[danske]

Where in the Oregon DOT Regulations states it is legal to drive on the shoulder of I-5 in Southern Oregon uphill grades? I know this will probably start a firestorm, but I have been driving Oregon for 20 years and no one has ever stated the Oregon law that makes this legal. There are no signs or markers on I-5 that indicate that this is allowable. In every other state and province I have driven this is NOT legal except in Washington where there is signage and it is daytime use only.

Please backup your answer with documented facts.

[LogBook]

there was a time when the truck driver was the hwy law, think we made that law then. now why bitch about the one and only one thing in Oregon that is right by the trucker

[danske]

Last year, ODOT finally constructed a third lane for trucks and slow moving vehicles on I-5 Northbound for the Sexton Mountain Pass. This spring ODOT repaired a part of the hillside with additional rock for drainage and erosion prevention.

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/GOVREL/Pa...ing-lanes.aspx
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGIO...ale-hugo1.aspx

Please note in the webpages mentions that trucks, or some trucks, use the shoulder to navigate the Southern Oregon passes. But, the pages do not say it is legal and do state that it creates additional maintenance as the the shoulder was not design as a travel lane.

Perhaps someday the other parts of Southern Oregon I-5 will receive the necessary funding complete this much needed safety improvement to the highway.

BTW even with the third lane on I-5 Northbound, there are STILL trucks that run the shoulder! Yes, this is a major annoys of mine. :-(

[Fozzy]

Going I-5 over the border from CA and back into CA it used to be posted several times that slow trucks should (could) use the shoulders.. No issue with it whatsoever.

[GMAN]

In parts of Texas you can legally drive on the shoulder. I don't recall having seen a sign to that effect, but plenty of drivers do utilize the shoulder in some areas.

[danske]

Originally Posted by Fozzy

Going I-5 over the border from CA and back into CA it used to be posted several times that slow trucks should (could) use the shoulders.. No issue with it whatsoever.

I live in Oregon and have been driving professionally for 20+ years. I have never seen anything posted nor can I find anywhere that it is legal for slow vehicles to travel on the shoulder(eg. emergency lane). When I learned to drive with my first company, my trainer who lives in Coos Bay, OR taught me it was unsafe and against company policy to run the shoulder on I-5. Only in Washington(eg. Hwy 28 near Wenatchee) have I seen it posted that slow vehicles may drive on the shoulder and during daylight hours only.

I would like to know where this practice of driving the shoulder came from. Perhaps before I-5 was built and it was US99 this was the de facto standard; The truckdrivers who started this are probably long retired and gone. It is about time that my state improve the highway with proper truck climbing lanes and stop this unwritten practice.

[Fozzy]

Originally Posted by danske

I live in Oregon and have been driving professionally for 20+ years. I have never seen anything posted nor can I find anywhere that it is legal for slow vehicles to travel on the shoulder(eg. emergency lane). When I learned to drive with my first company, my trainer who lives in Coos Bay, OR taught me it was unsafe and against company policy to run the shoulder on I-5. Only in Washington(eg. Hwy 28 near Wenatchee) have I seen it posted that slow vehicles may drive on the shoulder and during daylight hours only.

I would like to know where this practice of driving the shoulder came from. Perhaps before I-5 was built and it was US99 this was the de facto standard; The truckdrivers who started this are probably long retired and gone. It is about time that my state improve the highway with proper truck climbing lanes and stop this unwritten practice.

Seems rather hostile.. I've been driving now for practically 30 years and without trying to be a snide or demean someone else.. can say that it was posted and it was common practice.. but it was well before there were so many discourteous, asshats driving trucks came along. Cutting new lanes into mountains would cost billions.. allowing the use of the shoulder for heavy vehicles is not dangerous at all... if there were professionals out there anymore.

[Mr. Ford95]

Right shoulder usage is legal in VA, BUT only on I-66 during certain times of the day. A green overhead arrow will be lit up to say its OK to use. Its really weird, the asphalt is red colored for that lane. I believe its only inside the Beltway that its available.

[Scoe]

Pull into the POI Coop at Ashland northbound and ask them to show you the written legality.

Here's what I know, I've been driving for 32 years now and everyone does it in Oregon yet No one does it in California...that might tell me that it's legal in Oregon but not in California.

If you feel it's not safe then by all means don't do it. However, don't gawk at me when I pass you doing 55mph going up the Siskiyou pass and want back over ASAP because I'm also trying to be courteous to the 4 wheelers.

[danske]

Originally Posted by Scoe

Pull into the POI Coop at Ashland northbound and ask them to show you the written legality.

Here's what I know, I've been driving for 32 years now and everyone does it in Oregon yet No one does it in California...that might tell me that it's legal in Oregon but not in California.

If you feel it's not safe then by all means don't do it. However, don't gawk at me when I pass you doing 55mph going up the Siskiyou pass and want back over ASAP because I'm also trying to be courteous to the 4 wheelers.

I don't mind at all being passed on the left and the truck returning to the slow lane as soon as it is safe(I will even signal when clear). But don't pass on the right using the shoulder like a driver did yesterday. He nearly collided with the truck that was passing me legally(and driver had quite the CB rant to the idiot passing on the shoulder).

As can be gather from this thread, I don't encourage those drivers that crawl the shoulder; I will, if your CB on and tuned to Channel 17, warn of stopped vehicles blocking the emergency breakdown lane which is often the case at I-5 Southbound between Milemarkers 9 and 8(I believe this is the place on Siskiyou Pass that kills trucks with poorly maintained coolant/oil pressure systems).

Again yesterday, I was traveling I-5 Northbound Milemarker 3 passing a truck crawling the shoulder. There was a disabled motorcycle(rider was no where in sight) on the shoulder. I warned the other truck then moved over to the fast lane only after several cars cleared, and the other driver missed the disabled motorcycle by a couple truck lengths. What is going to happen to a driver who hits a disable vehicle in the emergency breakdown lane? Is he going to be sighted for "Improper Lane Usage"?

BTW, most here will be happy to know that I drive Oregon Hwy 58 and US97 from Eugene to Weed as often as I can. One of the reasons is because of this issue of the lack of truck climbing lanes on I-5 in Southern Oregon.