When people think about dangerous driving, speeding usually comes to mind first. Driving far below the speed of the traffic around you can also create risk. A large gap in speed forces other drivers to brake hard, change lanes, or pass, and each of those moves is a chance for a collision.
What Texas law says about driving too slowly
Texas has a specific rule for this. Section 545.363 of the Texas Transportation Code says a driver “may not drive so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.”
The same section lets the Texas Transportation Commission, a county commissioners court, a city, or the turnpike authority set a minimum speed limit on a stretch of highway where an engineering and traffic study shows that slow speeds consistently impede traffic. Where signs post that minimum, drivers may not go slower than it unless they need to for safety or to comply with the law.
Breaking either rule is a misdemeanor. The Transportation Code does not set a separate penalty for it, so the general traffic penalty applies: a fine of $1 to $200.
Keep right when you are slower
Texas also tells slower drivers where to be. Under Section 545.051, a driver moving more slowly than the normal speed of other vehicles at that time and place must drive in the right-hand lane available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the road. The exceptions are passing another vehicle and preparing to turn left at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
Why drivers slow down
Slow driving usually has a cause, and recognizing it can help you decide how to respond.
- Distraction. A driver who is eating, texting, or adjusting a navigation device may drift well below the speed of traffic without noticing.
- Inexperience. A new driver may believe a lower speed is always safer, including when merging onto a highway, where matching the flow of traffic matters.
- Reduced vision or slower reactions. Drivers of any age who are uncomfortable at highway speeds may hold back from the flow of traffic.
- Rubbernecking. Drivers who slow to look at a crash, a landmark, or something on the roadside disrupt the traffic behind them.
Passing a slow vehicle safely
A slow driver can tempt others into risky passing. Texas law sets the basic rules:
- Pass on the left. Under Section 545.053, a driver passing another vehicle must pass to the left at a safe distance and may not move back to the right until safely clear of it.
- When you are the one being passed, move or stay to the right when signaled and do not speed up until the other vehicle has completely passed.
- Passing on the right is limited. Section 545.057 allows it only when conditions permit doing so safely, ties it to a vehicle that is making or about to make a left turn on a road with room for two or more lines of moving traffic, and does not allow leaving the main traveled part of the road to pass, except under the separate improved-shoulder rule.
Before you pass, make sure your vehicle can accelerate safely, that the slow driver is not reacting to a hazard you cannot see, that no other vehicle or motorcycle is in your path, and that you can complete the pass within the speed limit.
When the law expects you to slow down
Driving below the speed limit is often exactly what the law requires. Section 545.351 says drivers may not go faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions, and must drive at an appropriate reduced speed when:
- approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad grade crossing;
- approaching and going around a curve;
- approaching a hill crest;
- traveling on a narrow or winding road; and
- a special hazard exists from traffic, pedestrians, weather, or road conditions.
Some situations call for more than slowing down. Drivers must stop for a school bus that is stopped with its visual signals on, and must stop at a railroad crossing when a signal, a lowered gate, or an approaching train warns them to. Texas also requires drivers to move over or slow down for certain stopped vehicles with their warning lights on.
When speed causes a crash
A driver who violates a traffic law and causes a crash may be responsible for the harm that follows. That is true whether the driver was going too fast for conditions or so slowly that other traffic could not safely adjust. A traffic-law violation is one of the things reviewed when fault is assigned, along with the crash report, physical evidence, and witness statements.
If you were hurt in a crash involving a driver going too fast or too slowly, get medical care first, make sure the crash is reported, and photograph the scene and the vehicles if it is safe to do so. Tell the lawyers at Leatherwood & Schindler what happened. The firm also explains how a car accident claim works.