2 Things Maine Law Requires You to Do When a Driver Honks to Pass You

I’ve been driving since I was 15 years old. To this day, I still stumble across little-known rules of the road in Maine that I don’t remember learning back in driver’s education, like this one.

Have you ever been driving on a two-lane road with someone coming up behind you and honking the horn wanting to pass you? If you’re a speed demon, probably not. But if you tend to drive the speed limit (or even less), someone may be honking at you and you are the one who must yield to them.

According to Title 29-1§ 2070,

Except when passing on the right is permitted, the operator of the passed vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the passing vehicle upon audible signal; and may not increase speed until completely overtaken by the passing vehicle.

In simpler terms, when you’re on a two-lane road with yellow lines and a driver behind you honks at you intending to pass, you must do two things:

1. You must yield to them allowing them to return to the right lane in front of you. 
2. You must not speed up as they pass, but can increase your speed once the passing vehicle moves back to the right lane. 

This sounds like a rule that was made with road-ragers in mind, who get all upset that someone wants to pass them. So they speed up to show them who’s boss, making what should be a simple and quick pass turn into something more like a drag race, which is much more dangerous.

Is this a rule that will get you pulled over and ticketed if you don’t follow it? It’s certainly possible under the right circumstances. For everyone’s safety, it’s best to just let them do their thing.