People seeking compensation after a crash have to establish fault. Responsibility for a collision can result from negligent behavior or from violations of traffic statutes. Most drivers are subject to the same basic rules. However, there are some unique statutes that only apply to commercial vehicles. Drivers in control of passenger vehicles may need to know about those unique rules if they want to hold a commercial driver or their employer accountable after a collision.
Consider a situation in which a semi-truck merged into the far-left lane on a multi-lane highway and caused a crash while doing so. Drivers may question whether the commercial vehicle violated the law by trying to merge into the far-left lane, as people often expect 18-wheelers to stay to the right on freeways. Do semi-trucks have the right to drive in the left lane on an interstate?
18-wheelers should usually stay to the right
Tennessee traffic statutes require that semi-trucks stay in the two lanes farthest to the right in most situations. Semi-trucks have larger blind spots to the right as opposed to the left.
Slower-moving traffic typically also needs to stay to the right, and trucks often travel at a slightly lower speed than other vehicles on the same roads. Therefore, semi-trucks usually stay to the right so that other vehicles can drive past them safely on the left.
Those operating passenger vehicles should know that there are a few exceptions to the rules about trucks staying in the right lane. Drivers can enter the left lane when there is an upcoming exit that is on the left. They can also enter the left lane in order to conduct a turn.
There are also exceptions for trucks that need to pass disabled or slowing-moving vehicles. In some locations, like I-24 on Monteagle Mountain, trucks can drive in the left lane to have access to runaway truck lanes, which exist on roads where semi-truck brakes could fail due to how steep the route down the mountain is.
Drivers who understand the rules of the road may find it easier to establish who is to blame after a semi-truck collision. Violations of statutes, such as driving in the left lane without an appropriate justification, may open professional drivers up to liability for a crash that they caused.