Tuesday, June 12, 2007

On the Road Again II

A friend sent this to me. This is a recent law passed in Utah:

41-6a-704. Overtaking and passing vehicles proceeding in same direction.
(2) On a highway having more than one lane in the same direction, the operator of a vehicle traveling in the left general purpose lane:
(a) shall, upon being overtaken by another vehicle in the same lane, yield to the overtaking vehicle by moving safely to a lane to the right; and
(b) may not impede the movement or free flow of traffic in the left general purpose lane.
(3) An operator of a vehicle traveling in the left general purpose lane that has a vehicle following directly behind the operator's vehicle at a distance so that less than two seconds elapse before reaching the location of the operator's vehicle when space is available for the operator to yield to the overtaking vehicle by traveling in the right-hand lane is prima facie evidence that the operator is violating Subsection (2).
(4) The provisions of Subsection (2) do not apply to an operator of a vehicle traveling in the left general purpose lane when:
(a) overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction in accordance with Subsection (1)(a);
(b) preparing to turn left or taking a different highway or an exit on the left;
(c) responding to emergency conditions;
(d) avoiding actual or potential traffic moving onto the highway from an acceleration or merging lane; or
(e) following the direction of a traffic-control device that directs the use of a designated lane.

In essence all this legal mumbo jumbo means that, if you are in the left hand land doing the speed limit and someone comes up behind you, you have to move to the right lane. You have to move over to the right hand lane even if the car behind you is speeding. If you don't you can be stopped for blocking traffic and receive a ticket. To me there seems to be something very wrong with this.

1 comment:

Arthur Schenck said...

Wrong? Yeah, like enabling people to commit crimes. Isn't that aiding and abetting or something? Which law do you break, and which do you obey?