Faster, better…

The question comes up occasionally. Am I, or is another person in front of me driving too slowly? Do I have to get out of the way and allow every fast driver to pass? There is another story on this blog written by a reporter that believes no one has the right to impede the flow of traffic even if the slower driver is at the speed limit. Drivers “stubbornly” moving at the limit are the problem in that reporter’s view. When is the flow of traffic being impeded.

Looking through the on-line Transportation Articles of the Annotated Code of Maryland, you read that the state or other local jurisdictions have the right and the duty to establish speed limits based on traffic engineering studies when the state’s maximums do not apply. (Even speed minimums can be specified.) One could assume, and correctly, that speed limits are there for a reason and that traffic proceeding at the speed limit is traffic moving at a safe speed.

Now just in case conditions warrant, it is possible to drive slower than the speed limit. 2-801(a) of the Code states, “A person may not drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed that, with regard to the actual and potential dangers existing, is more than that which is reasonable and prudent under the conditions.” The statute then goes into some specific cases. The most important meaning however is that no one should drive on a Maryland highway so fast that the chosen speed is inconsistent with prevailing conditions. These conditions can include road hazards, weather, excessive traffic, the presence of emergency vehicles and so on. You and I as drivers have a right and a duty to control our speed based on prevailing road conditions as well as mot exceeding the speed limit.

The faster driver may not agree with the slower driver’s assessment of prevailing conditions and a following too closely situation might occur. In Maryland it will occur – regularly. It most often occurs if the colloquial speed limit is much higher than the posted speed limit. (And in my view when enforcement is lacking or never present.) It is at this point where we meet the Maryland tailgater and aggressive driver.

Annotated Code 21-310 (a), “The driver of a motor vehicle may not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of the other vehicle and of the traffic on and the condition of the highway.” The same standard of prudent driver behavior applies to the vehicle that wants to travel faster.

Not all slower Maryland drivers are white-knuckling their way along the highway as I have heard slower drivers described on occasion. When I reduce my speed in driving rain and snow or in other conditions that warrant a slower speed I expect the faster guy to behave. When I drive to cope with prevailing conditions I do not fit the Maryland definition of a driver impeding traffic in Annotated Code 21-804 (a), “Unless reduced speed is necessary for the safe operation of the vehicle or otherwise is in compliance with law, a person may not willfully drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.” Willful slow driving for no apparent reason is dangerous but driving safely is rational and prudent.

My sense is that faster drivers want to point at the slower drivers as being the problem when in fact it is more frequently the other way around. Driving faster is not better. It is dangerous to drive faster and it is even more dangerous to follow too closely with wanton disregard for the safety of those sharing the highway or living alongside it.

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