IMPEDING TRAFFIC/SLOW DRIVING - CVC-22400

Law on Slow Driving and Impeding Traffic

DRIVING TOO SLOWLY - SLOW DRIVING - VEHICLE CODE SECTION 22400

Impeding Traffic/Slow Driving - CVC-22400 - California Vehicle Code § 22400(a) reads:

No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with law.

No person shall bring a vehicle to a complete stop upon a highway so as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic unless the stop is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

However, not all incidents of slow driving, driving too slowly or impeding traffic are in fact violations of CVC § 22400(a). For instance, Vehicle Code § 21654(a) provides an express exception to Impeding Traffic/Slow Driving - CVC-22400 - it reads:

Notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits, any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb.

As the above statutory framework reveals, whether there is an actual violation of law for an alleged violation of CVC § 22400(a), there must be more than just a mere observation of driving too slowly.

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VEHICLE CODE § 22400 - IMPEDING TRAFFIC - DRIVING TOO SLOWLY

Vehicle Code Section 22400(a) mandates:

No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with law.

No person shall bring a vehicle to a complete stop upon a highway so as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic unless the stop is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

(b) Whenever the Department of Transportation determines on the basis of an engineering and traffic survey that slow speeds on any part of a state highway consistently impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the department may determine and declare a minimum speed limit below which no person shall drive a vehicle, except when necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected along the part of the highway for which a minimum speed limit is established.

Subdivision (b) of this section shall apply only to vehicles subject to registration.

In Chavez v. City of Oakland C.A., 9 (Cal.) 2011, 414 Fed.Appx. 939, 2011 WL 566760, unreported, the Court found the officer had probable cause to arrest a newspaper reporter, who exited his or her vehicle on the freeway to take photographs of an accident, for impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. A fire truck was required to merge around the reporter's parked car to reach the accident scene and the reporter willfully refused to comply with two directives from the officer to return to his car and leave the scene of the accident.

IMPEDING TRAFFIC/SLOW DRIVING - CVC-22400 - ORANGE COUNTY DUI DEFENSE ATTORNEYS

To learn more about Impeding Traffic/Slow Driving - CVC-22400, contact Super Lawyers Rated DUI Attorney Peter F. Iocona and the Orange County DUI Defense Attorneys of The SoCal Law Network.