Move Over! Washington County's Left-Lane Laggers Will Get Tickets

The Washington County Sheriff's Office is warning left-lane slowpokes that they are in violation of the law and could very possibly be ticketed for their behavior.

"So as our deputies have been out and about, some have been approached by various people concerned and questioning us about the use of the left lane," the WCSO writes online. "The law states simply: 'On a highway having more than one lane in the same direction, the operator of a vehicle traveling in the left general purpose lane shall, upon being overtaken by another vehicle in the same lane, yield to the overtaking vehicle by moving safely to a lane to the right; and may not impede the movement or free flow of traffic in the left general purpose lane.”

My wife told me an incredible conversation she had with a former coworker (we'll call her Cindy, but that's not her real name). During the course of the conversation, this woman said she enjoyed helping enforce the law, even though she was just an everyday citizen.

When my wife asked her what she meant, Cindy said she loved going the speed limit or below on the freeway in the LEFT LANE, always making an effort to match the speed of the car in the right lane, thus making it nearly impossible to pass.

Cindy said it was her way of helping the police by not letting anyone who may be exceeding the speed limit get past her.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of "Cindys" out there.

Again, from the WCSO post and the Utah state law:

An operator of a vehicle traveling in the left general purpose lane that has a vehicle following directly behind the operator's vehicle at a distance so that less than two seconds elapse before reaching the location of the operator's vehicle when space is available for the operator to yield to the overtaking vehicle by traveling in the right-hand lane is prima facie evidence that the operator is violating Subsection 2

The concept really is quite simple. Use the left lane for passing, then move back to the right lane to continue on.

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