When is a left lane camper not really camping?

Is there anything worse than a left lane camper?

It is one of the worst things to be on the road, but it’s time for a reminder of what is and isn’t the congestion-causing, frustration-inducing behavior that drives us nuts.

Left lane campers are the drivers who sit in the far left lane, preventing others from getting by and creating unnecessary congestion. “But I’m going the speed limit” is the most common answer given by these drivers. That’s not the law. Unless you are passing, you must get out of that lane. You are impeding traffic, even if you are going the speed limit.

If other drivers want to go faster than that and you aren’t passing anyone, you need to get over. Your job is not to keep others from speeding. It’s to get out of the way. It’s up to the police to monitor speeding.

Why am I bringing this up now?

Our good friends, the i5 Commuters, who highlight the bad driving they see on their daily commutes from Tacoma to Seattle, posted a video last week showing them stuck behind a driver in the left lane who was going less than 40 miles an hour on the freeway. The video made my blood boil, but then I noticed something. They were driving in the HOV lane.

Here is why I am talking about this.

The left lane camping rule does not apply to the HOV lane. It does not apply to toll lanes.

The Washington State Patrol’s Rick Johnson told me this in 2018, when I first talked about the distinction.

“It’s not counted as a general-purpose lane, and the law applies to the general-purpose lanes for left lane camping,” Trooper Johnson said. “It’s a restrictive lane. Unfortunately, I think there are some people who believe that is the left lane.”

It is not.

You should not be rolling up on people’s bumpers or flashing your lights behind someone in an HOV or toll lane, even when that lane might be open to all, like after 7 p.m. on I-405 between Renton and Bellevue.

“That HOV is still not the left lane, and so you just pretend like it doesn’t exist,” Trooper Johnson said.

Slow driving is still slow driving — HOV lane or not

That said, if all the other lanes are open during those open to all hours, you probably shouldn’t be driving in that HOV lane, especially if you are going slower than others.

Since we now have double toll lanes to navigate, you should realize that the left of the two toll lanes, like on I-405 between Bellevue and Bothell, is not considered a passing lane, and the left lane camping rule doesn’t apply there either.

Back to our driver from the video, if you are going 40 miles an hour on the freeway, even if you are in the HOV lane, you shouldn’t be driving on the freeway at all. You are a danger to yourself and everyone else. You can be ticketed for driving too slow, and you should be.

To recap, the left lane on multi-lane roads is for passing. If you are not passing anyone and keeping people from moving through, you are a left lane camper, and you need to get over.

HOV lanes and toll lanes never count as the left lane, so the camping rule doesn’t apply.

Let’s all do better out there.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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