To a good driver, there are few things that bother him more than the omission of the blinker in maneuvers and the continued traffic in the left lane in any condition. In the driving schools there is a lot of emphasis on the compulsory nature of ride in the right lane by default, leaving the remaining one (or the remaining ones for overtaking). However, it is to get the driver’s license and many forget it. Today we are going to give reasons for it to be recorded in the memories of all drivers.
The rule literally says that, outside of a town, “on roads with more than one lane reserved for your direction of travel, you will normally drive along the one located furthest to your right, although you may use the rest of those in that direction when circumstances of the traffic or the road advise it, to condition that it does not hinder the march of another vehicle that follows it. This is how it is included in the BOE and how it is applied by the DGT, which will not hesitate to fined for improper use of the left lane.
It seems that a large part of the population is unaware of the fact that it is an infraction, taking into account that the DGT calculated a 60% occupancy rate for the left lane, when it would have to be much less. It is convincing proof that in Spain there is “left lane syndrome”, a behavior that should be eradicated based on driver education. The danger is real and enough accidents are documented a year for breaking the rule. In addition, it has been proven that it slows down traffic and increases the number of stops.
The penalty in this case is a economic fine of 200 euros that does not entail the withdrawal of points from the card. There has always been talk of the difficulty of penalizing this fact because it requires continuous surveillance of a vehicle that is hindering the march in the left lane. But there are already really effective surveillance methods and they can perceive it from the air, with a privileged view. Many of the fines for abusing the left lane are issued by Pegasus and DGT drones.
However, and to finish the article, yes there is a situation where it is right ride in the left lane. We are speaking in a town or city, when driving on roads with two or more lanes in the same direction, delimited by longitudinal markings. In such cases “it may be used the one that best suits your destinationas long as it is not an obstacle to the circulation of other vehicles, and you should not leave it other than to prepare to change direction, overtake, stop or park.
It is also talked about overtake on the right in some cases, always “taking the utmost precautions, when the driver of the vehicle that is being overtaken is clearly indicating his intention to change direction to the left or stop on that side.” In any case, prevention is better than cure, so you have to make sure that it is really the intention of the other driver. Unjustified overtaking on the right also carries a fine of 200 euros.
