Slower Traffic Keep Right Sign: Meaning and What to Do
The white rectangle reading SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT states the lane discipline rule for multilane roads: a vehicle traveling slower than the surrounding traffic must use the right lane and leave the left lane for passing and faster movement. It is posted on freeways, on long climbs, and wherever slow vehicles bunch up.
Slower Traffic Keep Right Sign
The rule keeps traffic sorted by speed so that faster vehicles pass on the left rather than weaving between lanes. A slow driver camped in the left lane creates the same hazard as a slow vehicle below a minimum speed limit: cars stack up behind it and start passing on the right.
What to do when you see the slower traffic keep right sign
If vehicles are gathering behind you, move right and let them by. Use the left lane to pass, then return to the right when you are clear. On a climb, expect trucks to slow and move right; on a descent, expect the same trucks to hold a low gear in that lane.
The signs it is confused with
Tests contrast it with Keep Right, which directs traffic around an obstruction rather than sorting it by speed, and with Trucks Use Right Lane, which restricts one class of vehicle. The word SLOWER makes this a speed-based rule for everyone.
Signs are one topic of ten on every test
Every state practice test covers signs, signals, and markings among its ten topics, with every answer explained. Pick your state and see how its exam asks about signs like this one; it is free, with no sign-up.
Choose your stateQuestions about the slower traffic keep right sign
What does slower traffic keep right mean?
If you are driving slower than the traffic around you, use the right lane. The left lane is for passing and faster movement.
Does it apply if I am driving the speed limit?
The sign speaks of slower traffic, not of the limit. Many states require you to move right when vehicles are gathering behind you regardless, so let them pass and stay right.
Is driving in the left lane illegal?
Using it to pass is what it is for. Staying in it while slower than the traffic behind you violates the sign, and many states cite drivers for it.
Why is it posted on hills?
Trucks and loaded vehicles lose speed on a climb. The sign moves them right so cars can pass on the left instead of weaving.
How does this sign appear on the written test?
In freeway lane-use questions asking which lane a slow driver should use, and as a recognition question among the white regulatory rectangles.