Only use the left lane if passing
HOV considerations
Final word
Only use the left lane if passing
The left-most lane of any road that has more than one lane going in the same direction is always reserved for passing. It is only for drivers who are constantly passing cars in the lane directly to the right of them. If you only intend to pass one car, get back into the middle lane after you have done so.
There are two main types of set ups involving passing lanes. A two-lane road/highway and a three-plus lane road/highway. In a two-lane road situation, the left lane is for passing and the right lane is for both traveling and entering/exiting the highway. On these types of roads traveling can be a bit slower because of cars using the same lane to travel as well; as to enter and exit the road. You can choose to travel in the left lane but it is imperative that you remain passing the cars in the right lane. If you do not, you must get back into the right lane.
As far as roads or highways with three plus lanes, the left lane is also exclusively for passing. However, the middle lane or lanes are for traveling and the right-most lane is for entering/exiting the highway. This set up leads to less congestion because there are no cars entering or exiting the highway in a travel lane and, ideally, there are no cars traveling in the passing lane.
HOV considerations
In certain urban and city areas where there is typically a lot of traffic congestion, there are sometimes what are known as HOV lanes. HOV stands for “high-occupancy vehicle” which refers to any car or vehicle with two or more people inside. In the United States, these lanes are located in the left-most lane with a clear painted division between them and the lane to the right of them with exits/entrances every few miles. The two primary purposes of HOV lanes are to decrease both pollution and traffic congestion by incentivizing people to carpool with the reward of being able to avoid being stuck in traffic.
The HOV lanes tend to be for passing, traveling and entering/exiting the lane itself. However, because vehicles are entering from what is already a passing lane rather than a slower road altogether, there tends to be much fewer slow downs and overall speeds remain high in these lanes.
Final word
The passing lane is the left-most lane of any road or highway with multiple lanes. These lanes are only to be used if you are consistently passing vehicles that are travelling in the lane to the right. If you no longer wish to maintain a higher speed that would be necessary to constantly pass vehicles in the lane to the right, you must merge into that lane. HOV lanes are special lanes which are located to the left of passing lanes. They require at least two people are in your car in order to use them. The speeds in these lanes tend to be similar to those of passing lanes when there is no traffic. If you would like to ship your car to Alaska at anytime through out the year, give the vehicle transport experts at Alaska Car Transport a call for a free instant quote at (907) 331-3100!
