South Carolina to Slow Drivers: Keep Right

When driving on a busy highway, it’s important that everybody on the road keep to a common range of speeds. We all know that a car moving too fast on the highways of South Carolina can cause an auto accident, but it’s easy to forget that cars moving too slowly can be a danger as well. If a car driving the speed limit has its path blocked by a car moving well under the speed limit, it may not be able to slow down in time to prevent a crash.

With this in mind, the South Carolina House of Representatives recently passed a bill meant to encourage slower drivers to stay in the right lane on interstate highways. The bill would add messages to digital roadside signs reminding drivers of this rule.

In South Carolina, cars are required by law to stay in the right lane unless:

• They are passing a slower car
• A construction crew has closed the right lane
• A car or other obstacle is blocking the right lane
• There is an emergency vehicle parked just off the right lane

In all other cases, South Carolina drivers ought to stay in the right lane, and can pay a price if they don’t. The state Highway Patrol reports that it issued over 1,000 tickets for drivers who were driving below the minimum speed limit, driving in the left lane for no reason, or both. In general, a rear-end collision is blamed on the driver in the back, but if the collision couldn’t be avoided due to a reckless or distracted driver going too slowly, the case may be more complicated.

If you have been in a car accident with a driver who was going below the speed limit and causing an obstruction in the road, contact the auto accident lawyers at Steinberg Law Firm. We can be reached online or by phone at 843-720-2800, and serve clients in Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding communities.