Staying In Your Lane
N.J.S.A. 39:4-88 — the right lane normally, as nearly as practicable within a single lane, and trucks out of the far left lane
The right lane, normally. A vehicle is normally driven in the lane nearest the right hand edge or curb when it is available, except when overtaking another vehicle or preparing for a left turn.
Within a single lane. A vehicle is driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and is not moved from it until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety.
The standard the section writes is as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane, with any move out of the lane waiting until it can be made safely. How courts apply those words to a brief touch of a line is not on this page.
The center lane of 3. On a highway divided into 3 lanes, a vehicle is not driven in the center lane except when overtaking or passing, preparing for a left turn, or where the center lane is allocated to its direction and signposted.
Trucks and the far left lane. Where a roadway has three or more lanes in one direction, no truck of 10,000 pounds registered gross weight or over is driven in the farthest left hand lane, except as the section allows, including for up to one mile to prepare for a left turn or to enter or leave the roadway from the left lane.
Whether a particular drift over a line was a violation, or a reason for a stop, depends on the facts and on how the courts read the words as nearly as practicable, and is a question for a licensed New Jersey attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- N.J.S.A. 39:4-88 — Traffic on marked lanes
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Jersey attorney.