NC · jury_instructions
N.C.P.I.—Motor Vehicle 204.20
DUTY TO DRIVE IN RIGHT LANE AT SLOW SPEEDS.
The motor vehicle law provides that when the operator of a vehicle
is proceeding at less than the legal maximum speed limit, the operator
shall drive in the right-hand lane then available for through traffic, or as
close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the highway.
A violation of this law is negligence within itself.1
(Use any part of the remainder of this instruction only when
it is justified by the evidence.)
(However, by way of exception, the motor vehicle law also provides
that:
[if the operator is overtaking and passing another vehicle
proceeding in the same direction, such operation would not violate the
law and would not be negligence]
[if the operator is preparing for a left turn, such operation would
not violate the law and would not be negligence]
The burden of proof is on the operator of the vehicle driving [out of
the right-hand lane] [not as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or
edge of the highway] to prove, by the greater weight of the evidence,
that the operation of the vehicle is within [this exception] [one of these
exceptions].)
History
N.C.P.I.—Motor Vehicle 204.20 (February 1989). N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-146(b). Prepared by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges' Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, assisted by the UNC School of Government; published by the School of Government.
Provenance
- Source
- sog.unc.edu
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-25
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
b485a635d47ef74c1fa8992c95149481b9af29f6f61b2757cdf66e7ed3df9418
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