Alerts

UPDATE January 9, 2020: Legislation didn’t carry over to 2020 session from 2019.

SB 458 was introduced to the state senate on January 29, 2019 and assigned to the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The committee has set a February 5, 2019 date for an initial hearing.

The purpose of this bill is to increase penalties for vehicles driving slow in the passing lane or for overtaking a vehicle or turning or making a lane change without giving a signal; to clarify that signaling is required when changing lanes; and to permit a visual instead of audible signal when overtaking or passing a vehicle. Keeping right, or lane courtesy, is a critical principle to safe and efficient traffic flow on multi-lane highways.

However SB 458 is about increasing penalties to drivers which is not an effective means of achieving compliance. If enacted, the bill would result in first offense fines that could climb to $250 from the current $100, and second offense fines within one year of the first offense that could reach $350 rather than $200. Rather than use a command-and-control approach to compliance, the state should invest in public service announcements and upgrades to driver education programs to emphasize the value of lane courtesy.