I got my first traffic ticket yesterday.....WTF!!!

It really doesn't keep traffic flowing. It makes already bad gridlock even worse. 

That is actually a new thing in our state that they have just begun talking about enforcing.  (I live in the same state as cindosha ).

I'll have to disagree.
Coming from NY to NC, that is one law we would love to have here. I can't tell you how many time people drive below the speed limit in both lanes. This allows gridlock and impedes the flow of traffic.

No, it is not a 'new thing' in the state of Michigan as has been pointed out several times on this thread. They *are* currently running a campaign to cut down/bring awareness to the issue. 

Gridlock is when traffic is not flowing through intersecting streets with stoplights, for example in a downtown area.  The term doesn't apply to freeways.

The pass on the left law applies to highways and freeways with four or more lanes, not urban traffic.   It also doesn't apply in situations where passing is not possible; for example, in heavy traffic congestion during rush hour on an urban highway.

I can tell you that in the Greater Toronto Area, if the left lane was empty for passing only and traffic was only in the other two lanes gridlock would be a nightmare. It's a nightmare on many of the highways with people in all three lanes. Trust me, in my area, a passing only lane would make things worse not better. You can only go the speed that the traffic is going in gridlock and that's in all three lanes. Having experience with losing one lane to either mandated HOVs for the PanAm or even just an accident, traffic goes at a crawl in two lanes, a passing only lane will not make it better. Not even close. 

Fair enough. I still think it's a stupid law that creates more trouble than it's worth. Stay in your lane, go the right speed and stop changing lanes every two seconds. If everyone did that, things would flow much more efficiently. Passing lanes just encourage more lane changes, which create more accidents, which creates more gridlock. Even in free flowing areas. I don't know how many times I've experience a three lane highway reduced to a crawl because one lane is taken out. Usually because of bad lane changes because slow drivers aren't doing the speed of traffic. Get rid of the slow drivers and there's no need for passing. 

I don't think you're understanding how this law works and traffic/road engineering. The lane doesn't sit empty when there is backed up traffic. The point of the law is that it prevents traffic from being formed behind a line of cars that are all going the same speed across all the lanes. If you have 3 lanes in the same direction, and there is a car in each of them going 5 mph below the speed limit (legal), no one would be able to pass and the traffic would build up behind them. With this law, the person in the left lane isn't allowed to cruise there and needs to get into one of the right-hand lanes -- preventing traffic from forming. 

I lived in IL when this law was implemented, and it is a great law and does prevent traffic from building and makes driving on highways much nicer. When there is heavy traffic, it doesn't prevent the lane from being used, it just mandates that people can't be in the left lane and doing lower than the "flow of traffic" if that makes sense. It keeps people from blocking the left lane when there is open road ahead of them, not when there is gridlock. 

Great law, can't believe OP's attitude, but I think that has been soundly covered already. 

I know of the area grinningcat is talking about.

We are talking a major highway, 8-10 lanes of traffic (going both directions) and there is STILL gridlock. Particularly in one section, no matter the time of day (I hate driving though Mississauga ick) there is always a slowdown and traffic stopping at points.

We don't have the "left for passing only" law here in Ontario - unless it is specifically signed for an area. DH drives me nuts - he STILL calls it "fast lane & slow lane" - even though I've heard mention on a phone in "ask a cop" radio show several times - NO fast & slow lanes, only lanes. All 3, 4 or 5 lanes on the highways are used by all.

But when we've driven through the US, DH is very careful to stick to the "pass only on the left" rule and drives with cruise control on -we don't know the laws by individual state, so we err on the side of caution!

So let me get this right...Officer out there working his shift issues a citation and he is a jerk. So when I go into a clothing store and the prices are to high do I call the workers a-holes and just take what I want? I mean after all, they should know my funds are low or I haven't bought any new clothes in a long time and I deserve them.

And how about the utility company...those people in the billing department are horrible...they charge me every month. How come they don't just knock a few bucks off since I have been paying them for years. Jerks.

Seriously...dude was doing his job. If we don't like the laws work to get them changed

I think some of you are being too literal with the law. As another poster pointed out, it doesn't apply during rush hour when traffic is stop and go and no one can pass. The lane can be used. It also doesn't apply that you have to move right immediately after passing someone. It means that if you are in the lane you should be traveling at a higher speed than those to your right. And most importantly, you should move right of someone behind you wants to go faster.

It is always safer to pass on the left and in many states that's the law. If there is someone hanging out in the left lane that is preventing other traffic from passing them on the left, then they are breaking the law.

The road is there for the good of the public and traffic management, not the convenience of any particular individual. This law relieves/prevents traffic and increases safety (avoiding unexpected passing on the right). 

Traffic engineering is a super interesting topic, and after I learned a little bit more about it, I felt a lot more understanding/respectful of the various laws. They honestly don't just put these laws in place because someone had a harebrained idea and thought it would be nice for themselves to be able to speed in the left lane. The studies backing up various methods of traffic management are pretty impressive. 

It is interesting too how they vary around the country! When we moved to Texas, where U-turns are a way of life, it was a huge adjustment for me!! U-turns are illegal in many areas and very rare everywhere in Illinois. It felt dangerous and when you're turning right out of an intersection or parking lot, you have a whole additional direction to watch for traffic from! The way the highway on/off ramps are set up are totally different here too. It got me interested in the topic and I found out there is so much behind these decisions and laws, and made me less frustrated on the road. 

I go the posted speed limit. I stay in the right lane. If I come across a car going lower than posted I will pass. I do not find myself changing lanes frequently, I just go with the flow of the traffic. I have a perfect driving record as well, but honestly if I break the law, I deserve a ticket, simple as that.