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New Indiana Law to Ticket Drivers for Going Speed Limit in the Left Lane

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New Indiana law forbids going the speed limit in the left lane if a speeding vehicle is overtaking you

Come July, people in Indiana might start being pulled over for doing fifty-five in a fifty-four… regardless of how many problems they have.

That’s because on July 1st, a new law will go into effect in the Hoosier State mandating motorists merge to the right if a vehicle is overtaking them. That means if you’re going exactly the speed limit, but slowing down left lane traffic by doing so, you could actually be pulled over and fined up to $500 for not speeding.

State Representative Jud McMillin, R-Brookville, told The Munster Times that he sponsored the law to make sure that “individuals who are driving in the fast lane slowly are properly incentivied to get out of your way.”

The bill was signed into law by Governor Mike Pence, despite the protestations of some dissenters (though far less protestations than Pence is used to).

State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, called the measure “the silliest, most unjustifiable proposal of the entire session.”

Prado Navarette vs. California

Enjoy going the speed limit in the left lane? Get used to seeing this in your rear-view mirror 
Photo: Scott Davidson, Flickr

“It really doesn’t make sense to put law-abiding citizens as the criminal here,” said Tallian. “You can be driving down the road at 70 miles per hour, doing the speed limit, and some joker comes up behind you doing 90 and you’re the one who gets the ticket?”

There will be exceptions, though: slowpokes do not need to move to the right lane during traffic congestion, bad weather, when exiting on the left, or when pulling over for an emergency vehicle.

The law is basically just codifying what most drivers (should) already know: the left lane is for passing, so don’t just sit there all day going 60 mph, ya big dummy.

Still, it will be interesting to see if any police officer actually pulls a driver over for going the speed limit. Hopefully, it will at least incentivize those who prefer taking leisurely drives to do so exclusively on the right side of the road.

News Source: The Munster Times