Left-lane syndrome: what it is and what penalties apply for abusing it

One of the most common offences on roads with two or more lanes in each direction is what is known as “left-lane syndrome“. You may not recognise the name, but you will easily recognise the behaviour. It consists of the habit of driving in the middle lane or the left lane, in the case where there are more than two.

This causes a fairly serious problem, because cars wishing to overtake slower vehicles cannot do so in the appropriate lane. That is, the left one. On motorways, dual carriageways and roads with two or more lanes per direction, you must always drive, whenever possible, in the lane furthest to the right.

The left lane may only be used for overtaking, so once the vehicle being overtaken has been passed, you must return to the right lane to continue driving in it. This is set out in Article 83 of the General Traffic Regulations, which classes this offence as very serious and carries a fine of 200 euros if it is considered to be obstructing traffic.

Overtaking on the right

If, while driving in the right lane, you encounter a vehicle travelling in the left lane, you may be tempted to overtake it on the right. But this is also an offence and can also carry a penalty, both for the driver in the left lane and for the driver who overtakes on the right.

To do it correctly, you must position yourself in the lane in which the car is travelling and warn it of your intention to overtake, so that it moves into the right lane and allows the manoeuvre to be carried out. Once you have passed the vehicle, you must return to the right lane and continue on your way. Where there is a third lane, that lane must be used to carry out the overtaking.

There is one exception that allows overtaking on the right, for example where there is a tailback and normal progress is not possible. In that case, classed as rebasamiento, the right-hand lane may move faster than the left, so the traffic itself indicates that it is possible to proceed by passing the vehicles travelling in the left lane.

“Left-lane syndrome” creates insecurity on the road and can be dangerous for other drivers on the road. On motorways and dual carriageways, remember, you must always use the right lane whenever possible and not use the left or middle lane for normal driving if there is space in the right-hand one.