I was driving my class A motor home on an interstate in Michigan, towing a Jeep, 4 wheels down. I was behind and tractor trailer with the cruise control set a 60 mph. The truck ahead of me made a quick move into the passing lane. It was then I saw a state trooper, pulled over on the shoulder. I looked in my side mirror and there was a car right next to me in the passing lane and 3 other cars behind him, all moving faster than me. By this time I was even with the trooper, so stopping was not an option. I had moved over as far as I could, the driver side wheels were at least on the white line if not over the line. The trooper pulled me over and gave me a ticket for not moving to the passing lane. When I asked him what I should have done considering the traffic conditions, all he would say was that I was lucky he didn't arrest me. I am well aware of the dangers emergency people endure on the side of the road and if there was anyway to move I would have. I have not had a ticket in 35 years. What should I have done differently. If I had moved over to the other lane there was a very good chance I would have caused an accident and would have been charged with improper lane change.

The trooper must have argued with his wife before work that day. I think you were in the right, and if possible you should fight this. I realize that may not be possible, but I don't think that law is appropriate in all situations.It sounds like you did the least dangerous thing.

I've been in this situation more than once. I have never been pulled over for it. Any reasonable trooper would have not ticketed you. I'd at least consult someone for legal advice. They'll probably tell you to just pay the ticket, but there must be some way to make his superiors aware of the situation. I wouldn't be surprised if his dept. lost a trooper in the recent past due to someone's negligence.

With what you have said I will surely be stopping if needed and then move to the left lane. If I get rear ended or some gooofball blows past me on the shoulder I will still be in the right. Oh wait, they will then say something different and it will be my fault. Hopefully they dont rear end me.

Sounds to me like you were following the tractor trailer too closely (tailgating). You should allow at least one vehicle space (your length) for every 10 miles per hour of speed. If you had abided by that rule, you would have saw the trooper in plenty of time to reduce your speed accordingly (move over or slow down) means slowing to 45 mph. which is the legal MINIMUM speed on any Inter-Intra state highway or Federally funded 2 lane road.Accept the ticket and pay the citation and consider yourself lucky he didn't arrest you. He could have. You put his life in danger by your inactions.I always slow down or move over for stopped emergency vehicles but that means not following so closely, the vehicle in front of you that you cannot.Following too closely (assured clear distance) is one of the biggest accident contributors.I know, the patent answer is, if I allow sufficient distance between the vehicle in front of me and me, someone will move into that space. Easy answer to that. Assume that distance from the vehicle that got in front of you instead of the vehicle you were initially following.Remember, move over or slow down and slow down means slowing to the Federally mandated minimum speed of 45 mph.

Maybe you were following to close to allow for reaction time. What if instead of an officer it was something in the middle of the road (tire and rim, metal etc).

What should I have done? | Good Sam Community

114 Replies

SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Sep 22, 2017
Sounds to me like you were following the tractor trailer too closely (tailgating). You should allow at least one vehicle space (your length) for every 10 miles per hour of speed. If you had abided by that rule, you would have saw the trooper in plenty of time to reduce your speed accordingly (move over or slow down) means slowing to 45 mph. which is the legal MINIMUM speed on any Inter-Intra state highway or Federally funded 2 lane road.

Accept the ticket and pay the citation and consider yourself lucky he didn't arrest you. He could have. You put his life in danger by your inactions.

I always slow down or move over for stopped emergency vehicles but that means not following so closely, the vehicle in front of you that you cannot.

Following too closely (assured clear distance) is one of the biggest accident contributors.

I know, the patent answer is, if I allow sufficient distance between the vehicle in front of me and me, someone will move into that space. Easy answer to that. Assume that distance from the vehicle that got in front of you instead of the vehicle you were initially following.

Remember, move over or slow down and slow down means slowing to the Federally mandated minimum speed of 45 mph.
azrving
Explorer
Sep 22, 2017
With what you have said I will surely be stopping if needed and then move to the left lane. If I get rear ended or some gooofball blows past me on the shoulder I will still be in the right. Oh wait, they will then say something different and it will be my fault. Hopefully they dont rear end me.
Campfire_Time
Explorer
Sep 22, 2017
I've been in this situation more than once. I have never been pulled over for it. Any reasonable trooper would have not ticketed you. I'd at least consult someone for legal advice. They'll probably tell you to just pay the ticket, but there must be some way to make his superiors aware of the situation.

I wouldn't be surprised if his dept. lost a trooper in the recent past due to someone's negligence.
2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 22, 2017
The trooper must have argued with his wife before work that day. I think you were in the right, and if possible you should fight this. I realize that may not be possible, but I don't think that law is appropriate in all situations.

It sounds like you did the least dangerous thing.

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What should I have done?

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