Bill Text: SC H3011 | 2021-2022 | 124th General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Driving on the right half of road
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 16-2)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-01 - Act No. 64 [H3011 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2021-H3011-Amended.html
AMENDED
March 4, 2021
H. 3011
Introduced by Reps. West, G.M. Smith, Simrill, B. Newton, Wooten, McGarry, Bryant, Haddon, Long, Pope, Gilliam, Caskey, Hosey, Oremus, Hardee, Yow, Atkinson and Martin
S. Printed 3/4/21--H.
Read the first time January 12, 2021.
A BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-1810, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO REQUIRING A MOTOR VEHICLE TO BE DRIVEN UPON THE RIGHT HALF OF A ROADWAY, SO AS TO PROVIDE RESTRICTIONS ON DRIVING A MOTOR VEHICLE ON A ROADWAY HAVING AT LEAST TWO LANES ALLOWING MOVEMENT IN THE SAME DIRECTION, PROVIDE A PENALTY, AND DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO PLACE SIGNS ALONG THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS DIRECTING SLOWER TRAFFIC TO MOVE RIGHT.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 56-5-1810 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding the following appropriately lettered subsections at the end to read:
"( ) On any controlled access roadway having two or more lanes allowing movement in the same direction, a driver may not continue to operate a motor vehicle in the furthermost left-hand lane if the driver knows or reasonably should know that he is being overtaken in that lane from the rear by a motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed. This subsection does not apply to a driver operating a vehicle that is overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, or when a driver of a tractor-trailer commercial motor vehicle combination is unable to move into the right lane safely due to other vehicles overtaking or passing his vehicle on the right, or when a driver of a vehicle requiring a commercial drivers license is unable to move into the right lane safely due to a highway grade or other vehicles overtaking or passing his vehicle on the right.
( ) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine of two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, except that a driver of a vehicle requiring a commercial drivers license may not be fined more than fifty dollars.
( ) The Department of Transportation must place signs along the interstate highways directing slower traffic to move right. These signs must be placed at intervals of no greater than every thirty-five miles.
( ) For a period of one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this section, only warning tickets may be issued for a violation of the provisions in this section."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect one hundred eighty days after approval by the Governor.
