How often do you forget to return to the right lane after passing someone on the interstate? Or how often do you default to the left lane?
Many people may not know this, but in the state of Louisiana, you can receive a ticket for driving in the left-hand lane of the road.
Sounds extreme, but it’s true under Louisiana’s “keep right” law.
“Upon all roadways of sufficient width a vehicle shall be driven upon the right half of the roadway,” Louisiana law states.
That’s right, you can be cited for defaulting to the left-hand lane when driving. Basically, you can only drive in the left-hand lane when passing cars in the right lane and if traffic or construction impedes the right lane.
While not often enforced, state police in some parishes are starting to crack down.
Early January, Troop D — which encompasses Calcasieu, Allen and Beauregard parishes — conducted a 10-officer operation to enforce the law. In a matter of two hours, police distributed 38 citations to drivers in the left lane, according to reports from The Town Talk, Alexandria’s newspaper.
The tickets also cost a considerable amount — $152.
The law may sound absurd, but it’s rooted in citizens’ best interest.
Moreover, “keep right” laws stem from the idea that drivers who default to the left lane spur road rage, hinder emergency vehicles from responding to emergencies and impede the flow of traffic, State Trooper Scott Moreau told The Town Talk.
While Troop D has taken efforts to stop left-lane drivers, Troop A — which covers East Baton Rouge Parish — doesn’t seem to enforce the law. If it did, everyone I know would have a slew of tickets.
Though it can be nice that troopers mostly fail to enforce the law, a little first-hand research showed me that it should be enforced.
I’d always been a left-lane driver until last weekend. Since I was writing a column on left-lane drivers, I decided to change it up.
I took a road trip to Mobile and decided to “keep right” the whole way to see the road from the right perspective — pun intended.
I realized that left-lane drivers are actually quite annoying.
One thing some left-lane drivers tend to do is drive the same speed or slower than the right-hand traffic, preventing other drivers from being able to pass.
Undeclared freshman Shelbi Stoker said she agreed this is the biggest problem with left-lane drivers.
“[Left-hand drivers] only make me mad when they go slow because you can’t pass,” she said.
While some simply find it annoying when they can’t pass, another student said left-lane drivers are inconsiderate to other drivers on the road who want to follow the law.
“I hate [left-hand drivers], absolutely,” said political science senior John Moss. “It seems like they don’t have concern for other drivers who are in a hurry.”
Sarah Rye, a Gonzales schoolteacher, said she was cited in Iowa, La., after forgetting to return to the right lane after passing a car.
She said police pulled her over and would have let her off with a warning, until they saw her registration was expired.
Though Rye received a ticket, she said she feels there would be a bigger build-up of traffic if everyone drove in the right lane.
“If everyone is in the right-hand lane, then it could be a problem,” Rye said.
Overall, “keep right” laws may seem menial and unenforced, but the laws are there to keep drivers safe and allow for emergency vehicles to respond to emergencies quickly.
Why do people default to the left lane? Probably because they just want to speed or are unaware that doing so is illegal.
Though unlawful, it may seem convenient to speed ahead in the left lane, but in the end, it only adds to problems on the road. And it can also cost you a hefty amount of money.
Keep the roads safer — “keep right.”
Chris Grillot is a 20-year-old English and mass communication senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_cgrillot.
 
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected].