Pulling over on the left side of the highway

[MTBSully]

Purely out of curiosity here, if an LEO lights you up on the highway, and you are in the left lane, should you pull over to the right or left? I always thought that no matter what you ALWAYS pull over to the right, which I have done, but yesterday on 95S in MA i saw a statie with a car pulled over on the left side of the 3 lane highway. Is that illegal/frowned upon or does it not matter? probably varies by state?

Thoughts?

 

[wesessiah]

Purely out of curiosity here, if an LEO lights you up on the highway, and you are in the left lane, should you pull over to the right or left? I always thought that no matter what you ALWAYS pull over to the right, which I have done, but yesterday on 95S in MA i saw a statie with a car pulled over on the left side of the 3 lane highway. Is that illegal/frowned upon or does it not matter? probably varies by state?

Thoughts?

pulling to the right is typically the best thing to do. if the officer is trying to pass he doesn't want someone going to the left who may change their mind and pull back right at the last second as he's trying to pass... which happens. if i go to someone's right trying to pass them and they run into me, you can bet i'm going to be in the chief's office. you have more room on the right typically, and won't have traffic coming from both directions. also, don't stop in the right lane where you get lit up if it's right beside a parking lot. i work in a smaller city, so some of the troopers who work mostly interstate and highway may feel different depending on the situation.

 

[silver03svt]

While I agree that going to the right is the best option, VA law just states that a vehicle shall pull towards the nearest shoulder. Most of the interstate where I work has wide shoulders on both sides, and I have no issues with people pulling to either. What gets me all furied up is people who drive with their heads up their asses and either a) don't hear/see me and ride forever right in front of me or b) can't make up their mind which way they want to go to get out of my way.

I guess the point would be for people to just make a decision which way to pull and stick with it in a timely manner.

 

[DevilDog81]

Nearest shoulder in MD.

 

[lorne]

It's funny that you mention 95S in MA. Last weekend my daughter who been driving for about a year, asked me this exact question after driving down to meet is on the Cape. She saw someone on 95S stopped on the left and she thought it was wrong. Wonder if you saw the same car...

 

[EvergreenSVT]

I've been pulled over in a spot with a tight right shoulder and a full lane width shoulder plus some AND and median on the left. Guess which I picked?

 

[badws6ta]

Doesn't matter to me.

 

[slapshot]

Personally, on a traffic stop in that situation, I prefer they pull to the left. It is safer for me when I get in and out of my cruiser since I am on the non-traffic side. Not to mention, the driver's side is also away from traffic while I'm standing at the window talking to the driver. I don't like having traffic buzz by at 60-80 mph. it is NOT a good feeling.

But, it can be a problem sometimes when I'm responding to a call and need to get by on the left.

 

[Camaro_94]

I always thought you were supposed to pull over to the Right.

Good to know. I actually thought you could get a ticket here in NY for that.

It seems like most of our highways have a bigger shoulder on the right and it would be safer for it.

 

[MTBSully]

I always thought you were supposed to pull over to the Right.

Good to know. I actually thought you could get a ticket here in NY for that.

It seems like most of our highways have a bigger shoulder on the right and it would be safer for it.

Same. Maybe next time i get pulled over I will ask the LEO what he/she thinks

 

[wesessiah]

I always thought you were supposed to pull over to the Right.

Good to know. I actually thought you could get a ticket here in NY for that.

It seems like most of our highways have a bigger shoulder on the right and it would be safer for it.

Same. Maybe next time i get pulled over I will ask the LEO what he/she thinks

check with your statutes (penal codes/whatever they're called where you are) to be sure. north carolina has a statute for pulling to the right, but i've never seen someone cited for even pulling into a dual turn lane.

 

[thomas91169]

I see mostly pulled over to the left (fastlane shoulder) here. Its easier for the LEO and Driver to interact since they are both against the median/divider. Right means the LEO has to open his doors being exposed to slow lane traffic and interact with the driver through his passenger window.

Now a shared middle lane/turn lane, never seen that. Id imagine if that were the case the LEO would announce over the PA for the driver to turn into a parking lot or something safer if they could not make it over to the right in time.

 

[wesessiah]

I see mostly pulled over to the left (fastlane shoulder) here. Its easier for the LEO and Driver to interact since they are both against the median/divider. Right means the LEO has to open his doors being exposed to slow lane traffic and interact with the driver through his passenger window.

Now a shared middle lane/turn lane, never seen that. Id imagine if that were the case the LEO would announce over the PA for the driver to turn into a parking lot or something safer if they could not make it over to the right in time.

i'm in a smaller city and no interstate style highways for me, but the major highway we do have has a stretch with a center turn lane for a couple of miles. just a couple weeks ago i had someone pull over into the turn lane. she didn't have her headlights on (night) and she wouldn't pull into the pva next to her when i told her to. i thought it was a dwi, but it turns out she was older and just didn't realize her lights weren't on, and she couldn't speak english well. i would probably pull the passenger side approach mostly if i was highway patrol and the person pulled to the right. good for safety anyway since most people don't expect it... just make sure you walk behind your car so they don't see you cross your lights.

even when you tell someone what to do a lot of them still act like a squirrel when a car is coming at them.

 

[Blade Runner]

:shrug:

 

[blacksheep-1]

either in Fla