Question: Many of our state highways have signs requiring “slow traffic” – that is, cars with more than five vehicles behind them – to pull over and let the other vehicles pass. Must I pull over if I am driving the maximum speed limit? Put another way, do I have a legal obligation to aid and abet drivers who desire to violate the law? – Max Welker, Tacoma

Answer: There’s an important distinction here. You’ll see two different signs regarding slow traffic on state highways. I think you’re talking about the one you see on two-lane roads where passing is unsafe. In that case, if you’re going as fast as the normal flow of traffic, you don’t have to pull over. You’re not “slow traffic.”

But if you’re hanging out in the left lane on a freeway, you do have to move to the right to let faster traffic by, even if you’re going the speed limit. Trying to be a vigilante and holding up people behind you is not only illegal, it’s dangerous, law enforcement officials say, adding that it’s a leading cause of road rage.

Rob Carson: 253-597-8693 rob.carson@thenewstribune.com