State Sen. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, has introduced a bill in the state Legislature that would require slower drivers to pull over and let others pass. To anyone who has been stuck behind a slow-moving motor home or truck on a two-lane mountain pass it sounds like a good idea.
It is not.
The last thing traffic laws should do is to pressure drivers to do anything they deem unsafe or feel uncomfortable doing. That includes going faster than they want, pulling over where they do not feel safe or focusing on their rear-view mirror when they should have their eyes on the road.
Merrifield’s measure, Senate Bill 18, was introduced Jan. 13, the first day of the legislative session. It would require drivers on two-lane highways to pull over “where it is safe and legal to do so” to let others pass if they are hindering the progress of five or more vehicles.
The senator said he got the idea while driving through Colorado’s mountains. He said he has seen as many as 17 cars stacked up behind a slow-moving vehicle and worries that in such situations frustrated drivers are tempted to make unsafe passes.
That, however, is a different problem. Anyone willing to risk a head-on crash out of frustration over having to drive a bit slower is already unsafe.
Merrifield thinks pulling over to let others pass should be seen as “common courtesy.” And often it is just as simple as that.
The problem is that drivers differ in their skill or knowledge, cars and trucks have different capabilities and road and weather conditions constantly vary. More often than not, there is a reason that someone is driving slowly.
A driver from Southwest Colorado might feel perfectly comfortable doing the speed limit over Red Mountain Pass, even in less than ideal weather.
Flatlanders on their first visit to the Rockies might take a different view. And they would be right to factor in their lack of experience with mountain driving. A law mandating that they try to find a safe place to pull over on that road would not be helpful. Nor would anyone want drivers in that position to be focused on their rearview mirrors counting cars.
The Colorado State Patrol has taken no position on Senate Bill 18, but did oppose a similar measure introduced last year that would have required drivers to pull over if they were holding up four vehicles. Under current law, troopers can ticket motorists for “impeding the flow” of traffic, with no particular number of vehicles specified.
That makes sense. It recognizes and trusts the discretion of the trooper on the scene who is familiar with the conditions and circumstances. There is a difference between someone who is being a jerk and a driver who simply has a different idea as to what constitutes a safe speed or a safe place to stop. Troopers know and can see that.
Merrifield’s motivation is understandable. Most drivers have at some point shared his frustration. And he is correct that common courtesy should be more uniformly applied. But particularly on mountain roads, the law should never risk penalizing a motorist for erring on the side of caution.
