If you’ve ever found yourself stuck behind a slow moving vehicle travelling in the left lane of a BC highway, chances are pretty good you know why this rule is in place. Slower-moving vehicles in the left lane not only reduce the efficiency of our highway system, they also cause frustration to many motorists trying to move more quickly. This results in aggressive and erratic driving behavior which is unsafe for everyone.
During our 2014 province-wide Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review , complaints about drivers “hogging” the left lane – despite direction in the Motor Vehicle Act that slow drivers should use the right lane, were a prominent theme. The safety of the travelling public is our primary goal, which is why we updated our legislation to give enforcement agencies and motorists alike more details about how this rule works on BC Highways.
Keep Right, Let Others Pass Legislation Prohibits Driving in the Left Lane unless a motorist is:
- overtaking and passing another vehicle
- moving left to allow traffic to merge
- preparing for a left hand turn
- passing a stopped official vehicle displaying red, blue or yellow flashing lights, such as: police cars, ambulances, tow trucks, maintenance or construction vehicles
Who Does the Rule Apply To?
The law applies to all motorists travelling on BC highways with two or more lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction and a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or greater.
Signs demonstrating the law are in place across the province. Line markings have also been changed and now direct traffic into the right lane. Please obey them and keep the rule in mind when travelling BC Highways. This law is fully supported by ICBC and provincial law enforcement agencies. Drivers failing to keep right can be fined $167 and three driver penalty points.
Do you have any questions or comments about this law? Let us know in the comments below and we will try to get you an answer. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook or search out some Frequently Asked Questions.
Did you enjoy this article? You might be interested in these related links:
I wish this was a national law? Driving sucks here in Ontario, not like it used to be. Forget the city in Toronto; even driving intercity has become worse as more people pay less attention and likely rely on the “safety” features in newer cars like lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control: “I’ll just set my cruise in this lane and enjoy the drive” mentality.
We need to bring back road etiquette before the joy of driving goes down like our politics and freedom of speech. Glad to see at least 1/12th of our country figured it out.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Nadim.
A Subaru poking the pupppy on twisty windy parts of Qualicum Bay to Courtenay and doing a 110kph on the double laned portions of highway. BJ510i ? I got so frustrated trying to pass on straight sections of opposite lane that I finally pulled over at the Bowser Bay rest stop to let my emotions settle down.
We’re sorry to hear about that, Brian. Good on you for taking the needed rest and calming down, definitely a best practice for road travel. We will pass your comment along to staff working in the area.
Hello all,
I have highway 99 sb H.O.V question.
The posted speed limit is 90 kph. The Hov is empty and cars in the left two lanes are a slow crawl or stopped.
Vehicles have been known to cross a solid white line into the HOV to continue traveling.
Is there a legal recommended reduction of speed traveling 99 Southbound Westminster Highway HOV or is 90 still the legal requirement .
This would be during peak hours when traffic is slow or stopped in the left two lanes.
I found some shoulder bus lane speed reductions regarding slower traffic on the left
but nothing on HOV.
Is this one of those grey areas where it is recommended to drive to conditions.
Again HOV lane empty travelling southbound with slow moving traffic to the left and tailgaters encouraging the posted speed limit or higher behind you in the HOV with cars and commercial vehicles illegally crossing solid white line in front of you .
I can’t seem to find the info anywhere.
Many thanks Gus
Hello there Gus – thanks for your message. The posted speed limit is the maximum speed for ideal driving conditions. If traffic is slow or stopped in the regular travel lanes alongside an HOV lane, we would encourage drivers to slow down somewhat and be prepared for vehicles to try to move into that lane – even if they are not technically allowed. This is similar to approaching an intersection and anticipating that the light might change. Drivers should slow down to allow for defensive driving should the need present itself. Hope that this information is helpful.
“The traditional arguments for 85th percentile speed limits assert that they are both expedient and they produce the best safety outcomes. The first argument predicts that speed limits below the 85th percentile will not improve safety because drivers are already ‘safe’ and reducing their speeds will not make them safer. The second argument predicts that lower limits may increase crashes and casualties. The third predicts that attempts to reduce speeds by lowering limits will fail: because enforcement is too difficult. None of these arguments stack up.”
from:
https://safesystemsolutions.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Myth-5-85-percentile-method-works-best-BUSTED.pdf
Is this law ever going to extend to roadways with a lower speed limit? The problem is just as frustrating on these streets….. being behind a driver going 20 km below the posted limit, and they’re driving neck and neck with the car right beside him is enough to make you scream sometimes! Often I find that ole-grandma-there is turning left in 16 miles, so she thinks she’d better get prepared by driving in the left lane the whole time…… lol
Hi Leann – thanks for your comment.
ICBC does make mention of it in their Road Smart Manual for new drivers, so our hope is that over time, the message does get out there.
“Just because you are driving at the speed limit does not mean you should continually drive in the left lane. This may cause other drivers to try to pass on the right, which may not be as safe as passing on the left.”
Safe travels.
This is a great idea!
Unfortunately, here in Ontario, the “Keep Right Except to Pass” signs have been removed from most, if not all, of our multi-lane highways and the popular driving convention that the left lane is for passing, is now often disregarded.
Some time ago Ontario adopted a, perhaps misguided, rationale that due to high volumes of auto and truck traffic in the right lanes, the left lane(s) should become a regular driving lane(s) and not reserved for passing. This has resulted in a driver-turf-war over left-lane use.
Thanks for sharing this with us, Pete!
Been 5 years! Never seen anyone get pulled over for it.
Hi there – thanks for your message. You might be able to follow up with the RCMP directly on this issue to get clarification on how many tickets they have issued under this updated law. Here is their contact information: https://bc-cb.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=23&languageId=1&contentId=3645
What’s the deal with slow drivers always in the middle lane? I pass more drivers safely using the right lane.
Hi Steven – thanks for your comment. We can’t say what is with those drivers. We continue to promote driver education about using the left lane for passing, and ICBC continues to train drivers to keep right, except to pass. We expect that a level of entitlement and/or unawareness of the regulation is at play and we hope that over time, these drivers will learn to keep right.
I have a question: Say if the limit is 90 on a highway, but the flow of traffic is 100, what should we do?
Hello Pranad and thank you for your question. Posted speed limits are meant to dictate speed of travel in ideal driving conditions (sunny, clear, dry). This is often not the case on BC highways and we encourage drivers to always drive to the conditions present on the road, not the posted speed limit. While we are the ministry responsible for setting the speed limits on BC highways, the BC RCMP are the body responsible for enforcing that limit. Motorists’ behaviours are also taken into account when establishing a speed limit zone. Another factor we consider when setting speed limits is the 85th percentile rule. Most drivers are sensible and will naturally drive at a reasonable speed to reach their destination safely. As such, the ministry uses the “majority” (or 85th percentile) concept as a guiding principle for evaluating speed limits. The “majority” speed represents that speed at or below which most of the traffic is moving in ideal road conditions, and is widely accepted in North America as being closest to that “just right” speed limit motorists will comply with. In this regard, travelling a small amount above the posted limit in order to travel with the speed of the majority (and to prevent driver frustration and the potential for dangerous driving behaviour) might be considered acceptable (95 rather than 100 km/h). Hope that this helps.
Thank you! Automated speed enforcement might solve this dilemma since it allows a certain threshold above the limit.
Hi,
Since this law became official, I don’t see any enforcement. Every time when I travel from the highway 91 from the Alex Fraser bridge to Richmond, there are certainly always someone drove on the left lane with SUPER SLOW speed (maybe 80 in a 90 zone), while the right lane is completely empty.
Hi there SP – thanks for connecting with us here. Unfortunately, we are only responsible for setting the legislation and the RCMP are responsible for enforcing it. We encourage you to share your concern with them directly as well. Safe travels!
Hello.
If you are travelling on a 3 lane highway up a pass, is it not supposed to be that you stay in middle lane, pass on the left, and let the semi’s and trailers stay in the far right slow lane?
Hello AJ,
Thanks for your comment. Unless you need to pass a slower moving vehicle (incl. commercial trucks) you should remain in the right hand lane. This allows other vehicles (such as commercial trucks) the ability to pass in the middle lane and left lanes, should they need to.
Here in West Kelowna to kelowna in rush hour traffic if both lanes were not used traffic would be backed up past the gormans mill in the morning and way into Kelowna in the evenings, there are just to many lights
Thanks for your comment Wayne. The law applies to all motorists travelling on BC highways with two or more lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction and a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or greater. When the speed of traffic is 50 km/h or slower, a driver may remain in the left hand lane. However, when traffic speed rises above 50 km/h, the driver should move into the right hand lane. Hope this information is helpful! Here’s a link to more FAQ on this topic: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
What about within city limits going 50 kms? Can you be in the left lane?
Hi Eileen. The law does not apply in that case. The blog states: “The law applies to all motorists travelling on BC highways with two or more lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction and a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or greater.”
I travel 5 days a week from Chilliwack to North Vancouver for work and am very frustrated by the amount of people that simply hog the left lane for no good reason and thereby obstruct a decent traffic flow.
I see all these signs about ” leave the phone alone” when do we get warning signs for left lane huggers, electronic and roadside !?
I see frustrated drivers tailgating them, passing them left via the hov lane and right honking fingering them and they simply continue 🤬
Hi Karel
Sorry for your frustration. I can certainly pass along your comments to the local region. Please drive safely.
I am joining this conversation months later,but I can tell you that this rule if followed would have made driving on the HIGHWAY 100% safer.
People who are hogging the left lane are usually doing it intentionally and often in an aggressive way. Mostly based on a False Sense of Entitlement and lack of awareness that their behaviour is actually more dangerous than people who are passing them faster than the speed limit. First of all, it is not the drivers’ responsibility to enforce the speeding law by blocking others from passing. in addition, preventing others from passing just leads to unsafe driving behaviour such as tailgating by the cars following the left lane hogger, aggressively and unnecessarily breaking by the person being followed in an attempt to “get people to stay away” or “get rear ended and get some ICBC compensation” and all other nonsense. Moreover, people who are hogging the left lane claim that they are driving close to the speed limit therefore they “can’t go any faster” which is retarded in itself since what is needed from them is to move to the right lane and not go any faster.
what people don’t understand is that the left lane is not a travelling lane, it is a lane to be used by people to pass. it is safer to pass from the left than it is to pass from the right. If for example I am going 100km/hr in a 90km/hr zone and someone approaches me at 140km/hr from behind, it is not my job to enforce the law but to obey it by moving to the right lane since the rule regarding lanes use in a highway is actually talking about “the speed of the traffic” not the speed limit.
People in canada need to drive in other countries especially Europe to get a sense of what highway driving is like. Car are usually driving +150km/hr and everyone (no exception) is following the simplest rule to make highway driving safer (Keep right unless passing and Let others pass).
I won’t mention the Autobahn because people would just claim that “the highway there is designed better than here”, but what these idiots don’t understand is that it doesn’t matter how good a highway is designed if the drivers don’t follow the most basic rules of the highway (Keep right unless passing and Let others pass).
Thanks for your comments Van!
Is the posted speed limit or 10k over considered acceptable to travel in the left lane.
Hi there!
The posted speed limit is enforceable by the police and we don’t endorse travelling over the speed limit; however, if you are travelling at (or slightly above) the posted speed limit in the passing lane and another vehicle approaches you from behind at a higher speed, you should move over and let them pass. We do not encourage slower moving vehicles to “enforce” speed limits by holding up faster vehicles in the passing lane as this only causes driver frustration and possibly reckless behaviour on the road.
It is NEVER acceptable to ‘travel’ in the left lane. Why is it so hard to understand?
It’s the best way I’ve seen on North American Highways so far. It breaks down a little when I look at the sign you have for three lanes. Some may think that trucks should move right , and all should be treated equal. Hopefully B.C. Doesn’t blindly follow the many others that restrict trucks from the left lane.
To give an impression of how ineffective this law is watch the following video of a trip from Whistler to Abbotsford and count how many times the driver passes on the right.
We’re gong to ignore that the driver is obviously aggressive, speeds, weaves back and forth between lanes multiple times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-LmpEi0QuM
Thanks for your comment Charles. While we are responsible for legislating this regulation – the BC RCMP is responsible for enforcing. We do try to educate the travelling public about this rule of the road whenever we can.
I think it’s “ ineffective” because most people either don’t think it applies to them, or that it’s a courtesy thing, not a law. I can guarantee that it WILL BE effective to the driver that has been caught by police and fined $167!! Perhaps until more drivers get fined (which entails police spending lots more time observing traffic on hwys ), this ignorance or ignoring of the law will continue.
I’m in agreement with the law requiring drivers to use the right lane except for passing.
I’m also in agreement with the use of HOV lanes.
I’m not in agreement with the perception that you must move over or out of a HOV lane as
soon as a speeder comes up behind you if you’re traveling at least the posted limit, are
following another HOV user, and all HOV users ahead are continually passing vehicles in
the normal passing lane. Most HOV lanes have long sections painted with solid white lines
between the HOV lane and the passing and/or traveling lane which is illegal to cross.
Insisting that even those drivers already driving over the speed limit get out of the
way of those drivers driving aggressively, are being bullies, and have no regard for the
safety of others is only contributing to their aggressive behavior. As a former commercial driving instructor, I would like to know which law you are suggesting I break, crossing a solid white line, holding up a illegal speeder, or risking driving at well over the speed limit so as not to hold up that aggressive driver?
Further about using the HOV lane…In BC, Hov lanes are excluded from the new
law requiring vehicles to move to the right out of left lanes unless they are passing.
Not having to ‘get out of the way’ of speeding vehicles doesn’t entitle drivers to hold
up other drivers by going under the speed limit to which you are subject to a ticket for
impeding traffic though.
Keeping to the right except to pass is NOT intended to clear the way (so called Fast Lanes) for illegal speeders, but for emergency responders.
For many decades now, drivers have misunderstood the purpose of the sign (in Ontario), “Slower Traffic Keep Right” as, “So long as I’m going fast, I can drive in the left lane.” This is totally false. This sign is for heavy vehicles about to climb a hill. For whatever the reason, the MTO started putting this sign in place of “Keep Right Except to Pass” sign.
Why would anyone want to travel on a multi-lane highway in the far left lane when just on the other side of that barrier, patch of grass, or bunch of trees – whatever the median – glass, metal, rubber and plastic are hurling at you at 100 km/h or more!
Look up cooperative driving for your next read
Hi David and thanks for sharing your concern with us. Unfortunately some drivers treat the HOV lane as a passing (fast) lane. Are the vehicles you have noticed driving aggressively in the HOV lane actually vehicles with two or more occupants? It sounds to us like they are treating the HOV lane as an extended passing lane. Unfortunately, we are not responsible for enforcing the law, only creating it. We encourage you to share your concern with the local authority so that they are aware and can enforce.
It is a difficult law to enforce, because there’s a lot of left lane hogs and too few patrol cars in the right place, at the right time. Now, if the police could issue tickes based on public dashcam videos of lane hogs – let the traffic police the traffic – that would set things straight in a hurry. I’d have a half-dozen clips per day for them… that’s a healthy contribution to the revenue stream.
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for your comment. Enforcement is only one part of the picture. ICBC is including this legislation in their rules of the road/Drive Smart book to help educate new drivers about the law as well.
I live in Ontario and I am all FOR this law. ALL the provinces need this law and the police in the entire country needs to crack down on the incompetent motorists.
I sometimes drive in the HOV lane (I have an EV) and I’m tired of drivers who think the HOV lane is the “lead, follow or get out of the way” Lane.
(Highway 1 east/westbound between Vancouver and Surrey).
The HOV Lane is NOT the FAST lane.
If you want to speed (and faster than everyone else), and as “tranbceditor” has been saying, the lane to the right of the HOV Lane is the lane that people must move over (to the right) if someone is behind them.
No matter how fast I drive in the HOV, there is always some jerk who gets on my bumper because he wants to do 110km/hr in a 90km/hr in that lane. I would love it if the RCMP had way more speed traps on that road. They’d make enough to pay Translink expansion to Langley from Surrey in no time.
This rule has created a lot of entitlement issues with some highly aggressive and dangerous drivers. I was never a left lane hog, but aren’t I also entitled to pass the slow-moving vehicles in the right lane? Case in point: when the Nanaimo ferry unloads at Horseshoe Bay. There’s bumper to bumper traffic, all slow moving trucks and camper vans in the right lane doing well under the speed limit. I’m in the left lane, passing all of them, but the left lane is not clear for speeders either – it’s called VOLUME; I cannot drive any faster than the person in front of me, so I go with the flow and leave enough space in front of me appropriate for the speed we are going, which in the left lane might be only just above 80 if that. (Remember, I mentioned volume – we’d all like to go faster, OK, but we can’t, because, volume). Invariably some entitlement king zooms up behind me and starts flashing his lights at me to move over. Why should I get in line behind all the camper vans – we ALL want to go faster, but we can’t. Volume. And if I did drop my speed and squeeze in behind the bumper to bumper trucks and camper vans, Mr. Entitlement would be exactly one car length ahead and then he’d be having a stress attack at the NEXT person ahead. Clearly some people think that the left lane needs to be kept clear just for them so they can do 150 km/hour while everyone else drives single file at 20 km/hour creating a traffic backlog that would take hours to clear. If I’m passing everyone (the bumper to bumper slow trucks) and I got a ticket simply because Mr. Entitlement behind me felt his need to get home faster was more important than mine, I’d dispute that ticket.
I am getting sick of aggressive drivers and being forced into the slow lane allowing others to speed. Why should I be the one, whenI ma going the speed limit, allowing speeders who could possibly cause an accident or take a life. Sure, i’ll move over, but only when the fast lane is monitored more closely for speeders. Unfortunately, speeding remains one of the most common causes of auto accidents in BC
Hi Joel,
The safety of the travelling public is our absolute top priority. We encourage drivers to travel at safe speeds and to match the conditions on the road.
In order to keep traffic moving smoothly on our highways, we also encourage drivers to think in terms of “travelling” and “passing” lanes rather than “fast” and “slow” lanes. The rightmost lanes are travelling lanes and all vehicles should use this lane primarily. If you need to pass a slower moving vehicle in the travelling lane, please do so by using the passing lane and then moving back into the travelling lane to allow other vehicles (yes, sometimes even vehicles that are speeding) to do the same. This courtesy also keeps the passing lane open for emergency vehicles etc.
Driving slowly in the passing lane can cause some drivers, travelling at a faster speed, to drive more erratically, potentially increasing the risk of accidents due to speeding. The BC RCMP is aware of speeding as an issue and they work as hard as they can to enforce this. We hope that this helps clarify. Thanks for commenting.
Reading through all these replies I see you are repeatedly trying to convince people that the left lane is a passing lane and right a traveling lane and not fast and slow lanes. Then you go on in the same post and call them fast and slow lanes yourself. Perhaps it would be helpful if you informed the drivers that while passing it is a violation to exceed the speed limit while passing. People are treating the MAX speed LIMIT as a minimum speed. If no one exceeds the limit then it would be virtually impossible to overtake anyone in any lane, therefore, making all driving safer and traffic flow according to the actual volume. If everyone were to try and drive in the right lane you wouldn’t be able to get onto the road at all bringing everything to a standstill. Speed is an issue and ALL speeders are breaking the law.
Hello Ken and thank you for your comments and interest in this issue.
Our apologies if we have used the language fast and slow and unintentionally caused any confusion.
We do try to use the language “passing and travel lanes” whenever possible to help illustrate the idea we are encouraging.
You are correct – driving over the posted speed limit is against the law and we do not encourage that.
We are encouraging travellers to be aware of vehicles moving at a higher rate of speed than them and to make way for those vehicles to pass safely.
Slower moving traffic (commercial vehicles, trucks with fifth wheels, and those more cautious drivers) often travel well below the posted speed limit, causing those behind them hoping to travel at a higher rate of speed some frustration.
We understand that not all traffic can fit into the right/travel lane, which is why this legislation includes language for drivers using the left/passing lane, asking them to move out of the way of faster moving vehicles behind them.
While we are responsible for enacting this legislation, the BC RCMP is responsible for enforcing it (and speeding). We understand your frustration with those drivers travelling at high rates of speed but strongly discourage drivers from travelling at or below the posted speed limit in the left/passing lane to keep speeders from speeding. This only aggravates the situation, causing danger for all travellers on the road. We hope this helps. Thanks again for connecting with us here.
very good , just one thing you use the words travel lanes which I thin is not exactly correct . There’s one travel lane and the rest of the lanes to the left are passing lanes. True you may spend a lot of time at least in the first lane to the left, but if your not passing and there’s room to do so, move right.
I talked to 9 coworker in my downtown office; 4 from the North Shore, 3 from Burnaby and 2 from Tricity. Only 1 person has seen keep right road sign. 3 thought it was not in effect because they never seen the signs and they do not see it happening on the highway. I saw the response to Dobie and I think it should be between the locations he mentioned. It should not be only for the Rural areas this rule applies all over BC. Make it obvious to drivers where it is busier.
They have this rule in the USA and I have no problem driving down there, everyone is aware because they pay to have Signs. They think that the “new” Driver will all know but to those who have had their drivers license for a few years (+ plus) have to be made aware NOW. I am one that gets annoyed driving behind a slow moving vehicle in the Left lanes. I can just imagine what happens when there is road rage… BC should pay for more signs to be displayed to protect the other drivers
Thank you.
Thanks for your comment Roger. We are working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual to train new drivers around this legislation. It is our hope that, over time, drivers will witness other drivers keeping right and letting others pass and follow suit. Hope that this helps.
What abou5 highways that already have signs that say keep right except to pass that are below 80km/h. Say if the speed limit is only 70km/h. Do you still follow the signs that say keep right except to pass?
When the speed of traffic is 50 km/h or slower, a driver may remain in the left hand lane. However, when traffic speed rises above 50 km/h, the driver should move into the right hand lane. Hope that this helps.
The law only applies on roads with a speed limit of 80km/hr or greater ONLY WHEN the speed of traffic is greater than 50km/hr; looks like you need to add that to your post. Also worthy of note is “How does this new rule apply to a driver when there is little or no traffic on the highway? When there is little traffic, and no one is approaching from behind, a driver can travel in the left-most lane. This allows drivers on four-lane highways in rural areas to keep a greater distance from the side of the road where there may be wildlife.” https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
Thanks for your comments Stephen – we do link to this page from the blog: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs which answers the below 50 km/hr question and the travelling in the passing lane in rural areas.
This law has been out for almost a year and a half and I have not noticed much change. Where I drive the most is on the number 1 between Portman bridge and Horseshoe bay and there is not 1 new sign up between these 2 locations. There are signs East of Port man bridge and West of Horseshoe bay. (There is one old, very small, sign on east bound on the left before Iron workers bridge). In this area I have seen a lot of road rage due to slow drivers in the left lane. Why is there no signs on this part of the number 1 highway that seems to be the busiest, especially during rush hour?
Hi Dobie,
Thanks for your comment. We asked our traffic engineers your question and they told us that the Keep Right signs are only installed on rural multi-laned freeways. While the law is still in effect elsewhere, traffic on the Port Mann Highway 1 corridor generally exhibit passing in the fast lane without need for signage.
I may disagree with this as the amount of times there is a driver in the left lanes going slower I tend to have to go to the right to pass and I usually not the only driver passing the slow driver on the right. I feel there are a lot of drivers that are not aware (or maybe they do not care) that the left is for passing cars. But if the traffic engineers think the signs should not be on the number 1 highway between these 2 locations it is their choice. I know the law applies to these areas too and are just as important but that is only my opinion.
However, another question I have is what if the HOV lane is on the right hand side? Such as the Barnet Hwy between Burnaby and Port Moody and the speed limit is 80/km. Are the slower drivers to stay on the left side? I asks as few months ago there was a extremely rude (Road Rage) driver that was aggravated by a little old woman driving on the left not over taking the car on the right. I will drive on the right when the time permits me to drive in the HOV lane.
Thank you for all your information as this is extremely helpful.
Hello again,
The location of an HOV lane should be viewed as arbitrary. There is a misconception that because HOV lanes are often found in the left most lane, that they can be used for vehicles wanting to travel at a higher speed. The location of the HOV lane on the Barnet Highway is a great example of this. The Keep Right rule still applies here. Vehicles travelling at a lower speed should stay in the right (or in this case, middle lane). Vehicles travelling at a higher rate of speed, who want to pass slower moving vehicles, should use the left most lane for passing and then return to the right, or middle lane. High occupancy vehicles are given their own lane as an incentive to encourage environmentally friendly travel. Anyone who meets the number identified as high occupancy is free to use the HOV lane. Hope that this helps!
“The location of an HOV lane should be viewed as arbitrary. There is a misconception that because HOV lanes are often found in the left most lane, that they can be used for vehicles wanting to travel at a higher speed. The location of the HOV lane on the Barnet Highway is a great example of this. The Keep Right rule still applies here. Vehicles travelling at a lower speed should stay in the right (or in this case, middle lane). Vehicles travelling at a higher rate of speed, who want to pass slower moving vehicles, should use the left most lane for passing and then return to the right, or middle lane. High occupancy vehicles are given their own lane as an incentive to encourage environmentally friendly travel. Anyone who meets the number identified as high occupancy is free to use the HOV lane. Hope that this helps!”
The Barnett is a terrible example, it’s only two lanes, it doesn’t have a middle lane, only a time dependant HOV and a left lane. It actually creates a highly impractical highway during HOV times. Most of the time you will see only a minor percentage of the traffic in the HOV lane and half of them are single occupant vehicles anyhow. The likelyhood of arranging carpooling along that route is very poor to say the least, it’s really just creating a massive inconvenience for 90% of the drivers who have little to no chance of carpooling anyhow.
Hi Chris. Thank you for following up to our comment.We have shared your concern about the effectiveness of this route with our local area manager for review. You can also connect directly with them via our district office:
Suite 310 – 1500 Woolridge St.
Coquitlam, BC V3K 0B8
604 527-2221
Hours of operation:
8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday
No not the right or middle, the right lane when finished passin in the other two or three lanes
I find that there is confusion with the highway markings primarily in the areas of “passing lanes” on two lane roads. The new law of “keep right let others pass”, I consider it primarily to be a re-enforcement of the existing law. The signage, at the beginning of a passing lane, shows the added lane (in a heavy solid line)running as the outside lane and then jogging in at the point where the passing lane ends. The dashed line on the sign shows the passing lane as the inside lane and it ends just before the merge point. I believe the intent is the outside lane to be the through traffic lane and the inside lane to be only the passing lane. At the point just before the two lanes merge (inside lane ends) the passing lane traffic must yield and merge into the through traffic lane. The confusion I find is just before the outside lane jogs over, at the merge point, there are arrows on the through lane (outside lane) directing traffic to merge into the inside lane (passing lane). This seems to me to be a contradiction to the real intent of traffic flow. In fact, the inside lane (passing lane) traffic should be merging into the outside through lane instead and the arrows should be on the inside lane directing the traffic accordingly. I think this would help eliminate any merge confusion and work towards what the intent really is.
I’ve been to Newfoundland and observed what they have done. They have “Yield” painted on the inside lane road surface just prior to the lane ending. No confusion.
I would like to know what comments you may have.
Thank you
Bill
Hello Bill,
Thanks for your comment. We spoke with out traffic engineers who told us that you shouldn’t consider the right lane as the through lane. Pavement markings at the beginning of passing lanes are intended to guide drivers to the right lane. Faster drivers wishing to pass are able to stay left to pass. At the end of the passing lane, the right lane terminates which initiates a merge by vehicles into the left lane which proceeds down the highway. Merging from the right to the left is a safer practice. Drivers have better visibility from the right to see available gaps, judge approaching distances, and merge into traffic.
The condition in Newfoundland is not supported in BC. This approach is contrary to upstream signage, can cause vehicles to slow or stop in the fast lane to YIELD to vehicles to their right. They then are merging from the left, which is less safe than merging from the right.
The ministry does permit merging from the left, most commonly seen in protected-T intersections. These areas require additional driver messaging for the unexpected operation. Hope that this helps.
While commuting to work and I notice a car that is driving in the passing lane making multiple cars pass them on the right should I notify the BC RCMP with the driver’s license plate number? By driving many kilometers like that they’re going to create road rage with frustrated drivers.
Hello and thank you for connecting with us here. As we deal primarily in creating the legislation and the BC RCMP deals with enforcing it, we encourage you to pose your question directly to them. Here’s their contact information:http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/help-aide/faq-eng.htm
We hope that this helps!
RE: overtaking slow drivers in the right lane on the highway
Hello,
I’m not sure if this question has already been answered above – I didn’t read the whole thread since it’s very long. Here’s the scenario:
– I am driving on a divided highway with two lanes available for each direction of traffic
– I approach a slower driver who is driving in the left lane
– There are no cars in the right lane
– The slower driver refuses to move into the right lane to let me pass
– I decide to use the right lane to pass the slower vehicle
Is this illegal?
Thank you for helping to clarify this.
Hi Brandy,
Thanks for connecting with us here. Yes, this is a popular topic! The Keep Right legislation is in place to prevent drivers from making risky moves by passing on the right. The scenario you describe is not illegal, but if the right lane is clear, you should move into it and use it until you need to pass someone moving more slowly than you in the right hand lane. The right lane is best viewed as the travel lane and if there is no traffic in that lane, you should use it. Hope that this helps.
Why should I pull over for some speeding Jerk when I’m already doing 20+ k/h over the posted limit? Without visible police it’s a free – for – all and I’m joining the ranks of speeders. I used to be a’nice’ driver.
Hi Clean DL over 50 years,
If you are travelling in the left (or passing lane) and someone approaches you from behind travelling at a higher rate of speed, you are required to move into the right (travelling lane) to allow them to pass, even if you are both travelling over the speed limit. Keeping right and letting others pass prevents erratic and dangerous driving from frustrated drivers. While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. We hope this helps to clarify and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.
When I see several cars in the right hand lane spaced out over a few kilometers all only a few cars lengths apart, I always see some idiot speed right up to their bumpers then swerve around them so close they almost run them off the road then floor it right up to the next cars bumper and do it again. My dash cam has many good videos of cars doing that passing as many as a dozen cars in the right lane this way because they think they are not allowed to be in the left lane except for the time it takes to pass one car, as opposed to passing several at once. Lost of cars that have to slam on their brakes because the passing car has to squeeze in between them and the car in front of them… This is road safety, it would just be stupid to pass 2 or 3 cars in a row when they are all doing 90 in a 110 zone, it’s much safer to dive between them and make them hit the brakes because some misguided phobia about being in the left lane for more than a few seconds
Let’s make speeding, the leading cause of accidents, more convenient great idea. For those wondering if people will obey these new signs I’m guessing they will the same way you obey the the many signs with numbers on them that a law too in case there was any concussion on that. Personally I’ve always followed the passing lane to pass rule but I can not believe the police will ignore the speeders and ticket lane abusers. Crazy world.
Hello,
While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. We hope this helps to clarify and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.
The real problem with passing lanes is the people who putter along for m-i-l-e-s at 10 to 20 kph UNDER the speed limit where there is NO passing lane, with a line-up of vehicles behind them, then blitz up to to 20 to 30 kph OVER the speed limit where the IS a passing lane. Only to then SLOW BACK DOWN to 10 to 20 kph BELOW the speed limit until they reach the next passing lane, and repeat the same dick behaviour. Over and over again. That causes epic frustration for motorists, and is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Unless you can fix that, passing lanes will not fix the traffic flow issues on BC highway.
Hi Shellie,
Thanks for your comments. In addition to this legislation being enforceable by law, we are also working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual to train new drivers around this legislation. It is our hope that, over time, drivers will witness other drivers keeping right and letting others pass and follow suit. Hope that this helps.
Your right it’s not for slower traffic to move right , it’s for all traffic to move right after finished passing. Many people don’t know what slower traffic is , but all , means all, trucks , cars , whether you think your slow or fast, so that if and when there’s someone wanting to overtake whether it be truck or emergency vehicle or another car he can overtake and get back in the right lane. If you don’t know what rules work best on North American highways , your not alone. Some traffic law enforcement , and traffic engineers have trouble with the big picture as well.
This will change nothing 80% of people drive in excess of 20kms an hour over the speed limit anyway, what needs to be done is increase the fines phenomenally from the existing $170 area to fines of $500+ for being 12 kms over $1000 for 13-20 over and $1500+ for 21-30 over cause people just don’t care.
The sign with the green and black car is confusing. It shows the black car changing lanes behind the green car. I know the law but if you didn’t someone might think it’s telling you pass on the right.
Thanks for your feedback regarding the Keep Right, Let Others Pass graphic. While we have heard this interpretation of the graphic, many people interpret the sign as intended. We have included the key legislative language below the graphic (Keep Right, Let Others Pass) to support this idea. Hope that this helps.
What of the situation when there is so much traffic that both lanes are plugged (for example, both lanes of Highway 1 can be full from Chilliwack to West Vancouver) and if you pull out to pass, you cannot get back in?
Hi Anonymous,
We would hope that when you signal your desire to re-enter the right hand lane after passing, you will be given the space to do so. If the speed of traffic drops below 60 km/hr, the legislation is not in effect. Here is a link to our Keep Right FAQ page for more information: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
I don’t travel to BC often, but I do wish to clarify this for the next time I visit. The article says, “Who does it affect? The law applies to all motorists travelling on BC highways with two or more lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction and a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or greater.” Does this mean that if there are 3 lanes of traffic the left and centre lanes should be left clear for passing, or will regular traffic be in the centre and right lanes and the far left lane be available for passing? Thanks.
So when they do finally move over in a passing lane most drivers speed up making it very difficult to pass them, within the posted speed so to get by the big guys you have to speed. I usually see them go as fast as they are able to forcing you to do a excessive speed to get past. There should be a law that says not to speed up even though the new signs say let others pass.
Unfortunately, there is another side to this. It has made many drivers even more aggressive. It is like you’ve given them permission to drive as fast as they want in the left lane. I wouldn’t have a problem with this law if there were no left turn exits off our highways. Now in order to get into the left lane to make that exit you risk the wrath and I mean rageful driving of those who feel they have a right to speed in the left lane at all times. Vancouver Island is full of left hand exits off the highway, and I know many good drivers who now feel intimidated by the type of driving we are seeing. We need more speed traps and enforcement of legal speed limits to keep everyone safe.
All we have done so far without the enforcement of legal speed limits is encourage the bad drivers to be more aggressive!
While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. We hope this helps to clarify and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.
What can be done about the copious amounts of poor drivers who cannot maintain the speed limit but miraculously able to jump to 30km over the limit once the hit a passing lane and don’t allow anyone to pass then instantly slam on the brakes and resume the 5-10 in under limit at the end of the passing, aka “passing lane 500”
Thanks for your comments. In addition to this legislation being enforceable by law, we are also working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual to train new drivers around this legislation. It is our hope that, over time, drivers will witness other drivers keeping right and letting others pass and follow suit. Hope that this helps.
If someone catches up to you, you’re probably holding them up.
The other day I was travelling in the right lane on Hwy 97 between Lake Country and Kelowna Airport … guess what, there was traffic backed up at least 1 mile all travelling in the left lane, I was doing the legal speed limit, they were going much faster, everyone is still breaking the law. There is no need to be in the left lane except to pass. Why a mile long … because people think they own the road, and can speed past everyone in the right lane. It is a herd mentality out there. You have to start fining people for this. Distracted driving and speeding are the two top reasons for accidents, so you should be focusing on those, then the abusers of right lane hogging. Fines need to be minimum of $1,000. for any speeding offence and distracted driving and right lane hogging, yeah if you can find a police vehicle as well don’t seem to many of them around, when all this is going on.
Hi PO’d,
Thanks for your comments. While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. We hope this helps to clarify and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.
Law inforcement in my view is much to aggressive. We should just be teaching what works best not having one driver forcing his punishment on another driver. Some drivers have known these rules and have been obeying them for millions of miles , but they can still get very unjust citations from over aggressive inexperienced traffic law enforcement officers. I think your showing your lack of experience in driving.
So now when you have a two lane hwy. Is it now really only one lane? What about rush hour? Does everybody by law have to merge into the right hand lane? What if I’m doing 10 over the speed limit and a maniac wants to pass me? Do I fly over to the side of the road so he can keep doing 30 over the speed limit? Are their acceptions allowing people to drive 30 over the limit?
If you are travelling in the left (or passing lane) and someone approaches you from behind travelling at a higher rate of speed, you are required to move into the right (travelling lane) to allow them to pass. While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. On a three lane roadway (where the third lane is not an HOV lane) the keep right legislation applies to the leftmost non-designated lane. Therefore the centre lane and right lane are regular travel lanes. Keeping to the right most lane is still best practice if you are travelling slower than other traffic. Hope that this helps. Here is a link to other FAQ about this legislation:http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
How does it affect the HOV lane then? If you have two people in the vehicle with you and you are in HOV, doing the speed limit I might add; however the asshole behind is annoyed that you are going the speed because he’d prefer to do 120kph opposed to 90. So he decides to drive erratically, pass you on the right, cut you off, and drive 20kph in front of you to show how he feels about you driving the speed limit. It’s happened to me. There are many belligerent people out there who are just going to use this opportunity for the fast lane to be FAST. Permitting weaving in and out of traffic. I think opening more chances of accidents. The idea is there, but the cons outweigh the pros.
Hello,
Thanks for sharing your concerns with us here. One of the main goals of the keep right, let other pass legislation is to prevent drivers from becoming frustrated by slower moving vehicles in the left lane and acting in a dangerous manner on our highways. Even if you are travelling at the posted speed limit in the left lane, if a vehicle approaches you from behind – you must move over into the right lane and let them pass. Fear not, there are laws in place for speeders in BC and someone travelling at excessive speed is still subject to enforcement by the RCMP under those laws. Hope that this helps.
And again the question was how does it affect the HOV lane which is on the left usually but is not the “left” lane so to speak. Lots of single passenger drivers use it to pass the slow traffic using the left lane but that is not the purpose of the HOV lane as I understand it.
We asked our traffic engineers about this and they confirmed that the HOV lane is not governed by the Keep Right legislation and there is no obligation for HOV lane drivers to move out of their lane to allow trailing drivers to pass. When a highway has a left HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane, the left-most lane (for the purposes of the Keep Right, Let Others Pass law) does not include bus lanes or HOV lanes. If a highway has an HOV travel lane, the left-most lane is the one next to the HOV lane. Hope that this helps.
I think you missed the point. HOV is left lane and has restricted access/egress points. A faster driver may catch me butI may not be allowed to move over.
Are we to interpret this to mean that the keep-right laws will now supercede posted traffic speed laws?
That’s certainly how it sounds.
Hi Anonymous,
While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. We hope this helps to clarify and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.
Your reply does not really answer the question.
If someone is in the HOV lane, and someone comes up behind them, are they required to change lanes (to the high speed lane)?
This is an issue I see all the time.
Sorry for the confusion. When a highway has a left HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane, the left-most lane (for the purposes of the Keep Right, Let Others Pass law) does not include bus lanes or HOV lanes. If a highway has an HOV travel lane, the left-most lane is the one next to the HOV lane.
Still doesn’t answer the query about the HOV lane. Is it considered the ‘left lane’?
Hi there,
Sorry for the confusion. In regards to the Keep Right, Let Others Pass law, the left-most lane does not include bus lanes or HOV lanes. If a highway has an HOV travel lane, the left-most lane is the one next to the HOV lane. Hope that this helps!
There are always people in the HOV lane that’s going at speed limit or 5km under speed limit thinks that they are doing everyone a favor by blocking everyone behind them. If there are people behind the right thing to do would be to move over and not fraustate the driver behind and end up in an accident when they want to pass aggressively. I feel like
We asked our traffic engineers about this and they confirmed that the HOV lane is not governed by the Keep Right legislation and there is no obligation for HOV lane drivers to move out of their lane to allow trailing drivers to pass. When a highway has a left HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane, the left-most lane (for the purposes of the Keep Right, Let Others Pass law) does not include bus lanes or HOV lanes. If a highway has an HOV travel lane, the left-most lane is the one next to the HOV lane. Hope that this helps.
What is the point of being in the HOV lane if you are going the same speed as everyone else? Just move over and let those that want to go faster, go faster.
Hi there,
We asked our traffic engineers about this and they confirmed that the HOV lane is not governed by the Keep Right legislation and there is no obligation for HOV lane drivers to move out of their lane to allow trailing drivers to pass.
If you are in the hov lane and NOT keeping up to traffic and/or causing traffic to build up behind you, move over into the far right lane and stay out of the way. It has been statistically proven that slower vehicles staying in the right lane cause less accidents. It’s a law in many states and countries, I’m pretty sure they’ve proven this concept works many times over.
Hi there,
We asked our traffic engineers about this and they confirmed that the HOV lane is not governed by the Keep Right legislation and there is no obligation for HOV lane drivers to move out of their lane to allow trailing drivers to pass.
Hi there, further to our last comment,
We asked our traffic engineers about this and they confirmed that the HOV lane is not governed by the Keep Right legislation and there is no obligation for HOV lane drivers to move out of their lane to allow trailing drivers to pass. Hope that this helps.
While this law is much needed, without enforcement it is useless. As an avid motorcyclist who spends a lot of time on our roads and highways, I have seen absolutely no improvement in regards to the problem of left lane hoggers.
People either have not been educated or are simply Ignoring this law. It’s time for our highway patrol to come down harder on these people who are causing traffic delays, congestion, and accidents. Left lane hoggers create a dangerous situation for me as a motorcycle rider. Other drivers become less predictable in their actions, have far more road rage and increase my chances of becoming involved in a serious accident.
When I have to pass in both the left and right lanes, the probability of my having a fatal accident increases dramatically. I want to get home to my family in one piece. Please help me do so by increasing the frequency of fines for those misusing our left lanes.
Hello,
Thanks for your comments. In addition to this legislation being enforceable by law, we are also working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual to train new drivers around this legislation. It is our hope that, over time, drivers will witness other drivers keeping right and letting others pass and follow suit. Hope that this helps.
So what is the appropriate speed I should be traveling at in the right or left lane? If I am traveling at posted speed while passing in the left lane
And someone who is excessive in speed what should a person do? What about 3 lane roads ? Where should traffic that is doing the posted speed travel.
What about in the city with 2 lanes in each direction?
Hi Greg,
If you are travelling in the left (or passing lane) and someone approaches you from behind travelling at a higher rate of speed, you are required to move into the right (travelling lane) to allow them to pass. While we (the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) are responsible for enacting the legislation in effect on BC Highways, we are not responsible for enforcing it. That responsibility falls to the BC RCMP. This law is not new, but has been recently updated, to allow enforcement officers to impose a fine and penalty points. Neither we, nor the BC RCMP, place a higher priority on one law over another on BC Highways – the safety of the travelling public is always our number one goal. On a three lane roadway (where the third lane is not an HOV lane) the keep right legislation applies to the leftmost non-designated lane. Therefore the centre lane and right lane are regular travel lanes. Keeping to the right most lane is still best practice if you are travelling slower than other traffic. Hope that this helps. Here is a link to other FAQ about this legislation:http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
Many times it takes a long time to pass another vehicle, cause many of us are driving from two miles under , to 5 miles or klicks over. My main driving priority is to defend myself from unjust traffic officers which each dept. has a few. I’ve always drove right and passed left . I don’t hold up others or force them to pass me on the right. I need to check before I move out to pass someone to make sure I’m not holding someone up who’s going faster. Since I’m only going 3 klicks over the speed limit since this is the max over the limit I’ve chosen to defend myself from law enforcement . It can take a while to pass. At this point it’s not me who is hold traffic up , but the lawmakers ,and law enforcement persons who are holding up traffic. Enforcement most be the last resort, after education and modeling by law enforcement , Monkey see monkey do.
Does tickets for speeding cars solved the problem?catching left lane slow riders is very hard to enforce and majority of motorcycle riders have no respect to speed limits and other rules
BC has a sign every 3km telling slow traffic to keep on the right lane. Everyone ignored them. Campbell came up with a big campaign and bigger signs, telling drivers to keep on the right lane. Promising it to be enforced. And nothing happened. Till the police enforce this law. Nothing will happen. The drivers have this, I own the road attitude, and till their wallets start hurting. Nothing will happen.
Hi D dog,
Thanks for your comments. In addition to this legislation being enforceable by law, we are also working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual to train new drivers around this legislation. It is our hope that, over time, drivers will witness other drivers keeping right and letting others pass and follow suit. Hope that this helps.
We need to pass the law to keep trucks over three tons or more to have to stay in the right lane at all times and if caught out of that lane you get a $400 fine
Hi there,
Thanks for your feedback. We agree that keeping in the right lane is generally the best practice however, heavy trucks sometimes need to use the left lane to exit or overtake other, even slower moving vehicles.
now if you have one semi driver in the slow lane going 100km/h and you have another in the passing lane going 101km/hr and it takes him over 10km to pass the truck. How is that fair to the rest of the drivers that get stuck behind him? If a semi driver can’t pass in a quick and efficient manner then they should not be allowed in the passing lane ever!
Making trucks over three tons stay in the right lane only seems to work very well in the States. It seems the truck that pulls out to pass the slower one in front seems to always take at least a couple of Kms. on a hill if not longer and that seems where it usually happens.
It shouldn’t be allowed for semi trucks to drive faster than 80Km/h, like it is in Europe.
Would be much safer for everybody. The stopping distance for the semi trucks would be much shorter.
Why . Trucks without trailers, empty trucks and trucks with lite loads and lots of power can keep up with the average speed of traffic. On snow covered roads many times they have better traction than the average car. Restricting trucks from the left lane keeps trucks from passing slower traffic and is beneficial to all of us. Sure there are some drivers who don’t understand the rules that work best for us all. Why punish us all for the acts of a few? You wouldnt .say all cars excluded from the left and middle lanes cause there’s a lot that are needlessly holding us up. Many places have lane restrictions for trucks , but most drivers know that some education is all that’s needed.
Hi Merrill,
I just want to correct what you said about large trucks having better traction in snow than do cars. This may be correct up to a point with regard to single-unit trucks without trailers, especially if they are loaded in which case the extra weight MAY give them an advantage, IF they have really good traction-grip tires. However it *doesn’t* work that way in the case of semi-trailer trucks. In their case what happens is that, because they have so many tires on the road surface their contact-patch area adds up to such a large combined area, that their drive-axle tires wind up at a *disadvantage* and have less grip on than you would expect. This is why you see these trucks often ‘chained up’ on BC’s hills – they simply don’t have sufficient traction to make it otherwise. These multi-unit vehicles -which may be pulling one, two, or even three trailers – are at a disadvantage compared to the single-unit heavy trucks (like gravel trucks and the like) because their loads are directly over the drive axles, whereas for the combination units, their load weight is mostly *behind* the drive axles; in the case of multiple trailer (or’train’) combos, WAY behind them. It’s even worse for unloaded semis because they have almost no weight on their drive wheels, putting them at an even greater disadvantage. These factors make life difficult for the truck drivers, but also hazardous for other, especially smaller, vehicles. My advice to car and pickup drivers is never to be too close to a semi-truck in severe winter weather, they’re having a hard enough time just keeping their rig moving, nevermind having to try to stop if another vehicle suddenly gets into trouble near them. The best place to be in these circumstances is at a safe distance behind the truck, where you won’t be at risk of great harm if things go ‘sideways’ – speaking of which, if you must pass one of these rigs in bad winter conditions do it as expeditiously as safely possible. Don’t linger beside the truck, and especially leave a good distance between you and it before you pull back in, then stay out of its way – if you have to stop or slow down suddenly the truck may not be able to, in which case, you’ve actually placed YOURSELF in danger, and you’re guaranteed to come out on the bottom end of any collision – perhaps literally. Now I’m not painting trucks or truckers as bad or inherently dangerous, but physics are physics and those are laws that simply don’t yield to accommodate human error. Be wise, think ahead, and drive defensively. As they say, drive to arrive alive – don’t take chances on winter roads!
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Truckerman
So, I wish a little clarification here. I sometimes exceed the speed limit. If I am exceeding the speed limit, and in the left lane but gradually overtaking vehicles in the right lane, am I in the wrong to stay in the left lane because there are those that wish to greatly exceed the speed limit?
I sometimes drive a heavy RV setup with a fifth wheel behind a capable truck. I might come up behind a slow moving vehicle, and pull out to pass, but I can’t do it in a flash like road racers. If I pass one, and there is another in front of it, do I need to pull to the right between them when I am already exceeding the speed limit?
I understand the need to take left lane hogs off the road, but other than reports from other motorists, or from ghost cars on the road as always.. I love you guys because I do not break rules by too much…. how can you catch and fine those criminals?
Why no …. You stay in your rocker and sleep… In parts of the world it’s illegal to cause traffic backup… As you are doing by just puttering along… But hey thanks for making a 20 cartraffic jam on the highways
Mike Dodds,
If you’re in the left lane and there’s no one ahead of you (in the left lane) and there IS someone behind you (in the left lane), get back into the right lane.
If someone is beside you in the right lane, (meaning you can’t move into the right lane), speed up to match the speed of the vehicle in the left lane behind you (as best as you are able) and then get into the right lane once you’ve overtaken the vehicle that was beside you.
Your heavy RV should ALWAYS be in the right lane of travel unless you are passing another vehicle in the right lane. It’s not your job or place to try to police the highway. In fact, you make the situation even worse because that other vehicle, travelling faster than you, will now have to switch lanes in the right lane, potentially creating an accident. Those signs (which wouldn’t even need to be put up if everyone used common sense) are being put up because of you.
Curious how this will be enforced? Will there be helicopters hovering above highways watching for this? I don’t see how a highway patrol parked on the side of the road can accurately determine a violation, unless he/she is in an unmarked vehicle approaching somebody in the left lane and he/she doesn’t move over.
Hi there,
We can’t speak to helicopter enforcement but the RCMP now have clearer language in the updated legislation that will allow them to enforce violations when they see them on the road. We hope that the real change will come from drivers on the road, modelling each others behaviour and keeping right.
I think another law should be., if you are holding up 5 or more cars behind you, you should have to pull over to let the line up pass. It gets very aggravating and frustrating and very hard to clear the clog., A setup for people to make bad decisions and dangerous moves in order to get out and away from the jam.
Hi, can you please clarify if it is illegal to pass on the right in BC?
What is a motorist supposed to do when stuck behind a person refusing to yield the proper passing lane?
I drive from Chilliwack to Surrey every morning and return in the afternoon, I see cars (and trucks!) still refuse to move right through the 3 lane passing sections, in fact there is often a “everybody left lane” going on, meanwhile the unoccupied left “slow lane” becomes the passing lane by virtue of being the only empty space. Nature abhors a vacuum!
I will also second other poster’s comments that signage and hypothetical fines are ineffective without enforcement.
Thanks
*Sorry, should read: “….unoccupied RIGHT “slow lane”…..” ie the far RIGHT lane
Hi Trevor,
Thanks for connecting with us here and sharing your concerns. Here’s what section 158 of the BC Motor Vehicle Act says:
Passing on right
158 (1) The driver of a vehicle must not cause or permit the vehicle to overtake and pass on the right of another vehicle, except
(a) when the vehicle overtaken is making a left turn or its driver has signalled his or her intention to make a left turn,
(b) when on a laned roadway there is one or more than one unobstructed lane on the side of the roadway on which the driver is permitted to drive, or
(c) on a one way street or a highway on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement, where the roadway is free from obstructions and is of sufficient width for 2 or more lanes of moving vehicles.
(2) Despite subsection (1), a driver of a vehicle must not cause the vehicle to overtake and pass another vehicle on the right
(a) when the movement cannot be made safely, or
(b) by driving the vehicle off the roadway.
Along with our increased signage and communication about our keep right, let others pass legislation; we have been working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual to ensure that new drivers understand and follow this rule. We expect that with continued education like this and with the support of motorists who understand the rule and lead by example, motorists will begin to keep right. Thanks again for connecting with us here and if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to let us know.
OK, I travel on a highway with four lanes. I choose to use a centre right lane to travel in only because the far right is interrupted by merging traffic all the time. So my centre left is a comfortable lane to do the 90k posted speed limit. I get drivers constantly coming up from behind really close only to finally use a completely clear two left lanes to pass into and go their 130k in this 90k speed zone. But then there are the really adventurous, creative and most talented drivers that love and think it is just fine to do 120 and pass me on the right in that right hand lane where all that merging traffic is. I am always checking my mirror for that lane and it is clear, then all of a sudden there is a car there passing me on the right and speeding.
Soo we have passing and speeding on the left and passing and speeding on the right and the poor sap going the speed limit in a centre right lane is the bad guy in this story it seems because there is still a far right. But like I said it feels safe to stay in this centre right lane and do the speed limit only because of so much merging traffic.
Also, i am a stickler for speed limits. I have seen comments that somehow justify driving over it as a “comfort with driving fast based upon the person thing”.
I drive the speed limit that is posted and on this stretch of four lane highway it is, like I already mentioned, 90k. If someone comes up behind me aggressively and wants me out of the way so they can speed and an accident happens because of their behaviour it is not my fault if I am doing the speed limit and I should not be punished because if you make a law that makes me a bad driver, all speeders finally have a loophole to go fast and get away with it.
Go after the bad drivers, speeders, creeps but don’t pass laws that make me going the speed limit in a lane where there is tons of room to pass but an aggressive driver now feels within the law to move me over even though there is plenty of room. It happens in this centre right lane all the time.
All the bad driving going on it seems is unenforceable. It is all out of control and not much is being done to enforce the speed limit on mass, so now we have thousands of drivers that are way too comfortable with going fast and will find it hard to only do speed limits if there was some magical way of punishing all of them. So we pass a new law to make slow drivers in the left land the problem. But the problem with that is, there are none. It is an illusion because everyone is speeding and all the people doing the speed limit are now slow drivers and breaking the law. We have just created the first step in validating speeding and it is all because speeding on mass can’t be enforced. This law which has conveniently been passed very close to a Provincial election buys votes for whomever has just made people that love to speed happy. If there was a way to punish every aggressive speeder all of a sudden and the provincial gov was all behind it, Sooo many people would be pissed. But now many are happy because the mythical “left lane Hogger” is the villain. I might see a person going slow in a left lane maybe once or twice a year. But I see speeding and right lane passing all the time every time I travel on the highway. This left land hogger business is baloney and something created by this law.
Finally There is this branding going on in many posts calling people a “left lane hogger” but I don’t see and branding happening calling speeders and aggressive drivers “high risk killers”. But it is ok to speed because it can’t be enforced on mass and the new law now makes people think people doing the speed limit are slow and a hoggers. Well done law makers we now think driving the speed limit is too slow.
Hi Brian,
The Keep Right Let Others Pass law is meant to increase efficiency of travel and reduce aggressive and erratic driving. The scenario you describe, with you travelling in the middle lane with the left-most lane clear, is good driving and follows the law. Other drivers tailgating you before passing (especially on the right) is not good driving; however, this behaviour is not caused by the Keep Right Let Others Pass law. After all, the left lane is clear because you are following the law. The safety of the travelling public is our primary goal, not to punish drivers who follow speed limits.
Right from the first time I saw this sign, I found that the sign read incorrectly. The black, slow car should be ahead of the green faster car on the sign. The black car should be shown to be doing the right thing (moving to the right hand lane) rather than looking like it is going to try pass on the inside! That is the way I see things, eh!
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for connecting with us here and sharing your feedback about the sign. We will share your comment with our traffic engineers for review. The intended reading of the sign is that the faster green car (identified by the green speed trails behind it) uses the left lane to pass slower moving vehicles, who are directed to use the right lane (as indicated by the black arrow).
This law is great for the people that understand it. I am from a European country and have been driving like this for a long time, unfortunately most people here don’t understand to move over and even feel threatened when I approach behind them and suggest to move over by either honking my horn or flashing the light so they get the hint. I often get the finger or people don’t move at all and think something else happened or are surprised or are completely clueless. No one seems to check their rear view mirror and are often surprised a car is actually right behind them at a faster speed. I have to move over to the right lane and then again over to the left to overtake them and it defeats the purpose and leaves me in a state of frustration. If there is no consequence of left lane hoggers or a ticket for them there is no point. I think people need to be educated on this law.
Hi Monika,
Thanks for your comment. We have been working with ICBC to update their Drive Smart manual for new drivers with this idea to ensure this idea becomes common practice on BC Highways.
I have a question that I’m not clear on. When driving on the Okanagan Connector or the Coquihalla when there are two lanes, I stay in the right lane unless I am passing. However, when there are two lanes AND a passing lane, I stay in the centre lane because otherwise it is necessary to constantly change in and out of the passing lane to pass semis. Is that okay to travel in the centre lane in that instance?
Hi Sherry,
Great question! The passing lanes along these routes were made for slower moving commercial vehicles, so staying in the middle lane in your scenario is fine. As traffic can pass you on the left, you are good to go! Thanks for connecting with us here.
This article showed up on a friend’s facebook page (I think it goes in waves?).
Anyway, my applause to you for making this law! It really does promote better flow of traffic and creates less stress among drivers on our highways. Thanks again!
BTW, my father (he learned to drive in Finland) taught me that it was “courteous driving” to allow others to pass. There was no judgment of what the other driver was doing … e.g. speeding, tail-gating etc. … nothing….but rather what YOU did. You can only control your own driving after all …
This meant that good driving to him was “courteous driving” which meant, pulling over if there were cars lined up behind you (he rarely drove fast btw) on a single lane road (2-way traffic … yes, I am a civil engineer! :)), staying essentially out of the way of others in the right lane thereby allowing others to pass you on the left, keeping your eyes on cars around you and what they are doing thus being able to give them room (courtesy), and just essentially considering others and being considerate … courteous behind the wheel …
I have always liked his definition and I think it works. So no judging of others … just be courteous. 🙂
Thank you for your comments Reijo! Much appreciated.
Now how about extra legislation making large trucks stay right, period. (Allowed to pass a vehicle in the climbing lane of a hill only)
Hi Heather,
Thanks for connecting with us here. We have sent your question to our traffic engineers for review.
Great new law . But so far I have never seen anyone fined for it .
Also . What about tailgaters . I have never seen or heard of anyone fined for tailgating anywhere .
Hi Peter,
Thanks for connecting with us here. While we are responsible for creating this legislation, the BC RCMP is responsible for enforcing it. The Keep Right, Let Others Pass law is not actually new, it has been in place for some time. The language in the legislation was expanded to prohibit driving in the left lane unless a motorist is:
– overtaking and passing another vehicle
– moving left to allow traffic to merge
– preparing for a left hand turn
Making it easier for the RCMP to enforce the law. Hope that this helps!
Why are the fines so low? a higher fine is more of a deterrent. Same with distracted driving or anything else. Put a $500 fine and people start thinking twice.
I have a simple question and could you please answer it simply?. I live in The city Of West Kelowna and a few times a Year drive to Kelowna B.C. and of course come back home. The speed limit is posted at 80 going to Kelowna and back but both lanes are used for travel and this law can not apply as the traffic volume makes it impossible If one used this law the highway would not work as intended. The answer I would like to know is does this law apply to us in the boundaries of West Kelowna in the posted 80 zone or not and if not the reason as to why not. Thanking You in advance for Your answer as it seems to confuse drivers here into thinking you must use the right lane only. This can not be possible here.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for connecting with us here.
Effective June 2015, motorists are required to keep right and let others pass. This applies to B.C. highways with two or more lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction and a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or greater.
Driving in the left lane is not permitted unless a motorist is:
overtaking and passing another vehicle
moving left to allow traffic to merge
preparing for a left hand turn
passing a stopped official vehicle displaying red, blue or yellow flashing lights (for example, police cars, ambulances, tow trucks, maintenance or construction vehicles). Remember to Slow Down and Move Over.
When the speed of traffic is 50 km/h or slower on a highway with a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or greater, a driver may remain in the left hand lane. However, when traffic speed rises above 50 km/h, the driver should move into the right hand lane.
Here is a link to more FAQ about the Keep Right, Let Others Past legislation: https://www2.qa.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
We hope this helps clarify the rule.
I’m curious as to how many tickets have been issued for this offence in the past 10 months? It seems to me that it’s almost impossible to enforce unless a police car physically comes up behind someone driving under the speed limit in the left lane on an empty 4 lane highway that refuses to move over.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Bernie. Police would be better suited to address questions about enforcement results and techniques.
What if i am driving downtown and there are cars parked sporadically in the right hand lane? Its less safe to change back into the lane all the time and i am not going to be happy about being fined for driving more safe due to some arbitrary rule. With self driving vehicles just coming out, one has to wonder what all this bother is to continue to add more rules. Why not patiently wait the decade and a bit for the accident reductions to be produced by this inevitable emerging technology? This is such a waste for everyone, this government sucks.
Hi Ryan. The law applies to provincial highways, not municipal roads where cars are parked in a parking lane.
Those signs should say “it’s law” because people are still driving in the passing lane and not moving over to let others pass them.
Hi Jackie,
Thanks for your feedback. We have sent this comment on to our traffic engineers for consideration. Out of curiousity – could you tell us how you found this blog? Was it linked to from a Facebook post or were you just researching the law online and found our blog? We have received a large number of comments on this blog in the past week or so and we can’t pinpoint where all this traffic is coming from. Thanks!
Yes, it’s the law, people just don’t follow it. I just returned from France where people are so respectful of this law. Traffic runs so smoothly
The law is fine. I find the sign misleading. To me it shows the black car originating in the left lane and being instructed to overtake the green car in the right lane. It’s not a clear depiction of the intent.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the feedback on the sign. We have heard that some people do interpret it in this way, but the green car (with the lines behind) is meant to indicate the faster moving car.
I am curious, as this has been needed for a long time now. I have been fortunate to drive in many countries. What has me curious is why are the signs on the right hand side of the roads??? Should the signs be on the left hand side of the road, so the people ignoring this courtesy/ now law, to other drivers can see the sign??? If they cannot see a line of cars behind them ,, how are they going to see across 1-2 lanes of traffic to see the sign telling them to move over.
Good question William,
Not all stretches of highway have room in the median to hold a sign, while all BC highways have a shoulder area. Hope that this helps. We have received a large number of comments on this blog in the past week or so. Could you tell us how you were directed to our blog? Was it a link on a Facebook post or did you discover it while you were researching the law online?
why put the sing !/4 mile before I have to turn left the sing should be after the town not before accident waiting to happen
Hi David,
Is there a specific location you would like us to look at?
Maybe ICBC, the RCMP and transportation BC should be focusing their efforts more on the tens of thousands of counterfeit drivers licenses that are issued every year allowing potentially hazardous drivers onto the streets that they are so desperately trying to keep safe.
I would also like to see more enforcement on drivers that are going well below the posted speed limit on our highways. More specifically, 99 between Whistler and Pemberton. The posted speed limit is 90/kmh and yet everyday there is someone doing 60 for no good reason. If you’re not able to drive your vehicle at a safe speed and you get intimidated behind the wheel, YOU SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING, you’re only endangering everyone else’s life on the road because of your incompetence.
And common seriously, I can’t believe that there’s so much uproar over this law actually coming into affect as its already been utilized all over North America for decades. If you aren’t observational enough to notice the traffic piling up behind you in your mirrors or have people undertaking you, you should also get off the road as you’re just an oblivious driver also endangering everyone’s life.
Absolutely Jon. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I hope you’ll do something on LED HEADLIGHTS, it’s dangerous to other drivers since it’s really bright that can hurt your eyes, have you experienced to be blinded by looking to your rear view mirror and can’t see anything except the bright white light from the car 100m behind you? How much more when it’s tailgating you? Please do something. Thank you.
Hi Jaqueline,
Thanks for connecting with us. We have shared your comment forward with our traffic engineers for review.
If you have a problem with the glare of LED headlights, try flipping that little switch on the bottom of your rearview mirror, thats what it’s for. It’s technically called your rear view mirror anti-glare switch.
The RCMP are the biggest offenders.
I believe our road signs should indicate that “this is the law”, otherwise it’s merely a suggestion…
Great comment Chantal. We will send this comment forward to our traffic engineers.
Good law but maybe we should add to it . Make left lane and HOV 10 km more then right lanes then every time you go in to left lane you would be speeding up to pass this would solve most of the pushing issues .
Does the police really care ? Rarely seen more ticket written for blocking the traffic in local area. How BC gov gonna enforce it ? I doubt about that !!!!
Hi Rey,
Thanks for connecting with us here. Actually, the keep right law has been in place for a number of years and the recent legislative change provides more clarity to help the police enforce it.
Let’s be honest. Everyone writing on here suxs at driving! Stay off my roads. If your car can’t do 300, at least stay in the right lane.
Hi Mr. GTR,
We hope you are only kidding. 🙂 Overall, though the best practice is to keep right unless passing.
As most people are happy about this new law inforcement for some valid reasons also there are many like myself who agree that this new rule will
Encourage aggressive exsesive speed drivers even more. They are the ones who misinterpret this rule already instead of “passing lane” calling it the fast lane and you bet that they will be the ones speeding up in the left lane they aren’t just going to pass you while you’re already going above speed limit 5/10kph but they’re going to stay there speeding their way away! This will create even more havoc for the self entitled speedsters like they’re on a race road or something.
You should try driving the island highway between Parksville and Campbell River sometime. 99% of the people driving follow the ‘keep right except to pass’, and those that do pass are generally going 130 km/h in the 120 km/h zone.
It really makes for a smooth and generally risk free driving experience (no drive is without a small amount of risk).
The times you see that small risk get elevated are when there are people driving 120 km/h or slower in the left lane, indirectly causing aggressive and erratic behavior in the people trying to pass.
Some people think speeding is the worst evil on the road and the most inherently risky behavior but real life experience and this new legislation say otherwise.
I’m genuinely feel sorry for the administrators of this site. C’mon people, give your head a shake. This law isn’t in effect to supersede all other laws, it isn’t intended to be a panacea for all traffic/speed related issues.
It is now law, it’s about time, it’s been in effect south of the border for decades and it makes sense. The signs are visual reminders. Hopefully the more we see them the more it’ll sink in to the collective subconscious. Try to see the big picture, and break free from looking at things from your own limited view.
Thank you to TranBC /ICBC & whomever else may have been responsible for this initiative!
This is the law in the UK. It is illegal to undertake a vehicle and trucks are only allowed in lane 2 for over taking and letting people merge onto the highway. All trucks and buses sit in lane 1 95% of the time. It makes driving so much easier. Here in Ontario drives me crazy with centre lane drivers. Lane 1 is often the fastest and least congested lane, crazy
We have too many laws as it is, in BC.. It’s too bad people have to be so ignorant.
But No.. They didn’t listen to the people, on this.. What happens is a bunch of coffee drinking bureaucrats sit around, and being the arrogant people they are, they come up with all the solutions for everyone else.. .. It’s sort of like the blue and white highway signs for campgrounds.. Some dildo head, who has never driven a motorhome, most likely proclaimed: “I think a couple of hundred feet is more than enough room for some old fart, to safely bring a 45 foot motorhome, towing a car, to a full stop, and pull off the highway..” And of course, seen as how the government probably holds their seminars in some exotic local (at taxpayer’s expense), as opposed to an RV park, they all agree with him..
Hey BC, welcome to the rest of Canada….geez!
Now you need to change the green flashing light to mean a left hand turn…also like the rest of Canada!!!!
In the FAQ section, the question re: car in the left lane driving the posted speed LIMIT, having to move to the right lane if another car comes up behind – what is the point of having a speed limit if the first car gets penalized for following the speed limit? The signs say Speed Limit,MAXIMUM 90.
Hi Lyn,
The safety of the travelling public is our primary goal. Slower-moving vehicles travelling in the left lane (even those who are travelling at the speed limit) not only reduce the efficiency of the highway system but also cause frustration to many motorists trying to move more quickly. This results in aggressive and erratic driving behavior which is unsafe for everyone. Motorists travelling at the posted speed limit will not be penalized by the BC RCMP, whereas drivers who speed can be.
Thank you!!
This is the exact language that I think most people are needing to hear.
Yes, driving at the speed limit is a safe and reasonable thing to do, but you must stay right unless to pass.
Yes, driving over the speed limit opens you up to the possibility to getting a speeding ticket, but the fact remains the same, you MUST stay right unless to pass.
I’d like to add that there are behaviors that are dangerous on the roads for everyone involved, the new legislation takes into account that there is a heightened risk and real consequences to the crusaders that feel they are vindicated by staying at the posted speed limit in the left lane.
Yes speeding is dangerous, but so is indirectly causing accidents by adhering to self-righteous attitudes.
Why is it called a speed “limit” if drivers don’t have to obey it? The dangerous and aggressive drivers certainly don’t. Their reckless behavior almost always happens when there is heavy traffic and both lanes are at capacity and everyone is already travelling above the speed “limit”, and often in slick road conditions to boot. So if this is the case, do you enforce it by pulling over the driver at the front of the left lane, slowing traffic even more?
Since when is weaving between cars without proper space or signals good driving habits. These are the “frustrated” drivers complaining, no doubt.
Make signalling a law. Make the two second between cars rule a law. Enforce these laws instead of rewarding bad behavior.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comments. Dangerous and aggressive drivers are a serious risk for all motorists on BC highways and the BC RCMP actively enforces and tickets speeders for this behaviour. Keeping right except to pass, signalling and the two second rule are great behaviours found in the ICBC road safety manual which should be followed by all motorists while travelling on BC highways.
Look, get in your car, and drive. Stop doing everything, and anything else at the same time. Stay right UNLESS you are passing, doing the limit or not. Period! The ramifications to others, right and wrong passing in other lanes trying to get around you and blockage that you have created kills people, second and third hand. And maybe, just maybe, somebody has an emergency that they are trying to get to, and there is a very valid reason why they are going over the speed limit. But in the long run it doesn’t matter, the directive is to stay right. It’s that simple and there is no justification to do otherwise.
Except for the fact that the law states:
“(3) A driver of a vehicle in the leftmost lane must exit the lane on the approach of another vehicle in that lane, if it is safe to do so, except when (a) overtaking and passing a third vehicle, (b) allowing traffic to merge, (c) preparing for a left hand turn at an intersection or into an exit, a private road or a driveway, or (d) passing an official vehicle stopped on the side of or on the roadway. ”
So I can fully drive in the left lane at whatever speed I feel like until someone approaches then I move over for them. No where does it say get in the right lane and stay there… near where I live the highways have terrible drainage and flood constantly… with any rain, snow, or high wind the left lane is far safer to drive in then the right.
The new legislation does allow traffic to drive in the left lane if debris (snow, flooding etc.) make travel in the right lane unsafe.
This quote taken from the FAQ page here: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/keep-right/keep-right-faqs
If the right lane contains debris, can the driver use the left lane?
Yes. If the left lane is clear and the right lane is not, the driver may remain in the left lane where it is safer to remain in the left lane.
It all comes down to poor policing. If the cops would charge the speeders it would solve a lot or problems on the roads.If they want to stop speeding they have to stop the guy going 1 kph over the posted speed limit.I was talking to a retired cop and he said if they took people into court for 1 or 2 kph over the judge would give them s*** and also he said they didn’t have the manpower to do it. I called b*s* on that remark and told him if I was to get in my car and go 180 kph I would have 20 cops or maybe more on my a**. So where did all this manpower come from? It’s not sensational enough for them to stop someone going a couple of km over the speed limit. The left lane is the passing lane not the fast lane. Everybody should be in the right lane until they catch up to a vehicle doing less than the speed limit and then pull out to pass.Every vehicle made today has cruise control so there is no reason for speeding. It’s bad when you are in the right lane doing the speed limit and catch up to a slower vehicle and you can’t use the left lane to pass because of the bullying speeders coming up the passing lane where they shouldn’t be. *This comment was edited for minor use of inappropriate language
Hi George,
You make a valid point that all vehicles should use the right lane unless they need to pass. This keeps the right lane open for everyone to use. And sorry – we know you are probably really passionate about the topic but we had to edit some of your comment to keep it in line with our moderation policy.
It is almost as if you haven’t driven since the early 30s. Try going the speed limit between nanaimo and qualicum Beach, I dare ya. You will be more of a hazard than anyone speeding. Follow the flow of traffic no matter what it is.
I noticed you are avoiding the question “How much did the new passing signs cost?” which I see asked twice on this page. By reading the latest comments I have to conclude that this money spent was a waist. Also we recently drove HWY 1 into Vancouver and I did not notice a difference in driving habits. The biggest challenge for this law is to enforce it and this is very difficult if not impossible to do. Just try and enforce HOV lane single drivers, this might be possible and a first step. Again I hate the new signs with a passion on HWY 3. To me they are as bad as seeing litter in the ditches and the money, How Much?, could have been spent else where.
Hello Don,
Thanks for bringing this oversight to our attention. We checked with the manager of our sign shop and he confirmed that the costs for the new signs would be as follows based on classification of highway;
Numbered Routes/Conventional Highways – Unit Cost $180.00 per sign, sign size 122cm x 213.5cm.
Numbered Routes/Freeways (Coquihalla etc.) – Unit Cost $600.00 per sign, sign size 152.5cm x 274.5cm.
We also spoke with our traffic engineers who told us that prior to the installation of these new signs, the Highways Department received countless complaints that the older signs were too small and that left lane hogs were a serious issue. While we cannot expect driving habits to change overnight, we have ensured that ICBC updated their driving manuals to include new language around this legislation and we continue to promote respectful driving behaviour on BC highways. I hope that this helps. If you have any other questions or concerns, please let us know.
Ok, you told us the price of each sign… Thanks. How much are we spending for labour to remove the “old small ones”?
How many workers? how many hours?Why do they just stand around whenever I see them?
Whats the bottom line for how much this costs us?
Whats next???
Hi Andy,
Our maintenance contractors are responsible for installing and removing signs as required. The cost for the removal of old signs varies greatly depending on the sign, the location, the type of sign but can range anywhere from one to three hundred dollars.
A four lane divided highway has an approximately 8 fold lower rate of serious accidents than a two (opposing) lane highway, for the obvious reason that head on collisions are minimized. While driving on 4 + lanes of divided highway, the most hazardous manoeuver a driver can make is changing lanes. Even more dangerous are very aggressive lane changes (to the vehicle swerving sharply) and lane changes too close the vehicle passed, (forcing this vehicle to break to restore following distances). Every unnecessary lane change is a risk to the driver, and it would seem that minimizing unnecessary lane changes, and requiring caution and signaling when changing lanes would lead to the safest driving environment on multi lane divided highways. The latest rule requiring drivers to constantly weave while attempting to maintain highway speeds is a retrograde step, and puts law abiding drivers at greater risk than the bullying speeders who tailgate and force other drivers into lane changing. It is still legal to overtake vehicles on either the left or right sides, and right side overtaking can be made even safer by a polite horn toot or flashing of headlights. This latest change in driving rules merely rewards the aggressive speeding drivers and adds risk to careful drivers attempting to obey speed limits and minimize risky lane changes. Why not transfer all the risks of lane changing to the speeding drivers and leave the cautious,orderly movement to the law abiding motorists.
We were traveling in the hov lane dec. 28, posted speed limit was 90 km approx . 10 cars were behind us in hov lane, were were going just above posted speed , we were passed by a man driving a silver car , he went into left lane and back into hov lane and put his brakes on then accelerated and put his brakes on again and looked at us in rear view mirror, then accelerated with excessive speed. We were as I said in the hov lane going slightly above posted speed limit. Never have we had this happen before. I am wondering if The move right let others pass has confused some drivers. Maybe there should be a lane for drivers that go the posted speed limit. The hov lane is the farthest left lane it is for people with two or more passengers. Not for people to go the speed they choose and to have road rage because they want to go faster then the posted speed limit. He had a choice to stay in left lane he did not have to use hov lane.
Hi Debby,
It sounds like you might be correct in saying that some people are confused about HOV lane usage. To clarify, HOV lanes are included in the left lane legislation. When a highway has a left HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane, the left-most lane is the one next to the HOV lane. Hope that this helps.
Also, can we please get the word out that the middle lane of the Stanley Park Causeway is not a passing lane? It’s there to ease congestion. The speed limit is 60 there and my lane choice is based on where I’m going when I get to the other side. On a number of occasions I’ve been bullied for driving in the middle lane when I’ve been going well above the posted limit. Seems a lot of people have limited attention spans and failed to read the part that says the “keep right except to pass” rule applies to highway driving with posted speeds at or above 80 km/hr. Instead they only read as far as “new law prohibits left lane hogs” and didn’t bother to read the details. I think this new legislation has just created a bunch of entitled halfwits who don’t understand that it doesn’t apply to city streets.
So what if there is heavy volume and there is a long line of people on the left passing the even slower line on the right? Example: today I got off the Nanaimo ferry at Horseshoe Bay. Heavy volume of traffic all the way to the Taylor Way exit. In my opinion it’s ridiculous to have everyone driving in single file crawling at 40 km/hour just to keep the left lane clear for one or two people whose time apparently is more important than everyone else’s. So I was in the left lane behind a line of traffic as far as the eye could see. The right lane was chock full of people travelling even more slowly due to volume, and the left lane was also chock full of people driving a bit faster, passing everyone on the right, but still only doing about 80 – 100 due to volume (traffic would speed up and slow down, due to congestion).
I wanted to go faster too but it is not possible to drive faster than the person in front of me, and it’s not possible for the person in front of that car to go faster than the person in front of him. There was no one person hogging the left lane; it was a long line of cars and we are simply talking about volume here.
Although I was travelling the same speed as the person in front, I left enough room in front of me following the 2-second rule, in case I had to apply my brakes, which I did a few times due to traffic ahead of me suddenly slowing.
The guy behind me seemed to feel that I needed to move over and let him get by. He was actually gesturing for me to move over. I did not, because guess what, I wanted to go faster too, and why should I move into the even slower lane? If I moved over I am not sure what his plan was for getting past the rest of the traffic ahead of me. At one point he was driving only a couple of feet back from my bumper, which meant I had to allow even more space in front of me in case of a sudden traffic slowdown, which did happen a couple of times and I needed that buffer in order not to become a car sandwich.
I have looked at the FAQ section here and it does address heavy volume, and it says the rule does not apply when traffic is moving 50 km/hour or less. That was not the case here. Everyone was going faster than 50, but for the most part less than the speed limit of 90 due to volume, and the right lane was moving slower than the left.
So my question is, how do we decide who is special enough to drive in a nice, clear, traffic-free left lane as fast as they like in heavy traffic, and who must be relegated to the right lane behind the slow-moving heavy trucks and camper vans?
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for the great question. You are correct – when traffic is moving below 50 km/h, the rule does not apply.
In cases of heavy congestion where traffic is moving above 50 km/h, traffic should move to the right, if it is safe to do so.
We have included language from the BC Motor Vehicle Act speaking to this for your reference.
When drivers must not use leftmost lane
151.1 (1) In this section, “leftmost lane”, in relation to a laned roadway to which this section applies, means the lane that is furthest to the left of the marked lanes available for traffic proceeding in the same direction, other than
(a) a bus lane,
(b) a high occupancy vehicle lane, or
(c) a designated use lane.
(2) This section applies to a laned roadway if
(a) there are 2 or more marked lanes available for traffic proceeding in the same direction, other than a bus lane, a high occupancy vehicle lane or a designated use lane,
(b) the speed limit is at least 80 km/h, and
(c) the actual speed of traffic is at least 50 km/h.
(3) A driver of a vehicle in the leftmost lane must exit the lane on the approach of another vehicle in that lane, if it is safe to do so, except when
(a) overtaking and passing a third vehicle,
(b) allowing traffic to merge,
(c) preparing for a left hand turn at an intersection or into an exit, a private road or a driveway, or
(d) passing an official vehicle stopped on the side of or on the roadway.
Hope that this helps. Safe travels.
I live on hwy 3A and was stunned when I seen the first sign, too big, too ugly for this area. Most passing lanes in this area are like 200 meters. On hwy 3 through the Kootenay pass there are many 200 or 300 meter passing lanes that already had signs keep left except to pass. Why replace them. And who is going to enforce this law? It’s damn near lawless on Kootenay highways now. Making more laws means nothing if not enforced. A total waist of money for some areas and a real eye sore. What did this project cost? I’m chocked that the ministry would find it necessary to spend so much money on an unnecessary project.
Hi Don,
Thanks for connecting with us here. We are sorry to hear your frustration about this new signage and updated legislation. The Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review found there was significant public concern with slow drivers travelling in the left lane on high-speed highways, leading to driver frustration and aggressive driving behaviours. The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2015 provides clarity in the legislation to police officers who will enforce the requirement for vehicles to travel in the right lane. Hope that this helps. Here is a link to more information: https://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/new-rule-of-the-road-keeping-left-is-not-always-right
I cant seem to find out, and nobody wants to answer, how much it cost BC residence to litter the province with these big ugly signs. This new law changes nothing. Please stop wasting our money, we cant take any more tax increases.
Hi Don,
Sorry you feel that way. We have to inform the driving public of laws that impact their travel. I will pass on your feedback to our engineers.
This is somewhat misleading on a major point. The law is only in effect IF you are approached by another vehicle while in the left lane
This is great however it doesn’t do much to address the issue of people who travel less than the speed limit when no passing lane is present and then speeding up to 120km/hr or better when they are in a passing lane zone!!! This is a real problem on Hwy 97 heading north.
I suggest that the signs be repainted to read:
Keep Right, Let Todd Stone and other law breakers pass.
if you’re the only driver on the highway do you still move to the right when you come to a passing lane on the highway even though there are no other drivers in sight another words
you’re traveling on the highway alone with no other drivers on the road going in your direction.
—
sometimes a highway has 3 lanes of traffic going in one direction – right lane is often the travel lane and the next one over is the passing lane and what would the 3rd lane be? a second
passing lane? – like 2 passing lanes and 1 travel lane which is the right lane..
—
the driving book always did say to travel in the right lane except to pass..
but like always people ignored that rule in the book until now they decided to enforce it now.
—
the rule of cars entering a crosswalk while a pedestrian is crossing the street should also be
enforced too. A car should not Enter a crosswalk until a pedestrian has completely crossed the street another words a car may not pass behind or in front of a pedestrian when someone is
in the crosswalk and must remained stopped until the pedestrian has completed the crossing.
yes drivers have been ignoring this rule also. you’re crossing the road at an intersection and
a car will often pass either in front or behind you while crossing the road without waiting for you to complete the crossing. it is required for cars to remain stopped until a pedestrian
has completely crossed the street and many drivers don’t do that…
Well Jason, many drivers don’t wait for the pedestrian to cross because they don’t have to…from Drivesmartbc
If the scenario takes place at an intersection with traffic lights, a driver must yield to pedestrians crossing lawfully and then may proceed as soon as it is safe to do so. Drivers must always exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on the highway. In this situation, it would be wise for the driver to consider how closely they would appreciate vehicles to pass by them if the positions were reversed.
If this takes place at an intersection with no traffic lights or where the traffic lights are not in operation, a driver must not travel on the half of the highway occupied by the pedestrian or where the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the other half of the highway that the pedestrian would be in danger.
Actually, the law does not state you need to stop until the pedestrian has fully completed their crossing.
From the BC MVA:
“179 (1) Subject to section 180, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right of way to a pedestrian where traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation when the pedestrian is crossing the highway in a crosswalk and the ***pedestrian is on the half of the highway on which the vehicle is travelling***, or is approaching so closely from the other half of the highway that he or she is in danger.”
… emphasis mine.
How much did all these new signs cost? we already had hundreds of signs in place before these new PR stunt signs. Alsonwho decided where they should be located. Ive unfortunately seen them located in the most ridiculous places, e.g. on the downhill section of the Pat Bay highway immediately before the major left lane turn at Keating X Road and on Highway 1 at Langford immediately before a major merge lane on to the highway. These are examples of when people should legitimately be in the left lane yet the placement of the signs seem to just encourage tailgaters, speeders and aggressive drivers to push people out of the left lane when thats exactly where many people need to be. Please give your head a shake both on what you spend our limited dollars on but also the location of the signs seem to indicate that your engineers don’t have the first clue about basic road safety principles.
Hi Josie,
We checked with the manager of our sign shop and he confirmed that the costs for the new signs would be as follows based on classification of highway;
Numbered Routes/Conventional Highways – Unit Cost $180.00 per sign, sign size 122cm x 213.5cm.
Numbered Routes/Freeways (Coquihalla etc.) – Unit Cost $600.00 per sign, sign size 152.5cm x 274.5cm.
Prior to the installation of the new signs, the Highways Department received countless complaints that the older signs were too small and that left lane hogs were a serious issue. While we cannot expect driving habits to change overnight, we have ensured that ICBC updated their driving manuals to include new language around this legislation and we continue to promote respectful driving behaviour on BC highways. We have also shared your concern regarding the location of these signs with our traffic engineers. I hope this helps answer your questions and if you have any other questions, please let us know.
I’ve rarely been “stuck” behind someone doing below the posted speed limit. I think the issue that needs to be addressed and enforced is excessive speeding and tailgating. Harrassment on public roads is abundant in our province, and this just encourages execessive speeders/tailgaters into thinking they have the right to bully other drivers.
If you’ve never been stuck behind someone in the left lane then you’re probably part of the problem. This isn’t about adhering to the limit, it’s about traffic flow. If 8 out of 10 cars are doing 130 KMH and the 2 doing 110 are beside each other in 2 lanes then there will be problems. Part of the reason people tailgate is that they can’t get by a slow car (relative to the other traffic) stays in the left lane.
Right, and if the speed limit is 100kmh, why do the 8 out of 10 cars feel they need to go 130kmh? There is NO excuse for tailgating….it’s bullying…not to mention distracting to the driver that is being tailgated. Thanks for accusing me of being part of the problem…I appreciate being acknowledged for following the rules.
Tailgating is dangerous for everyone. At the same time, it’s safer for vehicles to avoid driving side-by-side if there is enough room on the road to avoid that formation.
I agree….vehicles shouldn’t travel side by side. And if you want to travel below the posted speed limit, you should move over to the right and let cars pass you. I’m against cars that expect you to move over even if you are traveling at the same rate as the other traffic, because they want to speed excessively. It’s the “all about me” mentality of a lot of drivers…and that’s a much bigger issue.
And therein lies the problem, you make it about speed and your obvious personal dislike of people who go faster than you. The RELATIVE speed of the vehicles is the issue here, not the absolute.
All cars, going at whatever speed, should travel ONLY in the right lane. As long as you are going even slightly faster than the car in the right lane, you are technically passing and are therefore within your legal limit. When a driver needs to pass (for whatever reason), he needs access to the appropriate lane for the action required, regardless of his dalliance with a possible speeding ticket or your disapproval.
Why is it bullying to ask you to do something you are legally supposed to do (stay right) but it is not bullying of you to force people to go YOUR speed? Unless you are a Peace Officer, you have no moral ground to stand on just because you disagree with someone breaking the speed limit (a totally different isusue). You blocking the left lane impacts at least one, while our speed causes no grief to you, all misbegotten consternation aside.
You are right, it is not bullying to ask people to do what is legally expected of them. It IS bullying however, when tailgating so close it’s putting everyone around you in danger, swerving, flashing high beams, showing signs of aggression and putting other drivers in dangerous situations.
What is wrong with all you claiming “bullying and tailgating”? Don’t want to be tailgated then simply stay in the right lane. Don’t want to speed or get a speeding ticket, then simply stay in the right lane, don’t want to be “bullied” (thats a new one!) then stay in the right lane.
There is only one reason for any of you to pull into and block the left lane, because your wanna be “vigilantes” believing your like the police, or your doing the highway a favor. YOU are creating the scenario and the excuse for the aggressive driving and road Raging incidents, your no more entitled than the very speeders your blocking to be in that lane and turning driving rules into road rage incidents.
If you see someone yelling while walking down the street do you go and yell at them? If someone is fighting do you jump in to stop them? Do you try to pick fights in the mall? NO, you walk away or (more likely run) but all of a sudden put you in a car and your wonder woman, or superman!
So Sick of all you self entitled people, your not traffic enforcement or police, call them if you think someone’s doing something wrong like speeding because one day your dumb decision to hold back the speeders and tailgaters (why do you think they are tailgating you?) in the left lane may be your worst. People today are unpredictable and full of stress, I stay in the right lane because I know this, and you know what… I DONT get tailgated or rage thrown at me or “bullied” (which is the dumbest thing Ive heard in a long time) that is the solution and plain, simple truth!
“why do the 8 out of 10 cars feel they need to go 130kmh?”
Because 130 km/h is safe to travel on that particular road.
What you have described is the 85th percentile rule and has been known and understood for decades, though many regions paradoxically refuse to admit it exists.
85% of the people will drive a speed that is safe and comfortable to them. In a sensible world, we would base our speed “limits” on the 85th percentile. No, if you set the speed of a road to 130, people will not do 150 or 170 “just because”. If people are doing 130 on a road, that’s what they’re comfortable doing, and if the road design doesn’t support it, they’ll get sorted out pretty quick (by crashing off the road or reducing their speed to what’s appropriate).
Your province (I am in another part of the country) got sensible a few years ago and recognized that a lot of people were doing 120 safely on a number of highways, and they raised the posted speed to match. Other provinces’ administrators, when challenged to do the same, almost had heart attacks, not because it was unsafe, but because fine revenue would be reduced so much. Of course, they TOLD you it was out of a concern for safety, but if people are doing it safely in BC, what makes it unsafe in another province on a road designed the same way with the same materials?
When the national 55MPH speed limit was repealed in the USA, states were allowed to increase their speed limits as they saw fit. Most of them have increased them to follow the 85th percentile. Montana experimented for a year or so with no speed limit, just “go a reasonable and prudent speed”, but saw too many yahoos coming to the state to do egregiously excessive speeds upwards of 100MPH, so they put in a limit of 75MPH (120 km/h) on interstate highways. Many American states are in the neighborhood of 70-75MPH with a few using 80MPH. There is a highway in Texas that is set to 85MPH (>135 km/h). On that highway, there are no cars flipping off into the trees on fire with dead bodies tumbling out of them, as opponents of higher speeds would have you believe. I drove that road several years ago and had a delightful experience where I was traveling at a safe, comfortable speed with drivers who were keenly attentive to their surroundings.
Thanks for sharing Jason.
You’re right, there’s no excuse for tailgaiting. Also, if you see someone coming up behind you in the left hand lane going 130knh, there is no excuse for you to block that driver. and now it’s illegal to block other drivers, so if you want to toodle along at 100K, that’s great – but pull over and get out of my lane!
Boxing people in so they can’t pass is frustrating as well as dangerous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oqfodY2Lz0
drivers that go above the speed limit are actually safer than slower drivers.
Vivien… do you ask yourself WHY you are being bullied and tailgated on the highway? If you are driving slowly in the passing lane, you are breaking the law and frustrating other drivers. If you pull over to the right hand lane and go the posted speed limit, you will have nothing to worry about. Why is this concept so difficult for people to wrap their heads around?
I completely agree! Tailgating is bullying and I am sick of jerks practically kissing my bumper…IN A SINGLE LANE AREA!!! I commute from Squamish to North Van every day, and every day have to put up with bullying jerks who think its ok to follow so close behind me, i worry for my bumper. And I’m not going speeding through Lion’s Bay or Britania Beach 40k over the 60kph limit just because they think it’s ok to drive like that.
I agree that excessive speed and tailgaiting are far more hazardous than someone going 5k under (really rare).
Question: If I’m doing, say 20k Over the limit, and some jerk wants to go 40k over the limit behind me, does this law apply?
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for your comment. Yes. If you are travelling in the left lane, even above the speed limit, and someone approaches you from behind (even if they are travelling above your speed) you must move into the right lane. The left lane should only be used when passing slower moving vehicles in the right lane, when preparing to take a left turn, or when the right lane is obstructed (debris, working vehicles on the side of the road etc.). This law regulates the flow, or movement, of traffic only. The BC RCMP are responsible for ticketing vehicles travelling at excessive speeds. Hope that this helps.
You should not be driving. You are clearly the problem here. Stay off the roads.
Bravo!!! Should have been law a long time ago!
Does this mean that the 18 wheeler who pulls out to pass another 18 wheeler and is traveling 1km/hr faster than the vehicle it is trying to pass will get a ticket and lose points?
The worst thing with semis, is if they’re following another semi, and they get to a hill with a passing lane, they’ll pull into the passing lane, and hold everyone up, as they gradually bleed off their speed.. Then they’ll pull back into the slow lane, behind the other semi they were initially following.. Meanwhile, there’s a big line-up behind this ignoramus, as a km., or more may have passed by, before he gets back into the slow lane..
We should have the same laws as down in the States, where the semis are restricted to a slower speed, and restricted to the right lanes..
This is a fantastic idea. I don’t know how many times I’ve been stuck behind a motorist pacing the car beside them and not even doing the posted speed limit. It creates traffic backlog and frustration which in turn creates road rage and people need to be accountable for their actions. Well done!
Glad to hear that Laurie! 🙂
Well, the ones who really get my goat are the ones who do 5 klm below speed limit until they hit a passing lane, then speed up to 10 above speed limit!