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A passing lane (North American English) or overtaking lane (English outside of North America) is a lane on a multi-lane
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
or
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
closest to the median of the road (the
central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ...
). In some countries, lanes are described as being on the 'inside' or the 'outside' of a road, and the location of the passing lanes will vary. In modern traffic planning, passing lanes on
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
s are usually designed for through/express traffic, while the lanes furthest from the median of the road have entry/exit ramps. However due to routing constraints, some freeways may have ramps exiting from the passing lane; these are known as "left exits" in North America. A passing lane is commonly referred to as a "fast lane" because it is often used for extended periods of time for through traffic or fast traffic. In theory, a passing lane should be used only for passing, thus allowing, even on a road with only two lanes in each direction, motorists to travel at their own pace. A
2+1 road 2+1 road is a specific category of three-lane road, consisting of two lanes in one direction and one lane in the other, alternating every few kilometres, and usually separated with a steel cable barrier. The second lane allows faster-moving ...
has a passing lane only in one direction, usually alternating each few kilometers or miles. In practice, they are more like upgraded highways than motorways.


Misuse and common practice in the United States

Common practice and most law on United States highways is that the left lane is reserved for passing and faster moving traffic, and that traffic using the left lane must yield to traffic wishing to
overtake Overtaking or passing is the act of one vehicle going past another slower moving vehicle, travelling in the same direction, on a road. The lane used for overtaking another vehicle is often a passing lane farther from the road shoulder which ...
. The United States
Uniform Vehicle Code For driving in the United States, each state and territory has its own traffic code or rules of the road, although most of the rules of the road are similar for the purpose of uniformity, given that all states grant reciprocal driving privileges ...
states:
Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic ...
It is also illegal in many states in the US to use the "far left" or passing lane on a major highway as a traveling lane (as opposed to passing), or to fail to yield to faster moving traffic that is attempting to overtake in that lane. For example, Colorado's "Left Lane Law" states:
A person shall not drive a motor vehicle in the passing lane of a highway if the speed-limit is sixty-five miles per hour or more unless such person is passing other motor-vehicles that are in a non-passing lane...
In some states, such as Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, and Washington, the center lanes on highways with three or more lanes in each direction are also passing lanes. In those states, no matter how many lanes there are on the highway, drivers must not leave the right-hand lane unless they are overtaking slower vehicles, making a left turn or exit, or obeying a move over law. In California, at least, there is no prohibition against cruising in the left lane. However, similar to the states below, slow traffic must stay right. In other states, such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and others, it is illegal to fail to yield to traffic that seeks to overtake in the left lane, or to create any other "obstruction" in the passing lane that hinders the flow of traffic. As a result, heavy trucks are often prohibited from using the passing lane. The left lane is commonly referred to as the "fast lane", but that is not an accurate description of the lane's purpose. The left lane is the designated passing lane, however, vehicles in the left lane must obey the posted speed limits. A common problem arising from misuse of the left lane is speeding and tailgating. These actions create
road rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...
and increase overall danger. A driver hoping to pass a slow motorist in the "fast lane" can be stuck in an awkward situation. One strategy is to signal a lane change toward the center median. Another is to flash headlights. A third, which is dangerous and illegal, is to drive very close to the "fast lane" driver's
bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 1974) ...
(this is known as
tailgating Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. The safe distance for following another vehicle varies depend ...
). Most commonly, motorists will attempt to overtake the outer car on the inner lane either to continue at a fast pace or to pass a car that is going too slowly in the passing lane. On high-capacity multilane freeways (three or more lanes per direction), many motorists often pass on the inner lane, largely in response to misuse of the "passing lane" by slower traffic. In some areas, such as the U.S. states of Colorado and Kentucky, vehicles in the left lane are required to yield to faster traffic only if the speed limit is above 65 miles per hour. In other areas, like Alaska, there is no law requiring slower traffic to move over for faster traffic.


Signage

The use of passing lanes for faster traffic is sometimes acknowledged with signs using phrases such as "Slower Traffic Keep Right"You can drive on the left lane as long as you go fas
Alberta, Canada Government - Road Signs (Slower Traffic Keep Right)
/ref> (in Canada, where the passing lane is to the left). In a study by the AASHTO Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering, all 24
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s involved used some form of passing lane courtesy signage, 9 of which only use those signs for steep graded roads.AASHTO Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering: Passing Lane Study


Proper use

Many areas which make it illegal to fail to yield to faster traffic also have exceptions to those rules. Some of these exceptions include preparing to make a left turn, taking an exit located on the left side of the roadway, avoiding traffic merging onto the roadway, or overtaking and passing another vehicle. In the province of Quebec, it is illegal to travel in the left lane when not passing when the speed limit is over 80 km/h (50 mph). In the province of Ontario, unless otherwise posted, the left lane on a multi-lane highway is not reserved for passing or to give motorists a special lane to violate the speed limit. Only vehicles traveling less than the posted speed limit are required to stay in the right most lane. Passing on the right is perfectly legal in Ontario on multi-lane highways. Truckers often use the passing lane in moderate traffic where legal to do so to reduce travel times, however in many areas,
tractor trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer ...
s are banned from using the passing lane for safety reasons; these restrictions are normally found along urban, often congested highways with multiple lanes (e.g.
Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
west of
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...
), or on rural freeways with 6 or more lanes (3 in each direction).


Hammer lane

The hammer down lane is another term for the passing lane. Its etymology originated with truckers in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
in reference to slamming the accelerator with a foot like
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...
.) HOV lanes are not usually considered hammer lanes, but are also used for express travel by commuters.


Climbing lane

In hilly terrain, some undivided highways are built with three lanes, with the extra added pavement known as the "climbing lane" or "crawler lane". Two lanes are used for traffic heading in the uphill direction, with one lane being a passing or climbing lane, and one lane is used for downhill traffic. On dual carriageways, the climbing lane may be marked with a broken double white line.


Australian use

In Australia, most intercity highways are constructed with only one lane in each direction. Head-on collisions are a risk, particularly with fatigued drivers. Overtaking lanes are an additional lane in one direction for a short distance (one or two kilometres) (1/2 Miles) to assist faster traffic to safely overtake slower traffic. Road markings are often painted so that the additional lane appears in the centre of the road (guiding traffic to the left), and traffic needs to deliberately change lanes to overtake. At the end, the markings are the other way, so that the left lane must yield and merge into the overtaking lane. Large signs alert drivers that they are approaching an overtaking lane, often at 5 km (3 Miles) and 1 km (0.62 Mi) distances before the lane starts.


Cultural references

* Fast Lane, an arcade game * Life in the Fast Lane, a song by the
Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
* Jones in the Fast Lane, 1990 MS-DOS based game


References


External links


State "keep right" laws
{{Road Road infrastructure