Fine may rise to $300 for drivers failing to keep to the right in N.J.

The New Jersey Assembly was expected to vote Thursday on whether to give final legislative approval to a measure that would increase the fines for failing to keep to the right on multi-lane roadways.

 

The legislation would boost the fine to as much as $300.

Drivers who are not passing anyone and still hanging in the left lane can cause problems, said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon.

“Especially if they’re causing people to approach them and then have to switch lanes on the right, pass them on the right, and then switch lanes back down the road,” said O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth. “It is probably one of the most hazardous practices on our highways today short of drinking and driving. It causes countless incidents of road rage.”

The legislation calls for $50 of each fine to pay for signs that remind drivers to keep to the right.

O’Scanlon says he doesn’t want the measure to be a revenue-raising scheme. He hopes drivers get the message so they won’t be ticketed.