Got a ticket in towing a trailer in the middle lane

I don't want anyone to repeat the same mistake I had. I towed my kayak trailer in the middle lane (there are three lanes in that section) on Highway 85 last Saturday and was cited. I always thought that I can tow a trailer in the two lanes closest to the right hand side. Wrong. According to the officer and information I dug out, (VC 22406) vehicles towing trailers must stay in the right hand traffic lane or as close as possible to the right edge or curb. Only in divided  highway with four or more traffic lanes in the same direction that a car towing a trailer can drive on the lane just to the left of the right hand traffic lane (in other words, the 2 lanes closest to the right hand curb).  When overtaking or passing another vehicle going in the same direction, one can use the lane just to the left of the right hand lane and within speed limit for vehicles with trailer. Certainly one has to observe the 55 mph speed limit. (and not to be run down by other vehicles)

Fishbear

I was aware but thanks for the heads up, don't know why they have to pick on us you don't see too many big rigs pulled over for that or 55mph.

Man, that blows.  I drive 85 all of the time, and constantly see landscapers towing their trailer full of mowers, painters, contractors...all sorts of people pulling trailers in the middle lane.  Maybe the Chippies are on a mission.  Sorry to hear that you got tagged.

Hmmm, think you found a grumpy one that day...

Thanks! I didn't know about that law.

Thanks for the heads up. As for your ticket... fight it! Ask to contest it in writing. I just fought a stupid $200 ticket and it was dismissed. It's worth the effort.

CAN YOU SAY CHICKEN S!@&.....  Was it CHP? (C)ANT (H)ANDLE (P)OLICEWORK.....  Thank god they got you out of the center lane.  God forbid they get a real bad guy!!!

Fishbear......sooooo sorry......

I had NO idea........!!!.....

The other posts certainly have the right idea about that officer.
Badge heavy twit......a guy who should not be carrying a gun.

Send a photocopy of the citation and a photo of your trailer to CHP headquarters in Sacramento, marked for Internal Affairs.    Tell them, that while the facts state in the citation are correct, the officer's entire conduct record should be reviewed, and he/she should be assigned to work solely with a senior partner for 12 months.

Judd

You bunch of G D crybabies.  It’s too bad fishbear got a ticket because he was unfamiliar with the law, but for you others to bag on the CHP for doing his/her job is BS.  Studies have show that there is a direct correlation between accidents going down when tickets go up.  It is THEIR JOB to write tickets to try to get people to conform to the law.  When they are not writing tickets, they are mopping up brains and guts from the highways.  Law enforcement is dangerous work, be it CHP, police, sheriff, state or feds.  CHP officers are very vulnerable to being killed because they are stopping someone for a traffic violation (instead of some  “real bad guys”) and it turns out that that the violator is a “real bad guy” and the officer gets their freeking head blown off.  Go to a few funerals of CHP officers that have been killed on duty, listen what happened to them as they protected YOU, and see how big of a “twit” they were.     

Does it piss you guys off a lot when you see a back hoe operator operating his backhoe?  Should we take pictures of him and send it to his boss because he is doing his job?  Yeah, sure.


   

That's why I only take my trailer if
1) I have a LOT of time to get where I am going and
2) There is NO other way I can fit all the gear in my vehicle.
It seems to me that the 50 states cannot even agree on what "keeping us safe while towing a trailer" is.
The speed for towing a trailer varies from 45 mph to 75 mph and the weight of a trailer before you need brakes on it varies from 1500 lbs to 5000 lbs.
I think that that a warning or 'education' could have been given instead of a ticket in your case Fishbear.

State Max Towing
Speed (MPH) Max Trailer
Length Max Trailer
Width Max Trailer
Height Max Overall
Length Weight Requiring
Trailer Brake(lbs)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Alabama      65 40' 8' 13'6" N/S 3000
Alaska         45 40' 8'6" 14' 75' 5000
Arizona        55 40' 8' 13'6" 65' 3000
Arkansas      70 53'6" 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
California     55 40' 8'6" 14' 65' 1500
Colorado      65 N/S 8'6" 14'6" 70' 3000
Conn           65 N/S 8'6" 13'6" 60' 3000
Delaware     55 40' 8'6" 13'6" 65' N/S
Wa. D.C.      55 60' 8' 13'6" 85' 3000
Flordia         65 40' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
Georgia        55 N/S 8'6" 13'6" 60' 3000
Hawaii         50 40' 9' 14' 65' 3000
Idaho          75 48' 8'6" 14' 75' 1500
Illinois         55 60' 8' 13'6" 65' 3000
Indiana        55 40' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
Iowa            65 N/S 8' 14' 70' 3000
Kansas         55 N/S 8'6" 14' 65' N/S
Kentucky      65 N/S 8' 13'6" 63' N/S
Louisiana     70 40' 8' 13'6" 70' 3000
Maine          65 48' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
Maryland      65 40' 8' 13'6" 55' 3000
Mass.          65 40' 8'6" 13'6" 65' N/S
Michigan      55 45' 8'6" 12'6" 65' 3000
Minnesota    65 45' 8'6" 13'6" 60' 3000
Mississippi   55 40' 8'6" 13'6" 53' 2000
Missouri       60 N/S 8' 13'6" 55' N/S
Montana      65 N/S 8'6" 14' 65' 3000
Nebraska     65 40' 8'6" 14'6" 65' 3000
Nevada        65 N/S 8' 14' 70' 3000
New Ham.    65 48' 8'6" 13'6" N/S N/S
New Jersey   55 40' 8'6" 13'6" 50' N/S
New Mexico  75 40' 8'6" 14' 75' 3000
New York     65 48' 8' 13'6" 65' 3000
N. Carolina  55 35' 8' 13'6" 60' 4000
N. Dakota    70 53' 8'6" 14' 75' N/S
Ohio           55 40' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 2000
Oklahoma    70 40' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
Oregon        55 45' 8'6" 14' 65' N/S
Penn.          55 N/S 8'6" 13'6" 60' 3000
R.I.             55 N/S 8'6" 13'6" 60' 4000
S. Carolina   55 48' 8'6" 13'6" N/S 3000
S. Dakota     75 N/S N/S 14'" N/S 3000
Tennessee    70 N/S 8'6" 13'6" N/S 3000
Texas           65 N/S 8'6" 13'6" 65' 4500
Utah            65 40' 8'6" 14' 65' N/S
Vermont       55 45' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
Virginia         65 45' 8'6" 13'6" 65' 3000
Washington   60 N/S 8'6" 14' 60' 3000
W. Virginia    55 40' 8' 13'6" 75' 3000
Wisconsin     65 N/S 8'6" 13'6" 60' 3000
Wyoming      60 45' 8'6" 14' 65' N/S

Yep. Had a guy with a big ski boat with a big tower and 1 zillion speakers on the side of me going over the Altamont today. We were both doing 80 Mph. What a mess if he blew a tire on his single axle trailer.

Yep, that's why I don't have a trailer.

It seems not many trailer owners are aware of this law, judging from what I see on the road.

 I tow a travel trailer , 22' that I tow  with a 3/4 ton Chevy with Duramax , tows easily at 70mph but I tow at 60mph , just a touch over 55mph and stay in the slow lane except to pass .

Get passed by big rigs all the time doing 65-75mph with CHP right on their tail and have never seen one pulled over for speed , not quite sure how that  works !

Sorry, but I'm with Grizz on this one. Bummer that he got the ticket, but laws aren't "guidelines". I wish the CHP would issue more tickets so that A$$ holes would stop tailgating me as I drive 60 mph in the right lane. I've lived all over the US and I've never seen more accidents or more road rage than I've seen in California. I think a large part of it is the idea that because the speed limit and the "slower traffic keep right" signs are totally ignored and never enforced by the CHP, people are forced to guess how fast or where to drive. Start giving tickets when people are in the wrong and the guessing is removed.

The officer was a half-witted Lt. Fuzz.
Badge-heavy and foolish.
Imposed no judgment.
None.
And SHOULD be disqualified from law enforcement.

Tote provides real information.
Read down his list (State trailer laws).

Now think for a moment:   You are a police officer.

Are you going to "do" the same level of enforcement for:
A)    A 14-foot trailer carrying three 40-pound kayaks......
B)    A FORTY FOOT TRAILER carrying 3,000 pounds....

No, not the same level of enforcement, unless you are a badge-heavy version of the "Beatle Baily" comic-strip character Lt. Fuzz.

Police, across the board, are killed and injured at a far-less rate than convenience store clerks.    Contrary to fable:  Police-work is not dangerous.
But anyway---- "risk" is an irrelevant measure with respect to the QUESTION whether people in responsible positions of authority, should exercise judgment.

Police do and must exercise "situational common sense" with respect to levels of enforcement.     

Judd