Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, it's Christian Seger here. Imagine this. You're in your car. You've got places to go and people to see, yet you're stuck inching along the interstate at barely a snail's pace. Your exit looms, but it's still relatively far away, and the empty shoulder commonly known to drivers as the emergency lane, beckons you. You'd be reducing congestion if you drove on the shoulder right. What harm could it possibly do? Well?
A lot, As it turns out. Katie Fallon, the public information officer with the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety, says this lane is for emergency use only and not for general travel. It does not matter if you're just trying to pass someone. Here's a case in point. A July dump truck crash on Interstate eighty five in Fairburn, Georgia inspired a number of motorists to hit the shoulder instead of waiting in traffic like everyone else. Their actions
caused major disruptions. Fairbird Deputy Chief Anthony Bazidlow told WSBTV they had a hero unit that was prevented from getting to the scene as well as an ambulance that was not related to the accident that had a patient on board that was trying to get to a local hospital and they couldn't get through the traffic because the emergency lane was closed. If this had been a situation where the driver of the accident vehicle had life threatening injuries,
the ambulance wouldn't have been able to get there. That's not to say that you'll never wind up driving on the shoulder. You're just not likely to have to unless you or someone near you runs into a roadway problem.
The Federal Highway Administration's website explains that, aside from their structural benefits for pavement and drainage, shoulders provide refuge for vehicles in emergency situations, access for first responders in an additional recovery area for drivers trying to avoid conflicts in the adjoining travel lanes. Okay, driving in the emergency lane without being directed to do so by a law enforcement
official or a first responder. That's a violation of state law, and you could be fined or even face jail time for doing so. Like virtually every other police matter, penalties vary state by state, but points on your driver's license, which are assigned based on traffic violations and can result
in license suspension or revocation, are another possible penalty. Virginia based traffic defense attorney Matt Pinsker has represented numerous clients cited for the offense and says that judges are sympathetic in the sense that no one likes sitting in the traffic and we all understand the temptation of wanting to just get in that open shoulder lane and go around all of it, but we are all expected to fall
all the rules. Now get this. He's had cases like that dismissed because his client was improperly charged or the charge was reduced or dismissed, but when it was reduced, the fine was still around fifty to one dollars. So do your bank account and your fellow motorists and first responders a favor and avoid driving on the shoulder unless you're in distress or an officer of the law directs
you there. Today's episode was written by A. Leahy, produced by Dylan Fagan, and for more on this and other topics, please visit us at how Stuff Works dot com.