6.5 Lane Use, Passing & Following Distance

6.5 Lane Use, Passing & Following Distance

[!NOTE] These are the rules with the highest teaching leverage. Rear-end and sideswipe collisions dominate novice crash data, and both are failures of space management rather than knowledge. Washington's statutes here are short; the professional work is converting them into habits.

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Keeping right and staying in lane

RCW 46.61.100(1) establishes the keep-right rule: on all roadways of sufficient width a vehicle must be driven on the right half of the roadway, with five exceptions - overtaking and passing; an obstruction requiring a move left, with a duty to yield to oncoming traffic within hazard distance; a roadway divided into three marked lanes providing for two-way movement; a street restricted to one-way traffic; and, on a highway of three lanes or less, when approaching an emergency or work zone vehicle in the manner described in RCW 46.61.212(2)(b).

RCW 46.61.100(2) is the lane-discipline rule, and it is broader than commonly stated: "Upon all roadways having two or more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction, all vehicles shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic," except (a) when overtaking and passing, (b) when travelling at a speed greater than the traffic flow, (c) when moving left to allow traffic to merge, or (d) when preparing for a legally permitted left turn at an intersection, exit, private road or driveway. A vehicle or combination over ten thousand pounds must be driven only in the right-hand lane except under those same conditions.

RCW 46.61.100(3) additionally bars a vehicle towing a trailer, or any vehicle or combination over ten thousand pounds, from the left-hand lane of a limited access roadway with three or more lanes in one direction, except when preparing for a permitted left turn. A high occupancy vehicle lane is not treated as the left-hand lane.

RCW 46.61.100(4): "It is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic."

RCW 46.61.140(1) is the single-lane rule: "A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety."

That second clause is the legal basis for the mirror-signal-shoulder sequence. The duty is to ascertain safety before moving, which cannot be done from the mirrors alone because of the blind spot.

RCW 46.61.130 governs the centre lane on a roadway divided into three lanes, and RCW 46.61.120 sets the limitations on driving on the left side of the roadway.

Overtaking and passing

RCW 46.61.110 sets the general rule for overtaking on the left: the overtaking vehicle "shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle." The overtaken driver must give way to the right and must not increase speed until completely passed.

RCW 46.61.110(2) sets a specific, three-tier duty when overtaking an individual travelling as a pedestrian or on a bicycle, riding an animal, or using a farm tractor or implement of husbandry without an enclosed shell, who is in the right lane, on the right shoulder or in a bicycle lane:

A violation carries an additional fine equal to the base penalty under RCW 46.63.110(3), non-waivable except on indigency, deposited into the vulnerable roadway user education account. RCW 46.61.110(1)(b) applies the same enhancement to overtaking a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or moped without passing at a safe distance. The subsection does not apply on a shared street as defined in RCW 46.61.197.

Teach it as a decision tree: another lane available - use it; one lane with room - slow down and give at least three feet where practicable; one lane without room - cross into the oncoming lane only when it is safe and lawful to do so.

RCW 46.61.120 limits overtaking on the left: no vehicle may be driven left of centre to overtake unless the left side is "clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead" to complete the pass without interfering with approaching or overtaken traffic, and the overtaking vehicle must return to an authorised lane as soon as practicable and, where the pass used an oncoming lane, before coming within two hundred feet of any approaching traffic.

RCW 46.61.125(1) lists the absolute no-left-of-centre situations:

• (a) approaching or upon the crest of a grade or a curve where the view is obstructed within such distance as to create a hazard;
• (b) approaching within one hundred feet of, or traversing, any intersection or railroad grade crossing;
• (c) when the view is obstructed approaching within one hundred feet of any bridge, viaduct or tunnel; and
• (d) when a bicycle or pedestrian is within view approaching from the opposite direction, or is present in the roadway, shoulder or bicycle lane within a distance unsafe to them given the width or condition of the roadway.

Those limitations do not apply on a one-way roadway, in the obstruction situation in RCW 46.61.100(1)(b), or to a driver turning left into or from an alley, private road or driveway. RCW 46.61.130 separately requires obedience to marked no-passing zones.

RCW 46.61.290 governs required position and method of turning, including that a left turn be made by passing to the right of the centre of the intersection and leaving the intersection in the lane lawfully available.

Passing on the right

RCW 46.61.115(1) permits overtaking on the right only where the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn, or on a roadway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of vehicles moving lawfully in the direction being travelled. RCW 46.61.115(2) adds that the movement may be made only under conditions permitting it in safety, and "shall not be made by driving off the roadway." Teach it as a narrow exception, because novices tend to treat any gap on the right as an invitation.

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Following distance

RCW 46.61.145(1): "The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway."

The statute sets no numeric distance. That is deliberate - reasonableness varies with speed, surface and visibility. The teaching device that operationalises it is a time interval, because a time interval self-adjusts with speed.

The three-second rule. Pick a fixed roadside object. When the vehicle ahead passes it, count "one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three." If you reach the object before finishing, you are too close. At any speed, three seconds yields a distance that accommodates a normal perception-reaction time plus braking margin.

When to add seconds:

The last row is counter-intuitive and worth teaching explicitly: when someone follows you too closely, the correct response is to increase your own following distance, because you now need enough space ahead to stop gradually rather than sharply.

RCW 46.61.145(2) and (3) add specific rules for trucks and for caravans or motorcades outside business and residence districts: sufficient space must be left so an overtaking vehicle can enter and occupy it safely. Funeral processions are excepted from the caravan rule.

RCW 46.61.145(4) carries the vulnerable-user fine enhancement - following a vulnerable user too closely draws an additional fine equal to the base penalty under RCW 46.63.110(3), non-waivable except on indigency, deposited into the vulnerable roadway user education account established by RCW 46.61.145(6).

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Coaching space and lane changes

The lane-change sequence, every time. Mirror - signal - mirror - shoulder check - move - cancel signal. Require it aloud until it is automatic. RCW 46.61.140(1)'s "ascertained that such movement can be made with safety" is the legal reason the shoulder check is not optional.

Signal early enough to be useful. A signal that begins as the wheel turns communicates nothing. Coach three to four seconds of signal before the movement in traffic.

Teach the space cushion, not just the gap ahead. Section 9.3 develops zone control, but the beginner version is: know what is in front, behind and on both sides at all times, and keep at least one side open.

Manage the pass as a whole movement. Before initiating an overtake, ask for four judgements: is passing lawful here; is there room to complete it; can I see far enough ahead; where will I return. A novice who begins a pass without a planned return point is the classic head-on risk.

Use the mirrors on a schedule. Every five to eight seconds, and always before braking, signalling, changing lanes or turning. Random mirror use produces random awareness.

[!WARNING] Exam traps in this section

• Washington sets no numeric following distance - the standard is reasonable and prudent.
• Three seconds is a teaching device, extended for rain, night, motorcycles, snow and ice.
• No driving left of centre within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad grade crossing, or approaching a crest or obstructed curve - RCW 46.61.125(1).
• Return before coming within 200 feet of approaching traffic after a pass using an oncoming lane - RCW 46.61.120.
• Passing a cyclist in a single lane requires reduced speed and, where practicable, at least three feet - RCW 46.61.110(2)(a)(ii)(A).
• Passing on the right may never be done by leaving the roadway - RCW 46.61.115(2).
• Driving continuously in the left lane so as to impede traffic is itself an infraction - RCW 46.61.100(4).
• A vehicle must stay as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and may not move until safety has been ascertained.
• Following a vulnerable user too closely carries the additional non-waivable fine.