By Justice Oglesby.
Slow drivers beware—a new piece of Arizona legislation aims to implement more civil enforcement against drivers going too slow in passing lanes on the highway. Arizona Rep. Teresa Martinez’s bill, coined the “Slow Poke bill,” has made its way past the Arizona House of Representatives and now awaits a final vote from the Arizona Senate. Arizona citizens have divisive opinions on how fast people should travel on the highway. The Slow Poke bill seeks to address those concerns, especially “people in the left lane who drive under the speed limit and hold up traffic.”
How Current Arizona Law Addresses Slow Drivers
Currently, Arizona laws regulate the issue of slow drivers, addressing slow drivers in all scenarios and drivers congesting the passing lane on the highway. More generally, Arizona’s traffic laws prohibit persons from “driv[ing] a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.” The law exempts situations in which either “[r]educed speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law” or where “[t]he reasonable flow of traffic exceeds the maximum safe operating speed of a lawfully operated implement of husbandry.”
Arizona also has a law prohibiting the very activity the Slow Poke bill seeks to address—clogging the left lane on the highway. The law states that persons must “drive a vehicle on the right half of the roadway” aside from four enumerated exceptions such as passing a car in the right lane or where the left lane is closed.
Arizona defines these offenses as civil traffic violations, punishable by a maximum fine of $250 unless otherwise stated in the traffic code. The Slow Poke bill aims to combat slow drivers by increasing the maximum fine and mandating additional infrastructure to put slow drivers on notice of their onerous driving habits.
How the Slow Poke Bill Changes Arizona Law
The Slow Poke bill implements changes in a relatively brief and digestible manner. Overall, the amendments to existing Arizona traffic law consist of two changes (marked in blue) in a two-page bill. First, the bill bumps up the maximum fine from $250 to $500—further incentivizing slow drivers to stay out of the fast lane. Second, the bill mandates that authorities “must place signs along highways with two or more lanes . . . traveling in the same direction” that say, “LEFT LANE FOR PASSING ONLY, SLOW TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT” along with a smaller sign that, in no ambiguous language, reads “$500 FINE.”
Rep. Martinez believes the increased fine amount and the erection of signage should address drivers unaware of the current law and target those clogging the fast lane intentionally. Specifically, she alluded to a concern among Arizonans who feel some drivers intentionally drive slow in the fast lane in an effort “to teach other people a lesson.” Currently, the Slow Poke bill has passed the Arizona House and awaits a vote in the Senate—but its success has not come without some critique.
Implications of the Change
While the bill has a noble purpose of clearing congestion on interstate highways and preventing unreasonably slow driving, critics point to two concerns: (1) would encouraging faster driving make highways more unsafe, and (2) what does the law do to address enforceability of current traffic laws? First, Rep. Martinez sets the record straight that the intent of the bill is not to drive faster, but safer. She believes this bill will prevent multi-car backups and drivers from weaving between lanes on the highway.
In fact, public opinion and legal commentators support the premise that cracking down on slow drivers in the fast lane is good for public safety. Primarily, keeping slow drivers out of the fast lane allows other drivers to travel at the speed of traffic without needing to weave in and out of lanes to pass them—which is the purpose of a passing lane. Some commenters estimate that 98% of drivers exceed the posted speed limit and instead travel at the “prevailing speed”—that is, the speed of traffic that drivers actually travel at and generally above the speed limit. Accordingly, high speed variances between drivers, not high speed limits, cause accidents and create unsafe driving conditions. This bill aims to free up the left lane from drivers going either at the speed limit or below, to allow faster drivers to use the lane for passage, thus creating smoother and safer driving conditions. Lastly, the bill also reduces the risk of “road rage” since commentators point out “[s]low drivers lingering in the left lane are one of the biggest causes of . . . aggressive driving.”
Rep. Martinez acknowledges that similar signage posted in the Chandler area on Interstate-10 (“I-10”) has generally failed at bringing truck drivers into compliance; however, she believes larger signage and a stiffer fine are a “necessary first step” to increase compliance and signal to Arizona law enforcement that this is a priority to the Arizona people. Accordingly, Rep. Martinez hopes that this bill will push the Arizona Department of Transportation to increase enforcement efforts along congested highways like I-10.
As of now, the Arizona Legislature has taken the first step in combating congestion on its highways by regulating the use of the passing lane. If the Arizona Senate opts to pass the Slow Poke bill into law, the bill has the potential to reduce travel time and traffic related-incidents throughout the state, but until then, slow drivers should be on notice.
By Justice Oglesby
J.D. Candidate, 2026
Justice Oglesby is a 2L and serves as a Staff Writer on the ASLJ. Justice, a native of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. In his time there, he earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Corporate Finance. Additionally, he participated in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corp and was commissioned as a Transportation Officer upon graduation. Justice currently serves as a 1st Lieutenant in the Arizona Army National Guard.