diff --git a/drivers/md/linear.c b/drivers/md/linear.c
index ea48429..1ceceb3 100644
--- a/drivers/md/linear.c
+++ b/drivers/md/linear.c
@@ -108,6 +108,9 @@
 	linear_conf_t *conf;
 	int i, ret = 0;
 
+	if (mddev_congested(mddev, bits))
+		return 1;
+
 	rcu_read_lock();
 	conf = rcu_dereference(mddev->private);