Slow Holiday Drivers? When You Can Legally Pass on the Right in Michigan

Passing on the right is wrong? Not always in Michigan.

According to AAA nearly 2.6 million Michiganders are expected to travel at least 50 miles, if not more, during the Thanksgiving holiday alone. That's a lot of people to "share" the road with. Adds AAA,

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This marks a 1.4% increase over last year and sets a new record for Thanksgiving travel in the Great Lakes State.

Are you prepared to deal with those travel headaches? Transportation analysts at INRIX say the worst days to travel will be the Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday, and the Sunday after, as folk return home.

Now, Michigan drivers seem to get bolder by the day and red lights seem more like mere suggestions at this point, but another thing that triggers my road rage? Slow. Drivers.

There may be a maximum speed limit, but there's also a minimum speed limit too, you know!

I recently learned that one rule of the road we all assumed was hard-and-fast isn’t. Did you know there are times it’s actually legal to pass on the right? I didn’t! According to Michigan Vehicle Code 257.637,

The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle only if 1 or more of the following conditions exist:

I'll save you the legalese, but in "plain English" here are the times you can legally pass a vehicle on the right:

• The car ahead is turning left and you stay on the pavement

• The road is wide enough for two lanes in your direction

• You are on a wide, unobstructed one-way street

There's also a provision in here that states you can even pass a bicyclist in a "no passing zone" provided it is safe to do so, there's at least 3 feet between you and the bicyclist, you pass at a safe speed, and you are both headed in the same direction.

This lesser-known rule might help ease your holiday travels this season. Good luck!