"No Passing" in construction zone

[GaryV]

I was on I-94 east of Battle Creek today and there were interesting signs in the construction zone.

First, the lanes were painted with a solid white line between them, and there were numerous "Stay In Lane" signs.  Probably intended to limit the number of cars moving from one level of pavement to another as they were laying down new asphalt.  OK, but you can't do that for several miles - particularly when there are exits.  I was in the left lane entering the zone, and needed to move to the right in order to exit a few miles later.

The one that confused me was "No Passing".  So if someone in the right lane is going slow, the left lane has to slow to that speed as well? 

[GaryV]

I'm confused why passing would not be allowed.

[wxfree]

What does "no passing" mean when there's more than one lane in each direction?  I would guess that it's another way of saying "stay in lane."  I would read that the way you read a no passing sign on a two-lane road, telling you not to change lanes to go around someone.  I wouldn't read it as meaning that someone in the left lane shouldn't go past someone in the right lane.

I've never seen that "stay in lane" restriction applied because of uneven lanes.  Around here they put up "uneven lanes" signs and make sure the pavement has a reasonable transition.  It's certainly something to be aware of, but I never found it to be a challenge.

[vdeane]

The Thruway seems to have gotten a fetish for this kind of thing within the last couple years.  ALL their work zones are now signed "stay in lane" and have a solid line instead of a dashed line between the lanes.  I've seen it not only while resurfacing but also in lane shifts.  It's annoying enough for a brief shift but the ones westbound between exits 39 and 40 can go on for miles while they repair concrete slabs.

It's to the point where I'll always get in the left lane if there's any kind of traffic ahead of me, because the odds of getting stuck behind a truck in the right lane are too great even on the shorter lane shifts.

They've also gotten prone to leaving the "work zone - speed limit 55" signs up after the shift is gone and all that's left to do is resurface without covering them up when no work is being done, but that's another matter.

[jeffandnicole]

I was on I-94 east of Battle Creek today and there were interesting signs in the construction zone.

First, the lanes were painted with a solid white line between them, and there were numerous "Stay In Lane" signs.  Probably intended to limit the number of cars moving from one level of pavement to another as they were laying down new asphalt.  OK, but you can't do that for several miles - particularly when there are exits.  I was in the left lane entering the zone, and needed to move to the right in order to exit a few miles later.

The one that confused me was "No Passing".  So if someone in the right lane is going slow, the left lane has to slow to that speed as well? 

Very common signage.

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

As far as needing to get over to get to an exit...just exercise caution. Technically, a single line means you shouldn't switch lanes, not you shall not switch lanes. The black on white signs make it more of a legally prohibitive move though.

[Ned Weasel]

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

[vdeane]

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

That is the most obscene restriction I have ever heard of.  Are they TRYING to create congestion and road rage?  I swear, it seems like many places are trying to make driving as annoying and aggravating as possible.

[Ned Weasel]

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

That is the most obscene restriction I have ever heard of.  Are they TRYING to create congestion and road rage?  I swear, it seems like many places are trying to make driving as annoying and aggravating as possible.

Tell that to every DOT that puts "DO NOT PASS" signs in advance of lane closures.

[jeffandnicole]

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

I hope you took the ticket to court. The officer was incorrect. As indicated below, the sign prohibits overtaking and passing another vehicle. Overtaking involves switching lanes.

Yes, officers are frequently wrong about temporary construction signage.

Section 2B.28 Do Not Pass Sign (R4-1)
Option:
01 The Do Not Pass (R4-1) sign (see Figure 2B-10) may be used in addition to pavement markings (see Section 3B.02) to emphasize the restriction on passing. The Do Not Pass sign may be used at the beginning of, and at intervals within, a zone through which sight distance is restricted or where other conditions make overtaking and passing inappropriate.

[Ned Weasel]

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

I hope you took the ticket to court. The officer was incorrect. As indicated below, the sign prohibits overtaking and passing another vehicle. Overtaking involves switching lanes.

Yes, officers are frequently wrong about temporary construction signage.

Section 2B.28 Do Not Pass Sign (R4-1)
Option:
01 The Do Not Pass (R4-1) sign (see Figure 2B-10) may be used in addition to pavement markings (see Section 3B.02) to emphasize the restriction on passing. The Do Not Pass sign may be used at the beginning of, and at intervals within, a zone through which sight distance is restricted or where other conditions make overtaking and passing inappropriate.

I really should have.  I just ate it because I figured, unless I hired an attorney, I had no better than a 50% chance of winning.

[kalvado]

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

NY legislation uses two terms: passing and overtaking. Those are not clearly defined, though.
MUTCD shows "no passing" examples only in terms of crossing the yellow line, though.

[mrsman]

No passing simply means you can't change lanes. Has nothing to do with the speed of other vehicles in other lanes. So if you're doing 60 and they're doing 40, you can still pass as long as you're not switching lanes.

Not true.  I once got a ticket for going 30 MPH in the left lane of a 55-MPH construction zone when traffic in the right lane was going around half that speed or less, after the point of a "DO NOT PASS" sign, and I had stayed in the same lane until the cop pulled me over.  Moving violation--"Failure to obey a traffic control device."  According to the cop, once you reach a "DO NOT PASS" sign, you're not allowed to go faster than anyone else in any other lane, regardless of whether there's a good reason for the sign to be there or not.

NY legislation uses two terms: passing and overtaking. Those are not clearly defined, though.
MUTCD shows "no passing" examples only in terms of crossing the yellow line, though.

That is my understanding as well.  Overtaking/changing lanes involves going around another vehicle in another lane where there are two or more lanes in your direction.  Almost always allowed to do this, unless you see a double-white line, or "stay in lane" singage or equivalent. 

Passing means that you are temporarily driving in the lane for opposite direction traffic for some reason, usually to overtake a vehicle.  Generally prohibited, as double yellow lines are common, but permitted when safe for a broken yellow line.
I believe it should be OK to pass (over a double yellow line) a stopped vehicle or something really slow like a bicycle or a horse buggy.  Passing is also prohibited where there are two or more lanes in your direction, if you need to overtake use the other lane in your own direction.

"Do not pass" is generally seen at the beginning of a no-pass zone, like when a broken yellow line becomes a double yellow line.  Sometimes this sign is seen when two lanes come into one to tell you that you should not go to the opposite direction lane to overtake a slow vehicle in the right lane now that the two lanes are coming into one.  This might be part of the confusion, since the sign is showing up when you are losing a lane.  Obviously, when the two lanes become one, you have to some form of overtaking for that to happen, either one lane yields to the other or perhaps a zipper merge.  But what is generally not allowed is to cross the yellow to jump ahead of the line, and that is the purpose of the sign.

[vdeane]

I view "overtaking" to be the actual getting ahead of the car in the other lane and "passing" to be the whole maneuver of getting in another lane, overtaking the other vehicle, and getting back into your original lane.  I can understand why a DOT would want to eliminate lane changes in some circumstances (though IMO the Thruway takes it way, way too far), but I fail to see any good reason for forcing all traffic to go the speed of the slowest vehicle regardless of what lane they're in.  That's just stupid.

[jeffandnicole]

I view "overtaking" to be the actual getting ahead of the car in the other lane and "passing" to be the whole maneuver of getting in another lane, overtaking the other vehicle, and getting back into your original lane.  I can understand why a DOT would want to eliminate lane changes in some circumstances (though IMO the Thruway takes it way, way too far), but I fail to see any good reason for forcing all traffic to go the speed of the slowest vehicle regardless of what lane they're in.  That's just stupid.

Yep. What if a vehicle broke down in a construction zone with no shoulders? Do the open lanes stop also because they would be "passing" the disabled vehicle?