You have written before that Quebec is the only province where the left lane on the highway is strictly supposed to be a passing lane, but doesn’t British Columbia have the same rule? My husband gets mad when we’re in the left lane and we come up on cars. He says they shouldn’t be there. – Laurie, Kelowna, B.C.
In British Columbia, the law doesn’t specifically say that the left lane on a highway is for passing only. But, you’re usually supposed to move to the right when faster cars are coming up behind you, police said.
“You can drive in the left lane to your heart’s content, except when you’re impeding traffic,” said Corporal Michael McLaughlin, a spokesman for B.C. Highway Patrol. “There’s nothing to say that you can’t continuously drive in the left lane. [But] the way our Motor Vehicle Act is set up, if you are in the left lane and there are other cars approaching you, then you need to move over to the right and let them pass.”
Here’s what the law states. On roads with more than two lanes in one direction and a speed limit over 80 kilometres an hour, a driver “in the leftmost lane must exit the lane on the approach of another vehicle in that lane, if it is safe to do so.”
So, it doesn’t apply to roads with speed limits under 80, including municipal streets, McLaughlin said.
And there are other exceptions. For instance, if you are in the middle of passing a vehicle on your right, if you are allowing traffic to merge with traffic on the highway, or you are about to make a left turn, then you don’t have to move to the right.
There are also exceptions if the leftmost lane is a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, if the right lane is blocked or if the actual traffic speed is less than 50 kilometres an hour.
‘Rarely enforced’
But the law, which was put in place by the then-Liberal provincial government in 2015, doesn’t mean that you have to instantly move aside for cars going far above the speed limit – but, it’s a good idea to get out of their way, if you can do it safely, McLaughlin said.
“You are not legally obligated to move over from somebody who’s excessively speeding, McLaughlin said. “But common sense and safety would tell you that you do want to move over. If somebody’s coming up quickly – it’s safer for you, and there’s a good chance they’re … going to get caught [for speeding] later anyway.”
The left lane law is “rarely enforced,” McLaughlin said. That’s because police generally have bigger fish to fry, including speeders, drivers not wearing seat belts and distracted drivers.
“Those are the things statistically that cause the most damage on our roads,” he said.
In 2023, there were 75 convictions for breaking the left lane law, which comes with a $167 fine and three demerit points. To compare, there were more than 192,000 speed-related tickets issued in B.C. in 2023.
The law aside, it’s a good idea for all drivers to treat the left lane as a passing lane and the right lane as the driving lane, especially if you’re observing the speed limit.
“One thing we would suggest to people is if you are driving and other traffic is going more quickly than you, why not move into the right lane?” McLaughlin said. “It’s safer for you. It’ll be a less stressful experience.”
Slower traffic keep right?
Most other provinces, including Ontario, require slower traffic to keep to the right on the highway, but don’t reserve the leftmost lane solely for passing.
In Quebec, the law bans driving in the leftmost lane on highways with limits over 80 kilometres an hour unless you’re passing or turning left.
You can’t even be in the leftmost lane if you’re the only vehicle on the highway, said Nicolas Scholtus, a spokesman for Sûreté du Québec, Quebec’s provincial police force.
It will get you a $111 fine and most drivers ticketed for it – the number of tickets for 2023 wasn’t immediately available – don’t know about the law, Scholtus said.
Have a driving question? Send it to [email protected] and put ‘Driving Concerns’ in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canada’s a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province.
