Left-lane Slowpokes Drive you Crazy?

[Lzen]

http://discover.aaa.com/default.aspx...iving/Monthly&


The words ‘move over’ – even if readable in the rearview mirror – may not mean much to them, but a ticket might. Some states are cracking down. In these days of longer commutes and simmering tempers, nothing seems to set off already-testy motorists like the left-lane camper – the guy/gal who drives in the passing lane and bars faster drivers from easily passing. Web sites have cropped up to educate other drivers, or to vent. There’s a (somewhat painful) YouTube song called “Keep Right.”



Even bigwigs get frustrated. Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, weary of having his limo slowed down by such left-lane pokies, ordered an aid to have the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission install signs a few years ago reading “Keep Right, Pass Left. It’s the Law.” And now some states are cracking down on left-lane campers, both to keep traffic moving and to tamp down the road rage that goes from zero – to – 60 faster than ever before. That’s not just a pretext. Last year, a driver was arrested on Interstate 79 outside Pittsburgh after allegedly brandishing a semiautomatic pistol at a driver who was on his tail.



You could get a Ticket ~ Some states didn’t allow left-lane lingering but didn’t enforce the law. Now they are. At the start of last summer, the Washington State Patrol began pulling people over for violating the state’s left-lane law, which prohibits “impeding the flow of other traffic.” This is a real big hot-button topic for the public at large right now; there’ve been a lot of complaints from drivers who’ve had to deal with left-lane campers. So far authorities have been gentle with the $124 ticket; the drivers stopped were given verbal warnings. Last year, news outlets reported that Oklahoma was bolstering enforcement of its left-lane law as well.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports that they deal with the left-lane drivers going too slowly weekly; they’ve issued more warnings than tickets. Insurers haven’t gotten aggressive yet; but this kind of ticket has the potential to raise rates. Any moving violation that applies points to a driver’s record could affect that driver’s car insurance rates. And because left-lane driving would be considered as such an infraction, this would be taken into account when reviewing a driver’s policy.



What’s the law in your state? The laws vary widely. A few states – for instance, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey – permit use of the left lane only for passing or turning left. Georgia, Colorado and Louisiana follow the Uniform Vehicle Code, requiring drivers to keep right if they’re going slower than the speed of traffic. Wyoming prohibits blocking the far left lane of a highway “for a prolonged period,” though it adds that the traffic should be “at a lawful rate of speed.” In Arkansas and South Dakota, vehicles don’t have to stay right. Alaska, Maryland, North Carolina and Ohio vehicles can drive in the left lane so long as they’re moving at the speed limit.



Florida is trying to join in: Lawmakers reintroduced a Road Rage Reduction Act in 2008, requiring motorists to stay out of the left lane on interstate highways except when passing. It passed the legislature in 2005 but was vetoed by Gov. Jeb Bush, who questioned whether it was based on sound research.



It’s no wonder drivers can be confused and often frustrated.
One of my biggest Pet Peeves – One of those exasperated drivers in your rearview mirror might be Eli Dozier. “That’s one of my biggest pet peeves in the world, is when people stay in the left lane. They’re not passing, they’ve got people behind them, trying to go around, and they just cruise,” says Dozier, 31, and a stay-at-home dad. “It’s probably the most uncourteous thing you can do,” he says, adding that it’s “obviously” unsafe. “I’m a fast driver,” Dozier allows. “But if I’m not passing, I don’t use that left lane at all.” So what’s a frustrated motorist to do?



Dozier heard in a chat room about some windshield decals that said “Slower Traffic,” with an arrow pointing to the right-hand lane, printed backward in large letters for reading in a rearview mirror. “And so I immediately ordered one. I jumped on it.” He loves the thing. “Most people, its just inattentiveness” that keeps them in the passing lane, Dozier says. “Most people, when you pass them, they’ll give you a wave, they’re thankful” for the reminder.



At lease, he says, women tend to be. Men sometimes take Dozier’s sticker as an affront and will retaliate by slowing down, he says. There have been some middle fingers, some choice words. And then, Dozier says, “I have been known to show them how good the back of my car looks.” At very close range. Which only exacerbates the situation. Overall, through, both he and his wife are delighted with the results, he says. They recently bought her a Dodge Ram 1500 with a quad cab and they’ve ordered a decal like his for it.



Pennsylvania authorities also find that reminders do work. “Anecdotally,” says Carl DeFebo of the Turnpike Authority, “you do see a lot less people . . . enjoying the weather” in the passing lane since 25 signs went up on the turnpike in recent years. It probably helps that “sometimes our police will actually enforce this,” DeFebo adds, handing out warnings or tickets that add up to $108.



Courtesy Counts – The creator of those stickers, J.A. Tosti, is also director and founder of Left Lane Drivers of America. “What we’re seeking to do is raise awareness,” he explains. Tosti said aggression only aggravates other drivers. For him, response to the decal on his car has always been positive and pleasant – in large part because he is a patient, non-tailgating driver. “It’s amazing how effective the stickers are,” he says. “On one trip from Portland to Seattle, I felt at time like I was sweeping the left lane with a broom.” A faster, more courteous – well-swept – highway? Sounds like something most folks could live with.



Defending the driving – But not everyone agrees with those who tell them to get out of the way. “The left lane is for passing . . . not a license to speed till you kill someone,” wrote a contributor to Motor Trend’s blog. “Grow up. If I’m in the left lane doing 65 while the speed limit’s 80, I’ll move over. But if I’m doing the speed limit, and someone decides he’s Mario Andretti … he/she can go around me and break the law further up the highway.”



Washington state law says it is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic. There is a misunderstanding, a lot of people think that if they’re going at or near the speed limit they don’t have to get out of the lane. And the left-lane driving debate goes on.

[pr_capone]

My horn went out and I'm getting ready to replace it. 118db should be enough to get hold o someone's attention in the left (fast) lane that is keeping pace with traffic.

[loochy]

What I hate even worse than the slow drivers are the drivers that get in the left lane and proceed to go EXACTLY THE SAME SPEED AS THE VEHICLE IN THE LANE BESIDE IT. Nobody can pass at all. At least with the slow cars you can get an opening to go around.

[RockChalk]

Anyone who drives a Prius fits into this "left-lane slowpoke" category

[Frazod]

People who drive slow in the fast lane need TO ****ING DIE.

[pr_capone]

Originally Posted by frazod

People who drive slow in the fast lane need TO ****ING DIE.

or at the very least deported

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by pr_capone

or at the very least deported

No. THEY NEED TO DIE.

The last ticket I got was because of one of these pricks. For miles this cheesehead one who sucks the penis stayed right next to the car in the right lane. I tapped the brights, honked, nothing worked. Eventually I just left the brights on, and the ****er still didn't move. Finally the guy in the right lane slowed up a bit (I'm sure he thought the guy was a dick too) and I gunned it and passed the offending car on the right. Then, of course, he speeds up, so I speed up - and as my luck would have it, just as I passed him I got nailed by a Wisconsin cop. 91 in a 65, $300 ticket. Have I ever mentioned that I hate Wisconsin and every one who sucks the penis in it?

I regret not writing the guy's plate number down, but it's probably just as well. I would have hunted him down.

[Demonpenz]

I try to drive as cautious as I can, I try to give room for aggresive drivers. I forget what it is like to drive with someone who is an aggresive driver. It is scary as hell.

[L.A. Chieffan]

I usually drive fast but if some loser is up my ass they can expect me to pace the car next to me

[loochy]

Originally Posted by frazod

No. THEY NEED TO DIE.

The last ticket I got was because of one of these pricks. For miles this cheesehead one who sucks the penis stayed right next to the car in the right lane. I tapped the brights, honked, nothing worked. Eventually I just left the brights on, and the ****er still didn't move. Finally the guy in the right lane slowed up a bit (I'm sure he thought the guy was a dick too) and I gunned it and passed the offending car on the right. Then, of course, he speeds up, so I speed up - and as my luck would have it, just as I passed him I got nailed by a Wisconsin cop. 91 in a 65, $300 ticket. Have I ever mentioned that I hate Wisconsin and every one who sucks the penis in it?

I regret not writing the guy's plate number down, but it's probably just as well. I would have hunted him down.

Well if someone was honking and carrying on like that, I'd slow down and speed up on purpose too.

[L.A. Chieffan]

Originally Posted by loochy

Well if someone was honking and carrying on like that, I'd slow down and speed up on purpose too.

Indeed 91 is too fast

[Hays]

Truck drivers are just as bad, they try to pass but can never get around the other truck.

[Predarat]

Left Lane slowpokes make me want to breach the putting out a bowl of antifreeze and inject it straight into thier system.

That is all.

[L.A. Chieffan]

When I'm driving around town I always cruise especially if I'm coming up to a light. People freak and speed up around me and then have to slam their breaks at the red while I lulz on by them.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by loochy

Well if someone was honking and carrying on like that, I'd slow down and speed up on purpose too.

I did that after several minutes. It's not like I rode up on his ass at 90 MPH with the horn blaring.

Generally, people driving slow in the left lane are just, to coin a John Stossel phrase, obliviots. They're just morons, not deliberately ****ing with you. As soon as they realize you're behind them, 95% will (eventually) move over into the other lane.

But 5% are just ****ing evil scumbags, and they're camping in the left lane deliberately. I would make it a death penalty offense, and I'm not ****ing kidding.