is quite clear; Though there is no “fast lane” in this state, the left lane is clearly defined as a passing lane. Keep right, unless passing.
What makes this such a problem in Washington is the self-important driver who believes it is his or her job to pace traffic and make sure everyone goes the speed limit.
“The excuse we get when we tell them (drivers) to merge right unless you’re passing is that ‘I was going the speed limit,” State Trooper Chris Webb previously said. “A lot of times they weren’t going the speed limit, they were going under. But even if they were going the speed limit, we still need to keep that flow of traffic moving through there.”
So, if someone wants to go 70 or 75 mph in a 60 mph zone, which of course isn’t legal, it is not a driver’s job to keep others from speeding. That is the job of state troopers.
It’s a real issue. Left-lane camping causes other drivers to make reckless moves to get around them.
“It’s an offense that can create aggressive driving and road rage incidents,” Trooper Rick Johnson said.
State troopers pulled over more than 16,000 left-lane campers last year.
A few other left-lane camping facts: It does not apply to an HOV lane. It is a separated lane. However, I have been told that it does apply in the left lane of the express toll lanes when there are two lanes available. Anything towing a trailer is not allowed in the left lane, neither are trucks over 10,000 pounds on roads with three or more lanes in one direction.
Tell Chris about a Chokepoint or ask a traffic question @kirotraffic via Twitter.
