Navigating North Dakota: Is It Legal To Pass In The Right Lane?

Here's a question I've often wondered while driving across the state of North Dakota.

Is it legal to pass somebody on the interstate or any highway with two lanes on the right lane?  I'm not talking the shoulder either.

I'm sure you have been in this position before.  You are in the left passing lane on I-94 heading to work and you come up on a couple of vehicles using both lanes.  Sure enough, the car in the left lane is going slower than the vehicle on the right side.  Can you legally move to the right lane and pass?

I spoke with several North Dakota law enforcement officers on this situation and here's what they had to say.

It is LEGAL to pass another vehicle in the right lane on the Interstate or any other four-lane state highway we may have in North Dakota.

The North Dakota Century Code says the following on the subject. (NDCC t39c10) "The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right only under conditions permitting such movement in safety."

Such movement may not be made by driving off the roadway (like the shoulder).  Keep in mind that passing on the right side may not be legal in every state across the United States.

The officers I spoke to also told me passing on the right side could still potentially get you a ticket.

Here's how, and I'm sure you have run into this before.  Maybe you are in line to pass on the left side behind several vehicles.  Then some driver comes screaming at you on the right side like a bat out of hell.  He or she then attempts to jump to the left lane in front of you in an unsafe manner.

Law enforcement officers can charge you with "aggressive driving" in this scenario.

Basically, you better not be speeding by a whole lot if you are going to pass somebody on the right.

Now you know.  It's LEGAL to pass on the right but you better be safe about it to avoid a ticket.