suicide lane

n. a center lane used for passing or turning on a three-lane road or highway. Subjects: English, Automobiles & Transportation, Slang

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Citations: 1938 Los Angeles Times (California) (June 19) “Junior Chamber Chooses Tulsa” (in Oakland) p. 10: The convention passed resolutions calling for standardization of traffic rules throughout the country and elimination of the third or “suicide lane” on highways. 1948 Modesto Bee (California) (Apr. 27) “Hits Three Lane Road”: Are we going to stand back and let the state build a three lane highway out of Maze Road with our money just to kill people? It will be only a suicide lane.…Who wants a three lane highway in these fast driving days? 1957 Independent Star-News (Pasadena, California) (Dec. 8) p. Auto Section-4: If a driver coming toward you in the other inside lane has to come to a sudden stop, his throwing his weight on the brake pedal will tend to make him twist his steering wheel so that his car veers into your lane. That’s what can make the inside lane on a busy highway the “suicide lane.” 1966 Daily Chronicle (Centralia-Chehalis, Washington) (Mar. 23) “Highway Couplet Unveiled” p. 1: Johnson suggest that a three-lane highway with a “holding-lane” be constructed.…Kozlovski commented on the three-lane road with passing lane as a dangerous situation that has been nicknamed elsewhere as “suicide lane.” 1986 David K. Secrest Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia) (Dec. 5) “Businesses gearing up to fight DOT plan for Memorial Drive median” p. A/01: The project plans U-turns through median cuts at seven major intersections to replace the existing middle “suicide lane.” 1988 Jackie Walker @ Palm Harbor St. Petersburg Times (Florida) (Sept. 14) “Letters” p. 2: It looks as though our Department of Transportation made a poor decision when it added a turning (or suicide) lane on Alternate 19 between State Road 584 and Alderman Road in Palm Harbor. At any given time you can see it being used as a passing lane for drivers in a hurry. 2007 Abby Brunks Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia) (Sept. 17) “Fayette.Talk: The ‘suicide lane’”: If you happen to be one of those drivers that tools down Ga. 85 in the center of Fayetteville, there is a lane smack in the middle of the road I refer to as “the suicide lane.”…I believe its purpose is to provide motorists in both directions a lane in which to make a left turn or right turn, depending on which direction you are driving and by doing so, helping the flow of traffic.

Posted 18 Sep 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

A suicide lane is not a passing lane. It’s a turning lane. Passing is specifically forbidden.

by Marilyn 07 Oct 07, 0310 GMT

Marilyn, it depends where you live. Some places it’s for passing, some it’s for turning, some for both. I will add “turning” to the definition, though.

by Grant Barrett 07 Oct 07, 0315 GMT

In a country where sensible and rational people live (such as Canada) the centre [Canadian spelling] lane is strictly for left turns only regardless which direction you are driving. It is not for right turn as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicates.

by Kal Biro 17 Oct 07, 0544 GMT

In Sacramento the “suicide lane” is the center lane created for turning either left or right, but is frequently used by aggressive drivers to pass other cars, especially to get through a stop light before it turns.

by Nancy 23 Oct 07, 0353 GMT

In Florida a suicide lane is a highway’s “always green” outer third lane used to bypass left turn only red lights. Drivers with poor lane control entering a “suicide” intersection risk smashup with high-speed traffic. Center turn lanes, in wide use for many years here, are not referred to as suicide lanes.

by Julie 01 Mar 09, 0737 GMT