Quick answer: Passing on the right is not always illegal in Maryland. Under Md. Code, Transp. § 21-304, you may pass on the right in three situations: when the car ahead is turning or about to turn left; on a road wide enough for two or more lanes in your direction with no parked cars in the way; or on a one-way road wide enough for two or more lanes. In every case it must also be safe to do so. A conviction is a payable ticket with a preset fine of $110 and 1 point. What makes it worth fighting is what happens if there was a crash.
I’m David Waranch, and I’ve handled thousands of Maryland traffic cases, a lot of them written after an accident. Here is what the law actually says, what the ticket costs, and why paying it can be the most expensive thing you do all year.
When Can You Legally Pass on the Right in Maryland?
Most drivers assume passing on the right is simply against the law. It isn’t. It’s conditionally legal, and the conditions are narrow. Section 21-304(a) permits an overtake on the right only in these situations:
- When the vehicle you’re overtaking is making, or about to make, a left turn.
- On a highway with unobstructed pavement that is not occupied by parked vehicles and is wide enough for two or more lines of traffic moving lawfully in your direction.
- On any one-way roadway, if it is free from obstruction and wide enough for two or more lines of moving vehicles.
Then subsection (b) adds the condition that swallows everything else: you may pass on the right only if it is safe to do so. Even where one of the three situations applies, an unsafe move is still a violation. That single line is where most of these tickets actually live. An officer rarely disputes that there were two lanes; the fight is almost always whether the pass was safe.
Can You Use the Shoulder to Get Around a Left-Turning Car?
Yes, in one specific case, and this is the part that surprises people who have already been ticketed for it. The general rule in § 21-304(c)(1) is that you may not make the pass by driving off the roadway. Swinging onto the grass to get around someone is not allowed.
But subsection (c)(2) creates an express exception. You may drive outside the marked lane and onto the shoulder to overtake a vehicle that is making or about to make a left turn, as long as you can do it without leaving the paved surface. So the driver stuck behind someone waiting to turn left on a two-lane road, who eases onto a paved shoulder and goes around, has not automatically broken the law. The statute contemplates exactly that move.
Whether the shoulder was paved, whether the car ahead was actually signaling a left turn, and whether the move was safe are all questions of fact. They are exactly the questions worth raising instead of paying the ticket. One more carve-out worth knowing: § 21-304(c)(1) exempts operators of bicycles and motor scooters from the off-roadway prohibition entirely.
How Many Points and What Is the Fine for Passing on the Right?
On its own, not much. There is no separate line for passing on the right in the point schedule, so it drops into the catch-all: 1 point for a moving violation that is not otherwise listed and did not contribute to an accident. The District Court’s preset fine is $110, which makes it a payable ticket rather than a mandatory court date. If the same move contributed to a crash, both numbers rise.
| Scenario | Preset fine | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Unsafe passing to the right, § 21-304(b) — no accident | $110 | 1 |
| Driving off the roadway to pass, § 21-304(c) — no accident | $110 | 1 |
| Either, when it contributed to an accident | $150 | 3 |
One point is mild as a license problem. Maryland acts on your record at accumulated points: 3 points brings a warning letter, 5 triggers a driver improvement program, 8 means a suspension, and 12 means revocation. A single passing-on-the-right point rarely moves that needle by itself. It matters more when it lands on a record that already carries an unsafe lane change or another recent violation.
Don’t just pay the $110. Paying a preset Maryland fine is a guilty plea, and it puts a conviction on your driving record. Requesting a waiver hearing or a trial does not cost a filing fee and keeps a non-conviction on the table, including probation before judgment under Crim. Proc. § 6-220, which paying forecloses. Be aware the trade-off is real: at a hearing the judge can raise the fine, up to a maximum of $500. It is a choice worth making on purpose, not by mailing a check.
Why This Ticket Is Not Really About Points After a Crash
Passing-on-the-right citations very often get written after a collision. The officer arrives, works out roughly what happened, and cites the driver who went around. In Maryland, that citation can cost far more than the fine or the point ever will.
Maryland is one of the last states that still applies contributory negligence. If you are found even slightly at fault for an accident, you can be barred from recovering anything for your injuries. Not reduced. Barred. So a conviction for an unlawful pass on the right, entered because you paid a $110 ticket without a second thought, can be handed to the other side’s insurer as proof that you were negligent, and it can end your injury claim. I have watched people pay a small citation and destroy a large claim in the same afternoon, never realizing the two were connected.
If your citation came out of a collision and you were hurt, do not pay it. Not because of the point, but because of what the paid ticket becomes later. This is the same trap that catches people who get a traffic ticket after a Maryland car accident and treat the two as separate problems. They are not.
How Is a Passing-on-the-Right Ticket Defended?
These cases turn on facts the officer often did not see clearly, and the burden is on the State to prove them. Was the car ahead actually signaling or positioned to turn left? Was the shoulder paved for the whole move? Was there genuinely room for two lines of traffic in your direction? And was the pass really unsafe, or just unusual? Each of those is a live question a prosecutor has to establish, and each is a place a charge can be reduced or dropped.
For most of these tickets, your lawyer can appear in court without you, so an out-of-town driver does not have to take a day off to come back to Maryland. If you want the broader picture of how I defend Maryland traffic charges, or you want to see where this offense sits among the others, start with the Maryland moving violations guide. When a collision is involved, call before you do anything with that citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not always. Transp. § 21-304 permits it in three situations: when the car ahead is turning or about to turn left, on a road wide enough for two or more lanes in your direction, or on a one-way road wide enough for two or more lanes. In each case the pass must also be safe. Outside those situations it is a violation.
Yes. Section 21-304(c)(2) lets you leave the marked lane and use the shoulder to pass a vehicle making or about to make a left turn, as long as you stay on the paved surface. Drop a wheel onto the dirt or grass and you lose the exception.
The preset fine is $110 and it carries 1 point, because it falls into the catch-all for moving violations not specifically listed. If the move contributed to an accident, the fine is $150 and it is 3 points. Paying the preset is a guilty plea, so if a crash was involved you should not simply pay it.
Law Offices of David R. Waranch — 301-563-9575 · toll-free 1-877-566-2408. Hablamos Español.
Last updated: August 2026. Statutory references: Md. Code, Transp. § 21-304 (passing to the right), § 16-402 (point assessments); Crim. Proc. § 6-220 (probation before judgment). This page is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.