Massachusetts Left Lane Law: Fines, Exceptions, and Insurance Impact

The Massachusetts left lane law requires every driver to stay in the rightmost available lane and to move left only when passing another vehicle or preparing for a left turn. The rule lives in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89, Section 4B, applies on every public road with more than one lane in your direction, and carries a fine of up to $100.¹

When You Can Legally Use the Left Lane

Section 4B doesn’t name the left lane. It tells you to use the lane nearest the right side of the road whenever that lane is available for travel, and it gives you two reasons to leave it: overtaking another vehicle, or preparing for a left turn.¹ That’s the full list. “Going the speed limit,” “the right lane is rough,” or “traffic is heavy” are not in the statute.

Two common misreadings are worth flagging. First, the rule uses the phrase “upon all ways,” so it isn’t limited to highways. Any road with more than one travel lane in your direction counts. Second, the statute says left turn, not left-hand exit. Reading a highway exit into that language is a stretch you probably don’t want to defend at a hearing.

When the rightmost lane is set aside for something other than ordinary travel, like a bus lane or an HOV lane, drive in the lane next to it. You may use the special-purpose lane only where MassDOT has posted signs allowing it.²

The Narrow Exceptions

Section 5 adds a short list of situations that excuse you from the keep-right rule, and they aren’t the ones most drivers guess.

A police officer directs you into another lane.
You are engaged in authorized highway construction, repair, or maintenance work.
Construction has made the ordinary travel lane impassable, so you use another lane instead.³

Heavy traffic, weather, and general emergencies aren’t listed. An officer may choose not to cite a driver sitting in the left lane during a bumper-to-bumper crawl, but that’s discretion, not a statutory defense. The distinction matters if you end up contesting a ticket.

The Fine and the Three-Month Window

The penalty comes from Chapter 89, Section 5, which caps the fine at $100 for violations of Sections 1 through 4C. There’s no escalating schedule for repeat offenses; the $100 ceiling applies each time.³

One procedural point can end a case before it starts. A complaint for a Section 4B violation must be filed within three months of the offense. Miss that window, and the charge can’t proceed.³

How a Ticket Affects Your Insurance

Massachusetts doesn’t run a traditional license points system. Instead, insurers use the Safe Driver Insurance Plan, which assigns surcharge points for certain violations and at-fault accidents over a rolling six-year period. For experienced operators, each surcharge point adds 15 percent to compulsory coverage premiums. For inexperienced operators, each point adds 7.5 percent.⁴

Whether a keep-right citation counts depends on whether the offense appears in Appendix A of the SDIP regulation, which lists every surchargeable violation. A citation only becomes surchargeable if you pay the fine, fail to pay it, or are found responsible in court.⁵

How to Contest the Citation

You have 20 days from the citation date to pay the fine or request a hearing. Miss the deadline and you waive the hearing, pick up late fees and a release fee, and eventually face a default notice from the RMV. Ignore that notice for 30 days and your license is suspended.⁶

Hearings can be requested online or by mail. Either way, there’s a $25 court filing fee. Online filers should wait at least 10 days after receiving the citation so the RMV can process it. For a mail request, sign and date the back of the citation in the Box 2 area, check the hearing request box on the prepaid envelope, and include a check or money order for $25 payable to MassDOT. The court will schedule the hearing and notify you by mail.⁶

Don’t Confuse It With the Move Over Law

Section 7C of Chapter 89 is a separate rule that requires you to change lanes away from stationary emergency vehicles, highway maintenance vehicles, and recovery vehicles displaying flashing lights. On a road with at least four lanes, with two running in your direction, move into a lane not adjacent to the stopped vehicle. If changing lanes isn’t safe or possible, slow to a reasonable speed for conditions.⁷

The Move Over Law also carries a fine of up to $100, and it pushes you the opposite direction from the keep-right rule. Staying right when a trooper is on the shoulder with lights on can earn one ticket; sitting left when nothing on the shoulder requires it can earn another.

Extra Restrictions for Heavy Trucks

If you drive a heavy commercial vehicle, meaning a truck over two and a half tons used for transporting goods, Section 4C tightens the rule further. On any highway with more than one passing lane in each direction, you must stay in the rightmost travel lane during normal driving. When passing, you may move only into the adjacent lane, not two lanes over. The only carve-out is a genuine emergency. Buses are exempt.⁸

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89, Section 4B – Driving in Lane Nearest Right Side of Way
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89 Section 4B – Driving in Lane Nearest Right Side of Way
3
Justia Law. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89 Section 5 – Penalty
4
Mass.gov. Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP) and Your Auto Insurance Policy
5
Mass.gov. Surchargeable Incidents
6
Mass.gov. Appeal Your Traffic Ticket
7
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89 Section 7C
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89 Section 4C