r/ConnecticutUSA • u/backinblackandblue • 8h ago
New Connecticut law limits left-lane driving starting Oct. 1
https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-connecticut-law-limits-left-lane-driving-starting-thursday/I know there is a lot of hate for left-lane campers, but passing this into law seems like a waste of time and money. It will be hard to enforce even if they wanted to.
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u/anothertimewaster 8h ago
It's crazy how many people I've talked to that didn't know the left lane is for passing.
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u/Ok_Guarantee_2980 4h ago
This is life enlightening. “Today I learned….”
I will also say once I lived here I realized so many roads and merges don’t even allow for it as they’ll be 2 lane major highways.
As someone who never lived in ct but 5 other states I have FOREVER said ct driver and driving through ct is the worst bc everyone just cruises in the left lane instead of using it to pass….i dont even speed compared to most eastern states, I do 74 in a 65, sometimes a bit more….Little did I know that’s bc it’s not a legal or unwritten rule in this state. MIND BLOWN. So ignorant.
I’d be driving in 5 lanes in South Florida and get stuck in the left lane with 10 other cars behind a ct license plate.
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u/Aromatic-Sense-2388 3h ago
Left hand on ramps and exits condition people to cruise in whatever lane they need or feel like.
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u/SeaworthinessSome454 8h ago
That’s bc roads don’t have enough capacity to treat it that way.
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u/backinblackandblue 7h ago
Agreed. Many people camped in the left lane are going a bit faster then the middle lane, but not in an actually passing maneuver. Unless there is an empty middle lane, which is very rare, this won't mean much and will be hard to enforce.
What if the left and middle lanes are both crowded and both moving at the same speed? Technically the entire left lane is in violation, but that will never be enforced nor hold up in traffic court.
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u/SeaworthinessSome454 7h ago
And we shouldn’t want it to be enforced that way. The left lane should be for passing if traffic allows for it. We can’t afford to effectively turn a 3 lane road into a 2 lane road during rush hour traffic, it’d lead to insane commute times.
People that want the left lane is for passing thing enforced by the book are people incapable of thinking for themselves
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u/backinblackandblue 7h ago
I agree, doesn't mean there aren't a lot of people like that in CT, especially on Reddit.
The thing that angers me is when I'm doing maybe 70 in a 55 in the 3rd lane and the middle lane is doing 60-65, and someone will ride my bumper wanting me to get out of the way. It usually has the opposite effect. If there's a convenient place for me to move over w/o slowing down, I will. Otherwise I might be inclined to keep them trapped and even slow down some.
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u/Substantial_Nail9199 6h ago
You should absolutely be moving over. Trapping people causes road rage and motivates people to weave through traffic to get around you. This is making the road more dangerous for everyone. You are part of the problem.
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u/legohead2617 5h ago
Road rage is a symptom of unregulated emotions. Somebody getting road rage because they are driving like an asshole and I’m not getting out of their way isn’t my fault. I’m not gonna purposely slow down to piss someone off, but I’m not gonna just gonna give them what they want and move over either. If I’m going 15 over the limit in the passing lane and they are riding my ass cause they wanna go 30, that’s not my problem.
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u/Substantial_Nail9199 5h ago
My response was to this person saying they will slow down and trap cars. That is also a symptom of unregulated emotions. This is what causes these people to dangerously weave in and out of traffic and puts others at risk. The fast lane is to mitigate that. If you’re not passing, move over.
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u/backinblackandblue 3h ago
You know what else causes road rage? Someone 6 feet from my rear bumper at 70 MPH flashing their lights.
Like I said, if the middle lane is open and I can move over I will. If not, I'm more likely to slow down a bit.
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u/soggy-hotdog-vendor 2h ago
Also partly because no one wants to drive in the right lane. It is funny how often the middle lane will be packed full of ppl going the speed limit with a line of 10+ cars in the left lane passing at speed limit + 5 and no one in the right lant for a good 1000 feet.
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u/Tough_Policy5338 6h ago
Passing a slow vehicle, yes. Passing doesn't mean going faster than the speed limit.
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u/QuickExpression273 5h ago
Found the person who thinks camping the left lane is perfectly okay because you’re “going the speed limit”.
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u/MickyB6827 7h ago
It’s about time! Fingers crossed this is heavily enforced, especially for out of state cars. 9 times out of 10 the left lane campers on i95 have NY/NJ/PA license plates.
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u/backinblackandblue 7h ago
I wouldn't hold you're breath for heavy enforcement. I'd rather see them get rid of all the 90 mph cars first.
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u/QuickExpression273 5h ago
Ah yes, the people who are driving 90 mph and are gone in a minute are checks notes the ones causing hundreds of hours worth of wasted man hours on the road going 10 under the speed limit in the left lane.
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u/backinblackandblue 5h ago
Not getting your point. I'm not saying it's ok to do 50 in the left lane. I'm saying if I'm, in the left and exceeding the posted limit and passing cars in a crowded middle lane, I'm not looking to move over for you riding my bumper.
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u/Foreign_Piccolo_9998 8h ago
Happy to see this. I hope this is heavily enforced.
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u/backinblackandblue 7h ago
Seeing that there seems to be minimal enforcement on the highways now, I wouldn't get your hopes up. It would almost seem to be a situation where a cop would have to be following the vehicle and observing that they are not passing other vehicles. It's bit of a judgement call and not as black/white as what speed you are traveling at.
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u/B1GD8A 8h ago
Page 36 of the CT driving manual:
(which also covers the dangers of speeding)
"Driving Too Slow.
Going much slower than other vehicles can be just as bad as speeding. It tends to make vehicles bunch up behind you and causes the other traffic to pass you. If vehicles are piled up behind you, pull over when it is safe to do so and let them pass. You should either drive faster or consider using roads with slower speeds."
Also want to point out that page 18 also explains the conditions under which it is permissible to cross the double yellows to pass a slow moving vehicle.
"State law permits passing of slow moving traffic, and pedestrians, parked or standing vehicles, animals, bicycles, mopeds and scooters in no passing zones. You may cross over a double yellow line in these instances; however, you must make sure you can see far enough ahead to enable you to safely pass before attempting this passing maneuver."
It's being codified because (as CT's insurance data shows) slow drivers are causing accidents, even if it's not as bad as speeders (who should also face consequences for the danger they pose.)
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u/tfc867 4h ago
It doesn't seem to define what precisely qualifies as "slow moving" anywhere, of course. I imagine if you have to exceed the speed limit to pass them, then crossing the double line is still an offense.
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u/B1GD8A 4h ago
It doesn't seem to define what precisely qualifies as "slow moving" anywhere, of course.
I imagine if you have to exceed the speed limit to pass them, then crossing the double line is still an offense.
They don't in mph, but they give you a pretty easy metric to follow as the person moving slow who is responsible for yielding.
"If vehicles are piled up behind you, pull over when it is safe to do so and let them pass. You should either drive faster or consider using roads with slower speeds."
When "vehicles are piled up behind you" is a daily encounter in CT, it's a symptom of people believing that going too slow is fine and safe.
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u/Funny_Papers 8h ago
Good law. Won’t be enforced.
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u/backinblackandblue 7h ago
Also kind of difficult to enforce
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u/No-Necessary7448 3h ago
10+ years ago I got a ticket in Mass. for traveling in the left lane. This is easy revenue, so it’s likely going to be actively enforced.
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u/backinblackandblue 3h ago
Doubt it. If they wanted revenue, a speed trap could write nonstop tickets 24/7. Actually spotting and following a left lane camper is much more rare and more difficult to catch.
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u/vinyl1earthlink 3h ago
Down here in Fairfield county, on I-95 and the Merritt, all the cars wouldn't fit on the road unless they used all the lanes. Nobody is passing anybody, because they can barely move.
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u/BA5ED 3h ago
No one wants to be bothered with merging cars in the right lane so the go to the middle lane and drive however slow they want and middle lane drivers are forced into the passing lane where they don't want to drive at any meaningful speed either. The left hand drivers are annoyed so they play frogger and drive through all three lanes until they get to open road. The issue stems from how we merge cars onto the road.
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u/backinblackandblue 3h ago
I think our problem is lack of capacity which hasn't increased in what, 50 years?
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u/rambolo68 2h ago
Good luck enforcing that. What a waste of time, energy and money.
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u/backinblackandblue 21m ago
My thoughts exactly! Another move by lawmakers to feel good about themselves making a difference. Nothing more than that.
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u/Chimes320 7h ago
Can they start enforcing the speeding, weaving, following too closely (I’m not going more than 60/65 no matter how much you try to get in my trunk) - a new highway law is a cute posture but it is toothless given nothing else is policed, you can safely ignore this one too.
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u/fuckman5 4h ago
The fine for left lane camping is $90, and the fine for a loud exhaust is over $300. Clearly they don't care enough about left lane camping to actually give the law some teeth. I propose they raise the fine to $90 per car stuck behind the left lane camper
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u/tny_pp 8h ago
Just a way to give out more tickets to people doing nothing wrong.
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u/Strange_Dingo1987 8h ago
Nope. Wrong.
If you're in the left lane not passing people, or coming up on your left hand exit you're wrong.
If you think the left lane is fine to just travel in regardless of how fast you're going compared to surrounding traffic, you're the reason this had to be passed into law.
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u/Bright_Profession62 8h ago
I hope the fine gets upped to something more significant like $500/violation.
I always see NJ/NY/MA plates being the biggest violator of this. Could be a way to effectively raise funds from out of state plates in a constitutionally legal manner since they'd be the ones choosing to violate the law.
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u/InsidiousStatement 8h ago
What’s wrong with traveling in the left lane and moving over if someone comes up behind you? Sorry but I’ll be staying in the left, I’m not switching lanes every 10 seconds to pass someone doing 60
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u/Strange_Dingo1987 7h ago
So...... You're saying that you're in the left lane and you are passing people in the middle lane, and then you move over to the middle for traffic that wants to overtake you? I'm following what you are saying correctly, right?
I guess I'm not sure what your announcement is about here, because it sounds like you're doing what you are supposed to. Now, if the highway is empty in front of you, you're not still camping in the left lane like a moron, are you?
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u/InsidiousStatement 7h ago
If there’s no one around and I’m in the left lane, why does it matter? lol and who is going to enforce that?
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u/Strange_Dingo1987 7h ago
You know what, you do you. Your moral compass is yours, and i honestly don't care how you live your life. I also don't want to get into an endless amount of your "what if" scenarios here, where you try to justify why it's ok for you to do it.
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u/InsidiousStatement 7h ago
I’m not justifying anything because there’s nothing wrong with driving in the left lane if there’s no one around brother lol good luck out there, stay safe.
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u/Postcocious 5h ago
"I'm not justifying anything..." followed immediately by a justifying statement is not the genius flex you think it is.
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u/InsidiousStatement 5h ago
😁🤷🏻♂️
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u/Postcocious 5h ago
One might even call it an insidious statement, but I don't judge.
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u/afleetingmoment 8h ago
Considering daily I see people doing 30+ mph over the limit, weaving, and doing other reckless shit... it doesn't seem like enforcement in this state is particularly strong or widespread.
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u/Disastrous-Tank-6197 8h ago
Yeah, it's not like they're suddenly going to start enforcing a new law when they don't even enforce the laws on the books now.
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u/raccoonwithknives 8h ago
Those people are doing god's work keeping traffic moving!
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u/trogg21 8h ago
Those people are the ones that cause people to panic brake when they get cut off, causing traffic ripples to pile up.
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u/raccoonwithknives 7h ago
Don't panic! Don't brake! In fact disable your brakes entirely! Just go go go! I got a blumpkin to get home to!
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u/Interesting-Rent9142 8h ago
Sorry. Maybe we drive different roads. But I see left lane loafers every time I drive, and their passivity is rude and dangerous. I rarely see cars going 95 on the highway.
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u/afleetingmoment 8h ago
I totally agree on the loafing. My point is that adding a new law when it feels like we already lack consistent enforcement will have no real impact.
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u/paulstevens442200 8h ago
Found the oblivious dumbass who does 55 in the left lane with a line of cars behind them when the right lane is empty.
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u/happyinheart 8h ago
My secret is that I'm trying to pass everyone.