Roadside Chat - Left lane camping? Be polite, move to the right.
Next time you’re driving in the left lane of a multi-lane highway, take a look in your review mirror. Are there cars behind you, possibly tailgating or driving aggressively? Even if you are doing the speed limit, the best thing you can do to safely keep traffic moving is move into the right lane as soon as you can to let vehicles pass.
Being in the proper lane is what some refer to as lane discipline. Iowa does have a law related to where you should be driving (See https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/321.297.pdf). It reinforces what safety professionals advocate: drive in the right lane unless you are passing or something is blocking that lane.
This video is a bit long, but it provides some examples of mostly good and some not-so-great lane discipline - https://youtu.be/UhT5RA48d6g
A big thank you to Shamie T. from Ankeny for the idea behind this message. If you would like to provide ideas for future messages, go to https://whatdrivesyouiowa.org/roadsidechat.aspx. When you submit a message here, it goes straight into the database for future consideration.
So far this year in Iowa, 153 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of nine since last Friday. In Iowa in 2022, there were 338 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf