Help for Commercial Motor Vehicle in Left Lane Violation
Virginia is pretty strict in enforcing our law that prohibits commercial motor vehicles in the left lane on the interstate. 46.2-803.1 is the source of the prohibition.
Unfortunately, the statute doesn’t provide any exceptions for commercial vehicles to get into the left lane for a brief moment even to pass slower traffic.
And if you’re found guilty of a left lane violation, it’s a moving violation in Virginia. The Virginia DMV imposes three points for it, and the ticket stays on your record for three years.
There’s still hope.
The good news is that our State Troopers are pretty reasonable on these offenses, especially if you were polite and respectful on the side of the road. The judges also have some discretion in the way these left lane tickets are handled in court.
Some Troopers actually write the tickets under a different statute for “failure to obey a highway sign,” under 46.2-830. That statute is still a traffic violation, but it sets us up for a much better result in court. The next code section in Virginia is 46.2-830.1. That statute carries no points in Virginia, and it is NOT a moving violation. If you have a decent driving record, were only in the left lane for a brief moment to pass, and were polite with the Trooper, we might be able to talk to the Trooper into amending the charge at court to 830.1. While you would still receive a fine, that changes the ticket from a point-based moving violation to a 0-point traffic ticket.
Cool, right?
photo credit: ToddMcCann
