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Driving too slow? Let others pass Sep 17, 2007 12:00 AM A A Is there an Oregon law, as there is in some other places, that requires auto drivers on a two-lane road who are driving slow and have several cars stacked up behind them as a result to pull over to permit the following cars to pass? I ask this after following such a vehicle for quite a while, along with three to five others, who was driving, according to my digital speedometer, at between 19 and 23 mph on both 35 and 45 mph posted streets with double solid yellow lines, so passing was not permitted. There was plenty of room for the slow driver to pull over and let others pass, but he was too busy on the phone to much care. — Ed Goldhamer, Medford There absolutely is a law Ed: impeding traffic might be one, but for your question I think the following law fits better. It's ORS 811.425, the failure of a slower driver to yield to an overtaking vehicle. It says a person commits the offense if the person is driving a vehicle and fails to move their vehicle off the main traveled portion of the highway into an area sufficient for a safe turnout when: The driver of the overtaken vehicle is proceeding at a speed less than the speed limit; The driver of the overtaking vehicle is proceeding at a speed in conformity with the speed limit; The highway is a two directional, two-lane highway; and There is no clear lane for passing available to the driver of the overtaking vehicle. So, under your scenario, this driver was traveling less than the posted speed limit, you caught up to him while going near the speed limit (and would have liked to continue doing so), it was a two-lane road, and there was no designated passing lane or safe place to pass. In this case that driver should have pulled over into one of those spots that allowed others to pass. The offense for not doing so is a Class B traffic violation, bail set at $242. By the way Ed, there is no requirement for how many cars have to stack up behind you before you must pull over, so just one car can mean you have to pull over and let them go by. That's for noncommercial vehicles, if driving a commercial motor vehicle, like a semi truck, then I believe you can have up to five vehicles in line behind you before you are required to pull over and let them by. Dace Cochran, a patrol sergeant with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, writes a weekly Q&A column on police issues for the Mail Tribune. Have a question for him? Write to Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501, or e-mail [email protected].