NEW ORLEANS — Drive just about anywhere on a multi-lane road and you’ll see it. You’re trying to get somewhere, but the person in the left lane is just coasting, creating a rolling roadblock.
“People get angry about it,” said NOLA Driving Institute co-owner Tonya Bergeron.
For drivers, it can be downright frustrating.
“You will see people driving in the left lane all day, every day, wherever you go you’ll see it,” said Bergeron.
Bergeron knows the rules of the road. It’s her job. In her 14 years as owner of NOLA Driving Institute, she specifically teaches young drivers and even adults about that left-hand lane.
“I think that they, a lot of people, do not know that it’s a real law,” said Bergeron.
Rules about lane usage were adopted into state law in 1962, then amended four times to stipulate what’s allowed in the left lane. Current law has been around since 2009. Simply put, outside of emergencies, law enforcement instruction, or making a left-hand turn, state law says that the far left lane on all multilane roadways is for passing only.
“As soon as they pass me and they’re a hundred feet ahead, they should signal and get back over and leave that lane clear,” said Bergeron as she pointed to an SUV that passed her while driving in Jefferson Parish.
That doesn’t always happen though.
“They’re not trying to get over or pass a slow-moving vehicle,” said Bergeron as she pointed to a truck. “They’re just riding in the lane.”
Under state law, holding up traffic because you’re going too slow in the left lane could mean a $100 fine and up to 30 days in jail. It could also mean a hold-up for emergency vehicles that need to pass.
“They could write tickets all day about this for sure,” said Bergeron.
Bergeron doesn’t see that happen though.
“I’ve never ever seen them enforce riding in the left lane,” said Bergeron.
WWL Louisiana requested almost five years’ worth of traffic citations related to improper left-hand lane usage from Orleans, Jefferson, Tangipahoa, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes. We sent the same request to metro police departments and state police.
Some agencies had handfuls of citations, others had none. Most of those citations were for improper usage of the right lane.
“It is a law but at the end of the day it’s just common courtesy,” said Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Gerald Sticker.
While improper usage of the left-hand lane isn’t a high-traffic priority for law enforcement, Sheriff Sticker knows it can lead to other problems.
“Everybody is in a hurry, everywhere they’re going right. They’re leaving late trying to get to where they’re going on time,” said Sticker. “Road rage is a thing just in general.”
One of Sticker’s priorities as new sheriff is to bring back a traffic unit to the parish. Officers will be focused on everything.
“A ticket is not an answer to every situation but certainly there’s going to be pretty good enforcement component to this,” said Sticker.
Whether through enforcement or simple courtesy, Bergeron says keeping the law in mind when driving, can shift the flow of traffic.
“Things would be a whole lot smoother if they would just pass the car that’s going slow and get back in the right lane like they should,” said Bergeron.
Whether they will, will continue to be the idling question.
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