Slow drivers in left lane are an issue, officials say

In spite of a law that went into effect in 2021 to crack down on driving slowly in the passing lane — one that has generated thousands of citations and warnings to drivers, it remains a serious problem, law enforcement officials told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Arkansas Highway Police Chief Jeff Holmes and Arkansas State Police Capt. Brad Lann addressed the issue at a joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Transportation, Technology, and Legislative Affairs and the House Committee on Public Transportation.

“Camping in the left lane is a problem we’re all aware of,” said Rep. Mike Holcomb, R-Pine Bluff, who chairs the latter committee. He added that “signs do no good” and greater enforcement is probably needed to curb the problem.

Lann said 411 citations have been issued to drivers since Act 1090 was signed into law in 2021. More than 3,100 warnings have also been issued during that span, he said.

The additional use of unmarked police cars to catch motorists who “clog up” the left lanes may make an impact on enforcing the law better, Lann said.

Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, compared driving too slow in the left lane to speeding in terms of the potential it has to cause crashes.

He said speed limits were in place “to keep people safe,” but the United States has 70% more crashes per capita than Germany, where the Autobahn highway system has zones where drivers are permitted to drive as fast as they want.

“One thing you don’t do on the Autobahn is impede traffic,” Clark said.

“Philosophically, is speed really the problem?” he continued. “Driving too slow in the passing lane is more than

an annoyance. It’s unsafe.”

Clark made a reference to public service announcements that state, “Stop speeding before it stops you.” He asked Lann whether he knows of any similar campaigns for impeding traffic in the left lane.

“I’ve never seen anything about stop driving [too slow] in the left lane before you start killing people,” Clark said.

“I understand what you’re saying,” Lann told him. “I haven’t seen one either.”

Act 1090 states that vehicles are banned from the left lane of a multi-lane highway except under one of four conditions: when passing another vehicle, when all other lanes are closed, when all other lanes are in disrepair or are unsafe and when preparing to take a left exit.

“We do focus on it,” Holmes said to the committees. “It’s a challenge that we face.”

Earlier during the joint committee meeting, members took part in a discussion about the ongoing issue of motorists driving with expired temporary tags.

Rep. Mark Berry, R-Ozark, asked whether a vehicle could

be impounded after it is discovered that a motorist is delinquent on sales taxes.

Vehicle owners have 60 days to pay the sales tax after purchasing or obtaining a new vehicle. Permanent tags are not issued until after those taxes are paid.

Lann said several motorists per day are pulled over for expired temporary tags. Some are days or weeks late while others are several months late.

“If you have a debt to the state … if you just chose not to pay your taxes, you should be held accountable,” Berry said.

Lann said police do not impound vehicles for failure to register. Such a change would need to come from the Legislature, he said.