**You don’t need to go faster. Move right when it’s safe and let faster traffic pass.** That’s how you can follow the speed limit and the DMV’s advice about lane use.

“Fast lane” is an informal name for the leftmost regular traffic lane. California’s DMV describes it as the **passing lane**: use it to overtake other vehicles, then return to your original lane when safe. “Fast” refers to your speed relative to nearby traffic. Driving 65 mph while passing someone doing 55 fits that purpose. Cruising at 65 alongside everyone else leaves the passing lane occupied. [California DMV: Navigating the Roads](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-handbook/navigating-the-roads/)

The speed limit still applies in that lane. On a freeway with a 65-mph maximum, driving 75 can earn a speeding citation even if surrounding drivers are doing 75. Seeing drivers go unpunished doesn’t establish a legal allowance. The CHP’s enforcement manual explicitly provides for citations above the freeway maximum. [CHP Highway Enforcement Manual, pp. 3-3–3-4](https://www.chp.ca.gov/siteassets/policy/hpm/hpm-100.68/hpm-100.68-ch-3_sanitized.pdf)

**There is a legal nuance concerning your situation:** the CHP’s manual says vehicles traveling at or above the 55/65/70-mph maximum are **not violating Vehicle Code §21654**, the slower-traffic-keep-right rule. So claiming that you automatically violated that section by driving at the maximum in the left lane would conflict with CHP guidance. The DMV nevertheless advises moving right when a driver behind you wants to go faster. [CHP manual, p. 3-6](https://www.chp.ca.gov/siteassets/policy/hpm/hpm-100.68/hpm-100.68-ch-3_sanitized.pdf), [DMV lane-use advice](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-handbook/laws-and-rules-of-the-road-cont1/)

The officer’s honk may have meant “let me pass”; we can’t determine their intent from the account. Moving right was a sensible response. Signal, check your mirrors and blind spot, and wait for a safe gap. You can continue driving at the speed limit in the lane to your right.