Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: it's Christian Seger here. Imagine this. You're in your car.
Speaker 1: You've got places to go and people to see, yet
Speaker 1: you're stuck inching along the interstate at barely a snail's pace.
Speaker 1: Your exit looms, but it's still relatively far away, and
Speaker 1: the empty shoulder commonly known to drivers as the emergency lane,
Speaker 1: beckons you. You'd be reducing congestion if you drove on
Speaker 1: the shoulder right. What harm could it possibly do? Well?
Speaker 1: A lot, As it turns out. Katie Fallon, the public
Speaker 1: information officer with the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety,
Speaker 1: says this lane is for emergency use only and not
Speaker 1: for general travel. It does not matter if you're just
Speaker 1: trying to pass someone. Here's a case in point. A
Speaker 1: July dump truck crash on Interstate eighty five in Fairburn,
Speaker 1: Georgia inspired a number of motorists to hit the shoulder
Speaker 1: instead of waiting in traffic like everyone else. Their actions
Speaker 1: caused major disruptions. Fairbird Deputy Chief Anthony Bazidlow told WSBTV
Speaker 1: they had a hero unit that was prevented from getting
Speaker 1: to the scene as well as an ambulance that was
Speaker 1: not related to the accident that had a patient on
Speaker 1: board that was trying to get to a local hospital
Speaker 1: and they couldn't get through the traffic because the emergency
Speaker 1: lane was closed. If this had been a situation where
Speaker 1: the driver of the accident vehicle had life threatening injuries,
Speaker 1: the ambulance wouldn't have been able to get there. That's
Speaker 1: not to say that you'll never wind up driving on
Speaker 1: the shoulder. You're just not likely to have to unless
Speaker 1: you or someone near you runs into a roadway problem.
Speaker 1: The Federal Highway Administration's website explains that, aside from their
Speaker 1: structural benefits for pavement and drainage, shoulders provide refuge for
Speaker 1: vehicles in emergency situations, access for first responders in an
Speaker 1: additional recovery area for drivers trying to avoid conflicts in
Speaker 1: the adjoining travel lanes. Okay, driving in the emergency lane
Speaker 1: without being directed to do so by a law enforcement
Speaker 1: official or a first responder. That's a violation of state law,
Speaker 1: and you could be fined or even face jail time
Speaker 1: for doing so. Like virtually every other police matter, penalties
Speaker 1: vary state by state, but points on your driver's license,
Speaker 1: which are assigned based on traffic violations and can result
Speaker 1: in license suspension or revocation, are another possible penalty. Virginia
Speaker 1: based traffic defense attorney Matt Pinsker has represented numerous clients
Speaker 1: cited for the offense and says that judges are sympathetic
Speaker 1: in the sense that no one likes sitting in the
Speaker 1: traffic and we all understand the temptation of wanting to
Speaker 1: just get in that open shoulder lane and go around
Speaker 1: all of it, but we are all expected to fall
Speaker 1: all the rules. Now get this. He's had cases like
Speaker 1: that dismissed because his client was improperly charged or the
Speaker 1: charge was reduced or dismissed, but when it was reduced,
Speaker 1: the fine was still around fifty to one dollars. So
Speaker 1: do your bank account and your fellow motorists and first
Speaker 1: responders a favor and avoid driving on the shoulder unless
Speaker 1: you're in distress or an officer of the law directs
Speaker 1: you there. Today's episode was written by A. Leahy, produced
Speaker 1: by Dylan Fagan, and for more on this and other topics,
Speaker 1: please visit us at how Stuff Works dot com.