ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions about the rules of the road every week, helping Central Florida residents become better drivers by being better educated.
Trooper Steve on Thursday answered a two-parter:
1. Why is the left lane law not better enforced?
2. Are you required to yield the left lane for faster traffic even if traveling the speed limit?
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“Believe it or not, this traffic violation is enforced quite often. The reason your average person would not believe that is because they’re not sitting in the front seat of a cop car,” he said. “Just like we don’t know exactly how many speeders are out there, the data shows the tickets are being written. I do understand the frustration when you’re stuck behind someone and you just want the driver to move to the right, but it is the adult driver’s responsibility to be an adult driver.”
Regarding the second question, Trooper Steve said it was similar to him asking if he has to stop at a stop sign if nobody else is around.
“The stop sign is equal opportunity for any traffic approaching and does not consider outside traffic. Its sole purpose is to stop approaching traffic. This would be similar to traveling on the highway,” he said. “When traveling on the highway, the left travel lane is designed for passing traffic, and when the right lane is clear, a driver should be there. It does not say that if a driver is doing the speed limit in the left lane that they can just stay in that left lane.”
He said that example would be another situation where, as a law enforcement officer, he would understand any confusion, yet if we could just get into the habit of following the rules, Trooper Steve said he’d bet that less traffic issues would crop up on the road.
If you have a traffic question for Trooper Steve, email him at asktroopersteve@wkmg.com.
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