Slow? No. Go with the flow
But the fact is many people do drive slow -- 5, 10, 20 miles under the speed limit. We've all driven with a grandparent or another elder whose foot barely squeezes the gas pedal. Or been in a cab that creeps forward as if powered by a lawnmower engine. Or been stuck behind someone inching along as he scans for a parking space.
And what about those people who drive unbearably slow in the far left lane on the highway?
"You look over as you're passing them on the right, and they just don't get it," said reader Bill Dausey, a Back Bay resident who commutes via Storrow Drive, Fresh Pond Parkway, and Route 2 to Acton. "Five cars in a row will pass on the right and cut in front of them and they still don't get it. I look back in the rear-view mirror and they're still putting along."
Fellow reader Steve Nicholson of Somerville was equally exasperated. "Do they have a rear view mirror? Control issues?" he asked.
We all know you can get a ticket for driving too fast. But can you get one for driving too slow? Legally speaking, how slow can you go?
"No, I don't think there is a law against it. Well, I'm not sure," he said. "I guess I've never seen or heard of a law that puts a minimum speed on anybody except on an interstate. They usually have a sign that says nothing below 45."
Then I went to the authorities, in this case, Lieutenant Jack Albert, traffic commander for the Cambridge Police Department.
His answer: If you're in the far right lane you can pretty much drive as slow as you need to. But if you're holding up traffic in a passing lane, be it on a highway or a local, multilane road, you can be cited.
"If on the highway you're doing below the speed limit, you must be to the extreme right. If you're not, you're obstructing the flow of traffic and you can get a ticket," Albert said. "A lane obstruction, or interfering with the free flow of traffic, is a MassHighway violation. A $20 fine."
Albert says he's never given a ticket to anyone driving too slow on a local multilane road, such as Massachusetts Avenue. But the same principle would apply. (Most local-road moving violations carry a $35 fine.)
"For common-sense safety you should be in the right lane. It encourages road rage if you don't," Albert added.
The legal principle that most notably applies is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89, Section 4B, which requires drivers to drive "in the lane nearest the right . . . except when overtaking another vehicle."
The Registry of Motor Vehicles drivers' manual states as much: "If you are being passed by another vehicle, you must slow down and stay to the right. Allow the other driver to pass safely. Do not speed up."
Naturally you should only pass someone who is going below the speed limit, Albert said. (Otherwise, you'd be breaking the speed limit.)
Although it's illegal to tailgate, you can honk or flash your lights in moderation to let the driver in front of you know you'd like to pass, Albert said. Honk or flash excessively, or flash in a tunnel, and you'll be the one getting a ticket.
Unless otherwise posted, the minimum speed on Massachusetts highways is 40 miles per hour, according to state regulations; on interstates, the minimum speed is 45 miles per hour. For most major tunnels -- the Callahan, Sumner, and Ted Williams, for instance -- the minimum speed is 20 miles per hour.
However, even if you're driving the minimum, police can ticket you if you're holding up the flow of traffic. "Your speed has to be reasonable and proper," Albert said.
