“I’m in the fast lane,” you might think. “I don’t have to move over if I’m going fast, right?”
How you see this dashcam footage submitted to the @DashcamLessons Instagram page all depends on if you think driving and staying in the passing lane (or fast lane) is OK.
Since it’s been up on their page for the past week, it’s one of their most popular posts, with close to 70,000 likes and 23,000+ comments (there are passionate comments and debates going on.)
Here’s the video below. I’ve also got a mirror here, just in case the video below is 404.
The incident occurred on US-85 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, just before the Pikes Peak State College Exit 153 (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
The speed limit on the 85 is a generous 75 MPH, (if you’re wondering, the fastest speed limit is in Texas at 85 MPH.)
In the video, the dashcam owner says he’s going 85 MPH in the leftmost lane, AKA the passing lane (often mislabeled the fast lane.)
According to this video’s captions, he thought he was in the right, here.
“I was already going 10 over,” he captioned his video.
“I wasn’t going to move for this jerk.”
Unironically, he ends up being the jerk.
His dashcam doesn’t lie, and we see his speed dip as slow as 77 MPH.
We can see a Honda Pilot fast approaching behind him, probably going closer to 85 MPH.
He’s flashing his lights at him, the universal sign to either let someone pass or turn on your headlights.
Ignorant to what the law actually says, he stays in the passing lane.
Frustrated, the Pilot driver changes two lanes, overtakes the dashcam owner, and cuts him off.
We can see his speed actually increase seconds before getting cut off, which suggests he was trying to prevent the other car from changing lanes in front of him.
So, was he in the right here?
Can you stay parked in the passing lane even if you’re going above the speed limit?
Well, no, and it’s against the law to do so.
C.R.S. § 42-4-1001(2) and C.R.S. § 42-4-1013 state that,
“Vehicles proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic must keep right. The left lane is reserved for passing where the speed limit is 65 MPH or faster. It is illegal for a person to drive in the left lane, where the speed limit is 65 MPH or more, unless they are passing another vehicle, or the volume of traffic does not permit them to safely merge into a non-passing lane.”
In short, the passing lane is exactly that, if you’re not passing another vehicle while in that lane, you must get into the other lanes.
People often call the passing lane the fast lane, and that’s just plain wrong. While cars are typically going faster than cars in other lanes, the passing lane is reserved for passing, only.
What this guy did was create a dangerous driving condition for himself, his passengers, and everyone around him.
I don’t care if you’re sitting in the passing lane going 200 MPH, if a faster car is riding your bumper, you better change lane, no ifs, and, or buts.
