Q: A Kent woman, who prefers to remain anonymous, says she and her husband don't see eye-to-eye on use of Highway 99's recently completed carpool lanes in the Federal Way area. Those lanes are outside lanes, and anyone can use them for right turns, such as turning into strip malls and other businesses or at intersections.

The problem, says she, is that when using the middle lane as a solo driver to travel south and then needing to move into the carpool lane for a right turn, she's encountered vehicles approaching fast from behind in the carpool lane. And that makes it hard for her to move into that lane. "This has happened several times," she said.

Such was the case a few days ago. "Whether the vehicle (in the carpool lane) was going over the speed limit, I do not know," she said, but on that occasion she missed her turn into a mall at South 272nd Street. "This was because I gunned my engine after changing lanes to keep ahead of the driver, and could not make the turn in time." Meanwhile, the other driver switched to the middle lane and continued south.

But here's her husband's take: He says drivers have the right to go faster in the carpool lane than traffic in the middle lane, and that should be expected when the middle lane is moving slower because of more traffic.

"I feel drivers in the carpool lane should expect others to move into the lane to make turns," she said, "and this expectation would result in their either driving slower or slowing down to allow mergers into their lane.

"I remarked that the right lane should have a slower speed posted for it, as this lane is now a dedicated and restricted-use lane. But my husband says you cannot do that. One speed for all."

Why can't an outside carpool lane in a commercial district be posted 5 to 10 miles slower? She also wants to know if she should risk moving into the carpool lane earlier, even when she's driving alone? Or should there be signs posted warning carpool drivers to anticipate others moving into the lane to make right turns?

A: For starters, the posted speed limit is indeed the speed, even for the carpool lane. There aren't different speed limits for different lanes of a road because it would be too confusing to drivers, and difficult, if not impossible, to enforce, says Leslie Forbis, the state transportation department's HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) operations engineer.

Drivers in the carpool lane should use caution and slow down when general-purpose lanes are heavily congested, Forbis said. And, too, carpool lane drivers should always be alert for vehicles merging into the carpool lane to make right turns.

State law has no maximum distance a driver can be in the carpool lane before making a right turn. But in the city of Federal Way, lone drivers can be ticketed for using the carpool lane to go through an intersection with a signal.

Other jurisdictions may have different interpretations of how long a lone driver can use a carpool lane, Forbis notes. As a general rule, she said, drivers should move into the carpool lane in enough time to slow down and safely make their right turn.

But keep in mind, she added, that drivers can be ticketed for unsafe driving even when they are traveling at the posted speed limit.