At a freeway on-ramp, is it illegal to merge early by driving across the white lines before the lanes merge, or is it just discouraged? If it’s illegal, what law would you be breaking?

You won’t find any law in the Revised Code of Washington called, “Driving across the white lines to make an early merge.” However, that doesn’t make it legal. That’s not my opinion; it’s the opinion of the judges in the Washington Court of Appeals, Division III. Here’s the story of the State of Washington v. Jena Brooks.

While merging onto the freeway, Jena drove across the “neutral area”. That’s the area marked by wide white lines that form a long triangle, separating the freeway through lanes from the onramp. Unlucky for her, a state trooper was approaching on the freeway. He watched her drive across the

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