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COMMITTEE REPORT
March 2, 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 and Atkinson
S. Printed 3/2/21--H.
Read the first time January 12, 2021.
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 3011) 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, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 1 in its entirety and inserting:
/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." /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
MERITA A. ALLISON for Committee.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
State Expenditure
This bill relates to the operation of a motor vehicle in the farthest left lane on a controlled access roadway having two or more lanes in each direction. It prohibits a driver from driving in the left most 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 provision does not apply when a driver is operating a vehicle that is overtaking another vehicle driving in the same direction, when the driver of a tractor-trailer commercial motor vehicle is unable to move into the right lane safely due to other vehicles overtaking or passing his vehicle on the right, or when the driver of a vehicle requiring a commercial driver's 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 violating this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $200 or imprisonment for not more than thirty days, as well as the assessment of two points against his motor vehicle operating record. The bill provides an exception to the penalty schedule when the person violating this provision is operating a vehicle requiring a commercial driver's license. In such an instance, the driver may not be fined more than $50 and will have no points assessed against his driving record. The Department of Transportation is responsible for placing signage every thirty-five miles along the state's interstate roadways to direct slower traffic to move right. This bill takes effect 180 days after approval by the Governor.
Department of Transportation. This bill would require the department to install signage at least every thirty-five miles along interstate roadways to direct slower traffic to keep right. The cost to manufacture each sign is $109.67 and the cost to install each sign is $78.99, resulting in a total cost of $188.66 per sign. The department estimates that there are 128 additional signs needed to meet the requirements of the bill. The total expenditure impact of the bill is $24,148, which would be covered by the agency's other funds.
Department of Public Safety. This bill will have no expenditure impact on the Department of Public Safety because the agency will administer policies resulting from the bill with the use of existing staff and resources.
Department of Motor Vehicles. DMV indicates that approximately 12 hours of programming are needed to add the violation to its systems. However, the department plans to use existing resources and appropriations to complete this change. Therefore, there will be no expenditure impact to DMV.
State Revenue
This bill creates the new offense of driving in the left-most lane on a roadway with two or more lanes heading in the same direction when the driver knows or reasonably should know that his vehicle is being overtaken in that lane by a motor vehicle traveling behind him at a higher rate of speed. The penalty for this offense is $200. While there are other states that have similar laws in place, there is significant variability in the number of citations that have been issued in a given year, and there is a broad range of fines that may be assessed. Based on the variability between the number of citations that may be issued and the differences in allowable fines for each state having a similar law, the amount of state revenue that may be generated from the implementation of this bill is undetermined. The counties will retain a portion of the revenue generated by the assessment of these fines and must remit the remainder to the State Treasurer for appropriate distribution.
Local Revenue
This bill creates the new offense of driving in the left-most lane on a roadway with two or more lanes heading in the same direction when the driver knows or reasonably should know that his vehicle is being overtaken in that lane by a motor vehicle traveling behind him at a higher rate of speed. The penalty for this offense is $200. While there are other states that have similar laws in place, there is significant variability in the number of citations that have been issued in a given year, and there is a broad range of fines that may be assessed. Based on the variability between the number of citations that may be issued and the differences in allowable fines for each state having a similar law, the amount of local revenue that may be generated from the implementation of this bill is undetermined. The counties will retain a portion of the revenue generated by the assessment of these fines and must remit the remainder to the State Treasurer for appropriate distribution.
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office
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.
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, and assessed two points against his motor vehicle operating record as provided in Section 56-1-720 for driving in an improper lane, except that a driver of a vehicle requiring a commercial drivers license may not be fined more than fifty dollars and no points may be assessed against his driving record for failing to comply with this section.
( ) 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."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect one hundred eighty days after approval by the Governor.
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