🚀 go-pugleaf

timlee@not.for.email (Timothy J. Lee) wrote:

: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) writes:
: |This is the greatest difference between lane discipline laws in Europe
: |and the US, IMHO.  In Europe, both the passEE and the passER are in
: |violation of the law in a right-hand-passing situation.  In the US,
: |the passEE is generally in violation of the state's "keep right" law,
: |but since enforcement of this law is usually quite rare, we are
: |consequently cursed with an abundance of left-lane hogs.
: 
: The passER is often the violator.

But *not* of any left/right lane discipline laws, which is the subject
of this discussion.  (Unless there are even *more* empty lanes to the
right, in which case both vehicles should be keeping farther right.)

: It is common for the following situation to occur:
: 
: |   |   |
: |       |
: | A |   |
: |       |
: | C | B |
: |       |
: |   |   |
: 
: A is moving faster than B, has just passed B, and is one car length
: ahead of B.  A intends to move to the right lane as soon as s/he is
: safely ahead of B (i.e. so as not to make a rude / unsafe lane
: change).  But behind A is C, who, instead of following A at a safe
: distance (and perhaps flashing lights or something like that),
: tailgates immediately.  When A gets one car length ahead of B, C
: "threads the needle" (between A and B) to pass A on the right
: (of course, C never signals his/her lane changes).  Sometimes this
: happens even when A has turned on right turn signal in advance.
: 
: So A and B are in compliance with the law, while C is violating
: the law (and creating an unsafe situation) by tailgating, making an
: unsafe lane change, and not signaling.  Note that C is not even giving
: A a chance to move safely to the right lane.

But tailgating, making unsafe lane changes and failing to signal are
not prerequisites for passing on the right.  The issue we're discussing
is whether or not the mere act of passing on the right is illegal in
any US states, as it is in most or all right-side-driving European
countries.  The presence or absence of any other legal violations
by the passer and passee (heck, in your scenario above, cars A, B and
C are all quite possibly violating the speed limit too) has no bearing
on this question.

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