Can you park in the emergency lane to change drivers?
3 Answers
You cannot park in the emergency lane to change drivers. Below are precautions for highway driving: 1. Highway entrance: When entering a highway entrance, there are very strict requirements on the ramp. Overtaking, making U-turns, parking, and reversing are prohibited. 2. Merging into highway traffic: When merging from the ramp into highway traffic, yield to others, use turn signals, honk, observe, and confirm that it does not affect other vehicles before entering the highway lane. 3. Proper overtaking: On the highway, pay attention to the distance when overtaking and alert other vehicles. 4. Proper lane changing: Do not cross multiple lanes at once. Before changing lanes, carefully observe traffic conditions, use turn signals, and honk to alert other vehicles.
This is definitely not worth the risk! The emergency lane is a life-saving passage, relied upon by fire trucks and ambulances. Last week, I saw my cousin's dashcam footage where a car stopped on the emergency lane to switch drivers and got rear-ended, with the door completely dented. The correct approach is to tough it out until you reach a service area to switch drivers, even if you're exhausted after driving 20 kilometers. Traffic police are particularly strict about this—last year, my colleague got caught once, resulting in 6 points deducted and a 200 yuan fine, a total loss. Even stopping temporarily to relieve yourself isn't allowed, let alone switching drivers.
When changing drivers during a long-distance drive, you must pull into a service area. The width of the emergency lane is just over three meters, and passing trucks can easily swing your door open if you stop there. Once during a night drive, I saw a car parked in the emergency lane get its side mirror clipped by a passing truck—debris flew over ten meters. If you really can't continue, exit at the nearest off-ramp; it only takes a few extra minutes to loop back. Old Zhou from the highway maintenance team told me their tow trucks often get stuck behind illegally parked vehicles in the emergency lane, delaying critical rescue operations—a matter of life and death.
