Colorado State Patrol warns against ‘lane camping’ on highways

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado State Patrol (CSP) is urging drivers to avoid "lane camping" after reporting that last year alone, troopers pulled over 2,540 drivers traveling too slowly in the left lane of a multi-lane roadway.

According to CSP, the left lane in multi-lane roads with a posted speed limit of 65 mph or greater is designated as the “passing lane.”

CSP says slower traffic must move into the right nonpassing lane after a driver has passed or finished allowing a vehicle to enter the road. Law enforcement discourages drivers from "camping in the left lane" because it frustrates other drivers, which in turn can lead to unsafe passing, tailgating, flashing lights, and other negative behaviors.

CSP reports that the most common roadways that troopers pulled drivers over for “hanging out” in a passing lane in 2025 were:

1. I-70 (962 contacts)
2. I-25 (564 contacts)
3. Hwy 50 (297 contacts)
4. Hwy 160 (190 contacts)
5. E-470 (149 contacts)

According to CSP, the most common day of the week for troopers to pull people over was Friday (1-7 p.m.), followed by Thursday (2-5 p.m.).

“Even if you are driving the maximum legal speed limit, the left lane is not intended to be a permanent travel lane on roadways 65 mph or greater in Colorado,” stated Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Drivers are not legally allowed to obstruct traffic lanes in Colorado, so even if you don’t like the speed of other drivers, interfering with traffic flow is also unsafe driving behavior.”

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