A vehicle shall not be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking
and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless the left side is clearly
visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit the overtaking
and passing to be completely made without interfering with the safe operation of a vehicle
approaching from the opposite direction or a vehicle overtaken. The overtaking vehicle shall
return to the right-hand side of the roadway before coming within three hundred feet of
a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction when traveling on a roadway having a
legal speed limit in excess of thirty miles per hour, and the overtaking vehicle shall return
to the right-hand side of the roadway before coming within one hundred feet of a vehicle
approaching from the opposite direction when traveling on a roadway having a legal speed
limit of thirty miles per hour or less.
[C39, §5024.07; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.303]
83 Acts, ch 125, §4
Referred to in §321.482A, 805.8A(6)(h)
For applicable scheduled fine, see §805.8A, subsection 6
Additional penalties for violations causing serious injury or death, see §321.482A
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
8
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1950–2024 · leading case:
France v. Benter, 128 N.W.2d 268 (Iowa 1964).
France v. Benter, 128 N.W.2d 268 (Iowa 1964).
· cites it 7× “" Also material is section 321.303, which we quote: "No vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless such left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a…”
Needles v. Kelley, 156 N.W.2d 276 (Iowa 1968).
· cites it 8× “Defendant was arrested by a highway patrolman and on August 17, 1966 defendant was convicted in justice court in Webster City of improper passing (section 321.303). The record of this conviction was received by the Department of Public Safety on August 26, 1966.”
State v. Rivera, 149 N.W.2d 127 (Iowa 1967).
· cites it 4× “304 the legislature has provided in section 321.303 that: “No vehicle shall be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless such left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic…”
Snook v. Long, 42 N.W.2d 76 (Iowa 1950).
· cites it 2× “He was entitled to assume that anyone approaching him from the opposite direction would observe the law (in this instance, section 321.303, Code of 1946) which prohibits one from passing another car on the left unless it can be done without interference with cars approaching…”
Winter v. Moore, 121 N.W.2d 82 (Iowa 1963).
· cites it 2× “” Section 321.303, Codes, 1958, 1962, provides: “Limitations on overtaking on the left.”
Heisdorffer v. Hammes, 42 N.W.2d 379 (Iowa 1950).
· cites it 2× “Appellee states that due to faulty lights on appellant’s car when he first saw it he was too close to stop and pulled to the left, but he does not say that he was not attempting to pass it. By the answer to special interrogatory No.”
Ron Myers v. City of Cedar Falls (Iowa 2024).
· cites it 2× “, Iowa Code § 321.303 (prohibiting drivers from passing vehicles going the same direction “unless the left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic”); Iowa Code § 321.”
Ron Myers v. City of Cedar Falls (Iowa 2024).
· cites it 2× “, Iowa Code § 321.303 (prohibiting drivers from passing vehicles going the same direction “unless the left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic”); Iowa Code § 321.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.