Whether you`re driving at 20 mph or 50 mph may be less important than the impact of your speed on traffic. If you drive at a speed that is too slow or too fast, obstructing traffic and endangering the safety of other drivers, you may be stopped by a traffic police officer and ticketed. What is normal and reasonable? This varies depending on the circumstances, but if a group of drivers honk at a driver, they can be expected to interfere with normal traffic. It is ultimately at the discretion of a state traffic police officer to enforce the law. Most people know that exceeding the speed limit increases the likelihood of an accident, puts lives at risk and makes roads less safe. But did you know that driving below the speed limit is also dangerous? Virginia also has a law similar, but stricter, to the Washington State Anti-Closure Act. If you drive in the left lane below the speed limit and three or more cars form a line behind you, you may be stopped and ticketed. However, stopping yourself because you are going below the speed limit is not only in the officer`s judgment, but also in Minnesota law. Here`s what Minnesota State Law 169.15 says about traffic obstruction: As long as you`re not on the highway or any other road with a certain minimum speed limit, you can drive as slow as you want without worrying about getting a ticket, right? Even if there is no minimum speed limit, if you drive too slowly, you are just as likely to be run over as if you drive too fast.
Just like exceeding a speed limit, it can be dangerous to go well below, and the police can take steps to protect you and other drivers. Is it illegal to drive below the speed limit? Perhaps a better question is whether it is safe to drive below the speed limit. Falling below the speed limit carries risks and dangers. If you drive much slower than normal traffic flow, a chain reaction occurs. The drivers behind you get impatient and jump from lane to lane. Other drivers swerve to avoid you or brake. But how fast can you drive below the speed limit and is it illegal to drive below the speed limit? “No person shall drive a motor vehicle at a speed so slow as to interfere with or obstruct normal and proper traffic management unless a reduced speed is necessary for safe or lawful operation or unless the vehicle is temporarily unable to maintain a higher speed. If you travel slowly, you probably won`t have a serious accident yourself unless you`re impaired, but people who respect the speed limit are more likely to have an accident when hitting your car. Those who like to drive slowly for safety reasons won`t always be crushed.
If it`s a clear, sunny day when drivers shouldn`t have a problem staying within the speed limit, your slow driving will attract the attention of law enforcement. However, there is one exception where it is acceptable to drive well below the speed limit – the weather. If you`re driving in a thick patch of fog, rain falling into the sheets, a winter snowstorm, or other extreme weather conditions, a police officer certainly won`t stop you because you`re under the speed limit, and not just because they probably won`t be able to see you either. In extreme weather conditions, it is safer to slow down, as well as legal and encouraged. However, it`s still important to know when it`s better to stop completely than chug at three miles per hour. If you`re driving well above the speed limit, it`s usually because you`re in a hurry. However, sometimes other factors come into play that can lead to something more serious than a ticket. Just like speeding, if you`re driving slowly at a time when everyone can maintain the specified speed, a police officer will think something is wrong. If an officer detects a slow bump on the road, think it could be causing you to be slow: Don`t let other drivers force you to go faster if you feel it`s unsafe. If you`re trapped in an icy blizzard and don`t have four-wheel drive (link to the blog on the subject), it would be understandable to drive at 30 miles per hour, even if the sign says 70 miles per hour.
In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Illinois, it is illegal not to move to the right when a vehicle behind you tries to pass. It is generally accepted by drivers that respecting the speed limit is the rule, so if you slow down, they can come towards you faster than expected. In a perfect world, they will recognize it and adapt so as not to hit you, but the world is not perfect. By falling below the speed limit, you increase the likelihood of someone hitting you, which can lead to a devastating chain reaction accident. While yes, they should have looked outside, at the same time, you should have gone at the specified speed. Depending on the circumstances, one of you may be responsible for accidents, making it much more difficult to get compensation for damages. In addition to the various speed limit laws of the state, it also depends on the type of road you drive, traffic and weather conditions at the time of driving, among others. If you have been involved in an accident due to someone driving slowly on a day when the stated speed limit should have been respected, legal action may be available to you. Contact us today to find out what Swor & Gatto Law Firm can do to get the justice you deserve when it comes to slowing down the bumps on the road. Colorado has a left-lane law that states that drivers “shall not occupy the expressway of a highway if the speed limit is 65 miles per hour or more, unless that person passes other motor vehicles that are in a non-passing lane.” Kentucky has a similar law in its books.
Colorado has a slow driving law, but it doesn`t define how far the speed limit is legal. Whether falling below the speed limit is illegal depends on the opinion of a state traffic policeman. If he thinks you are blocking traffic, he has the right to give you a ticket. Like most states, Alabama has driven under the Speed Limit Act, but the law does not specify how far the speed limit is legal. Essentially, they leave that to the discretion of the Alabama Highway Patrol. We looked at the question “Is it illegal to drive below the speed limit?” and concluded, based on our research, that most states have minimum speed laws, but leave it to traffic police to decide on a case-by-case basis. Driving below the speed limit can be dangerous, but whether it is a “ticketable” offence depends, among other factors, on current road conditions. The answer is, well, it depends.
That`s because there is no federal speed limit law. It is up to each state to set its own speed limit. Even if you are on a highway or highway with a set minimum speed limit, you can drive below the minimum in bad weather if you feel safe in bad weather. However, unlike driving in residential areas, on highways you must stay in the right lane or risk being ticketed or hit by faster drivers crossing the left lane. Driving too slowly can cause other drivers to swerve or press the brakes, causing a chain reaction that leads to a rear-end collision. Driving below the speed limit can also lead to traffic jams and rage on the street. Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington have designated the left lane only for passing on highways with three or more lanes. They also passed laws insisting that all drivers stay in right-hand lanes unless they pass. A driver found guilty of violating this code pays a fine of $238 and receives a point in his DMV file. Although the Department of Transportation has the authority to create a minimum speed if necessary, it is rare to find minimum speed signs in California. In Washington, most roads don`t have minimum speed limit signs, but like California, they have laws that prevent drivers from driving below the speed limit if it interferes with “the normal and reasonable flow of traffic.” In summary, driving below the speed limit has never been a hot issue like speed, but that`s starting to change. More and more people want to know how much you can drive under the speed limit and how far the speed limit is legal? Is it illegal to drive below the speed limit? Not if you have a good reason for it.
Most state laws on this issue leave room for common-sense exceptions, such as: driving below the speed limit due to dangerous road conditions, slowing down due to an impending accident, or due to general traffic jams.