Louisiana State Police Continuing Left-Lane Enforcement Efforts

Louisiana State Police are continuing their crackdown on drivers on the state highways who refuse to move from the left lane and allow other traffic to pass.

In a recent left-lane enforcement detail on Interstate 10 between Sulphur and the Texas state line in Calcasieu Parish, troopers from Louisiana State Police Troop D issued a total of 42 citations in 2 hours.

Troopers used a mix of marked and unmarked vehicles to locate and cite offenders who would not. Of the 42 citations that were issued, 38 were issued for impeding the flow of traffic by not moving from the left lane, one was issued for speeding, one for following too close, one for an expired license plate, and on for driving under suspension.

Louisiana state law requires slower traffic to keep right and allow faster traffic to pass on multilane highways. Not doing so promotes road rage, encourages unsafe driving practices such as following too close, impedes the flow of traffic, and delays response by first responders to highway emergencies, according to the LSP.

Effective Aug. 15, 2009, the law was revised to state that motorists are not allowed to travel in the left lane of multilane highways unless they are passing another vehicle on controlled-access highways such as Interstate 10, or passing or preparing to turn on multilane highways that are not controlled-access such as U.S. 165 and U.S. 171.

Shortly after this revision went into effect, the Louisiana Department of Transportation erected roadside signs advising motorists of the change in the law. Nine other states currently have a comparable law.