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If you’ve ever driven on a highway, chances are you’ve found yourself stuck behind a slowpoke in the fast lane at least once. Common examples are when somebody’s driving about 45 miles per hour in a 70-mile-per-hour zone. What these people might not know is that—Yes, you can get a ticket for driving too slow or too far under the speed limit minimum.
Can I Get Fined for Driving Too Slow?
When operating any kind of street-legal vehicle, you are required to follow the rules of the road. This is true at the federal, state, and local levels regardless of where you are. And, in many cases, you can be fined for driving too slow.
These fines typically will only apply when you create an obstruction for other traffic. So, if you are the only vehicle on the road, you might be able to risk driving slowly without getting a ticket. There are also other situations where you might get fined for driving too slow.
Situations Where You Can Get Fined for Driving Too Slow
You are most likely to get a ticket for driving too far below the speed limit when you are actively obstructing the flow of traffic. In other words, like we mentioned earlier, it’s less likely for you to get a ticket when nobody is around or when road conditions require you to travel more slowly.
However, there are three common situations in which you are likely to get a ticket for driving too slow: when driving too slowly in the fast lane, when impeding traffic, and when failing to use roadside turnouts.
Driving Too Slowly in the Fast Lane
When there are multiple lanes of traffic moving in the same direction, the left-most lane is reserved for the fastest traffic and for vehicles making lawful passing maneuvers. In general, slower traffic is required to travel in the other lanes. If there are more than two lanes, slowest traffic should be in the right-most lane.
If you are traveling slower than the flow of traffic while driving in the left lane, you could receive a ticket for driving too slowly in the fast lane. Of course, there are a few common defenses to this kind of traffic ticket that you might find useful in your case:
- You were actually driving the speed limit.
You cannot get a ticket for driving too slowly if you are driving the speed limit, regardless of how fast the other vehicles around you are moving. For example, if the speed limit is 45 mph and you were driving 45 mph while everybody around you was driving 60 mph, you should not be found guilty or convicted of driving too slowly.
- You were preparing to make a left-hand turn.
When making a turn in any direction, you are required to slow down to a safe speed. That often means decelerating to around 10 or 15 miles per hour. If you’re traveling at a high rate of speed, such as you would on a highway, the deceleration distance could be considerably long, giving the illusion that you are simply driving too slowly.
But, if you are intending to turn left, you must legally do so from the left-most lane unless otherwise marked by official signage. You cannot get a ticket for following the law.
- You were passing even slower-moving vehicles and were prepared to move to the slow lane after passing.
If you are driving slowly in the slow lane but the vehicle in front of you is traveling at a dangerously slow speed, you can (and should) pass them on the left. That means moving into the fast lane to pass the slower-moving vehicle.
However, then you will be moving slower than the speed limit in the fast lane, which is illegal. Most governments have laws that provide exceptions if you were only in the fast lane to pass the even slower-moving vehicle with the intention of getting into the slow lane after the pass is complete.
- Your speed was warranted at the time given the condition of the roadway.
First off, it is highly unlikely that you will ever receive a ticket for driving below the speed limit when it would be unsafe for you to drive at or above the speed limit. However, when that does happen, you may still be able to get the ticket dismissed if you can prove that you were doing what was safe, reasonable, and prudent given the circumstances.
Examples of this include when the road is covered in a sheet of ice or snow, when there is debris in the road, and when fog or rain significantly reduces visibility.
Impeding Traffic
The legal definition of “impeding traffic” is quite similar in most cases to the definition of driving too slowly in the fast lane. The key difference, however, is that you can be considered to be impeding traffic regardless of which lane you are in—even if you are in the slow lane.
Any time that you are driving so slowly as to cause traffic to “bottle up” or get stuck behind you, you can receive a ticket for impeding traffic.
The common defenses for this version of a driving too slow ticket are similar to those mentioned in the section above.
Failing to Use Roadside Turnouts
If you’re not used to driving through rural areas or taking back roads, you might not know what a turnout is, so let’s break it down. A turnout is a small sliver of pavement on the side of a roadway designed for slower traffic to pull in and allow faster traffic (that was stuck behind them) to pass.
If you are driving below the speed limit and you pass by one of these turnouts without pulling in as required by law when five or more vehicles are stuck behind you, you might receive a ticket.
The same defenses mentioned in the section on “Driving Too Slowly in the Fast Lane” may apply here.
Is There a Speed Minimum?
There is no federally mandated speed minimum that applies across the country. However, there are some roadways that include minimum speed limits, which will be posted on the speed limit signs. This is commonly seen in Florida, for example, on signs that list the speed limit as 70 mph with a 50 mph minimum. In general, it is unsafe to drive more than 20 mph slower than the posted speed limit.
If you have received a ticket for driving too slowly, don’t fret. It’s not over yet! Download the WinIt app and get started fighting your ticket today with the help of expert traffic ticket attorneys in your area.
