CHARLOTTE, N.C. — State lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it illegal to slow traffic in the left lane of an interstate or highway.

The bill was proposed by State Rep. Ray Pickett, a Republican representing Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties. He said he proposed the bill after sitting in traffic during his commute to the North Carolina General Assembly.

What You Need To Know

  • If adopted, the bill would raise the minimum speed on the state’s interstates and primary highways to 10 mph below the speed limit

  • Large trucks that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more would be restricted from driving in the left lane of highways

  • If adopted, the bill would take effect on Dec. 1, 2025

“People think the left lane, even on interstates, is just a driveway, and they may not even be going the speed limit,” Pickett said. “You’re supposed to pass on the left. It’s far more dangerous to pass on the right because you have cars on the other lane. It’s a safety thing more than anything else.”

If adopted, the bill would raise the minimum speed on the state’s interstates and primary highways to 10 mph below the speed limit.

“Currently, the minimum speed is 45, even on our interstates. They have speed limits of 70,” Pickett said. “That’s too slow to be in a speed limit that people go 70 mph. That’s too much of a speed difference.”

The bill would restrict large trucks that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more from driving in the left lane of highways that have six or more total lanes. 

“I hope it will help with traffic movement,” Pickett said. “We can allow that left lane to have people that are moving a little quicker to get around traffic and move on.”

Matthew Thompson, the president of Safety and Health Council of North Carolina, agreed that driving too slowly can be dangerous. He said his team also cautions student drivers about the dangers of speeding and driving while distracted.

“By far, I think the greater danger to all of us on the road are people who are driving distracted and people who are driving too fast and, many times, also driving carelessly and recklessly,” Thompson said. “Those are the things that we see more often from a standpoint of what is causing people to be hurt and killed on the road is the speed and the distraction.”

The bill does not include any penalties for drivers who are found to be impeding traffic in the left lane. However, Pickett said penalties may be added to it when the proposed legislation is reviewed in the state Senate.

If adopted, the bill would take effect on Dec. 1 of this year.