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.

[Shag]

Originally Posted by alnorth

If there's no one in the right lane, there's no reason why I should be the one who pulls over. I'm the one in front, there's a perfectly good, temporarily-(but not for long) empty right lane, let him slalom ski around.

That says it all. You're an inconsiderate, selfish asshole.

[Frazod]

Is anybody really surprised that alnorth is a discourteous prick?

To his credit, at least he owns it.

[kcchiefsus]

Originally Posted by alnorth

If there's no one in the right lane, there's no reason why I should be the one who pulls over. I'm the one in front, there's a perfectly good, temporarily-(but not for long) empty right lane, let him slalom ski around.

In this case I'm probably going to go around you, get back in front of you, and slam on the brakes. Don't like it? Tough shit.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by alnorth

You are wrong.

If I am GOING OVER THE EFFING SPEED LIMIT, then I am not slow.

Don't like it? Too damned bad.

If you are in the left lane, you want to go fast. If you are going significantly over the limit (where 1 mph is not significant), then you are going fast. If you want to drive some crazy unsafe speed, you have no more right to the left lane than I do. Want to pass me? OK, fine, I don't mind if you pass me, but I'm not going to shift left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right for hours.

The right lane is for people who go the speed limit or slower.

PERIOD.

You're wrong in many states, where left lane is specifically for PASSING. If you are not passing, then NO MATTER HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING, you are supposed to move over.

Thank God most in Mass don't drive the way you do. You're not the guy that gets to decide how fast people in the fast lane are supposed to go. It's the FAST lane, not the Alnorth lane.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Bump

now that I don't take any highways to work, it doesn't bother me much. But the new thing is, when everyone is stopped at a red light and you have people going straight on one side and people that want to go left on the other, and there is no green left turn arrow, those people turning left somehow think that they have the right away and just go left when the lights turn green and almost cause an accident because the people going straight know that they actually have the right of way. Drives me ****ing crazy, been seeing this a lot more lately.

This is the norm here in Massachusetts, to the point where drivers going straight wait a half-second to punch it in the expectation that the left-turn guy will punch it.

Once everyone learns to accept it, it's really not a bad "rule".

What drives me really crazy are idiots who get hung up in the middle of the intersection after the light has turned red because they HAD to try to squeze through before the light turned. Now the light has turned and they can't go because of the cars in front of them, AND THEY ARE BLOCKING THE CROSS-TRAFFIC.

Congratulations -- YOU are now single-handedly screwing up traffic for everybody at this intersection. Now when the cross-traffic goes they will be more likely to pull your dick move because they're all pissed off that they couldnt' make a light even though they were the fourth car in line because some A-hole screwed up the whole ball of wax.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Brock

Dumbass, it has nothing to do with whether you think people are driving too fast. It's that you're going to have people stacking up behind you because you don't do what common sense dictates and move the **** over. You are the hazard, not the people who you think are driving too fast.

Word.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by kcchiefsus

In this case I'm probably going to go around you, get back in front of you, and slam on the brakes. Don't like it? Tough shit.

I used to fight that urge and I've probably boxed a few of those jerks in behind slower cars when I was young.

A few years ago a couple of cops decided that they were going to control the speed between Omaha and Lincoln, they blocked both lanes and drove the speed limit. They backed up traffic for MILES, and both got in a lot trouble.

One of the only times I have had the cherry's lit up behind me was when I noticed a cop was coming up behind me and I slipped down to the speed limit and was stuck in the left lane. I slowed down to move over and he turned them off and drove on, lol. I guess nobody wants to do the speed limit in St Joe.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by alnorth

No, it is not. Not legally in most states, and not in practice. What you fervantly wish was so in your fever-dream fantasy-land, has no basis in reality.

Yes it is, and yes that includes most states. They don’t strictly enforce it but just wait because it is coming.

Originally Posted by alnorth

I don't see people driving 15-25 over hardly EVER go to the right when they speed ahead even if there's no visible car ahead for miles. They all stay in the left lane forever.

Then you’ve seen a bunch of dumbasses begging for a ticket. Few things get the attention of a trooper working traffic faster than when a left lane road hog goes flying down the road.
No I’m not an officer, I just work with the officers doing speed/traffic enforcement providing electronic solutions to help make their jobs easier.

[FishingRod]

In general I am opposed to the death penalty but, for slow drivers in the passing lane and whoever is responsible for Nancy Grace being on television, I am not only willing to make an exception I will personally peddle the stationary bike from Gilligan’s island to power the electric chair. I’m in pretty bad shape and it could take a very long time.

[chasedude]

Giving tickets to slow drivers in the fast lane is another addition for the raping for more revenue.

Don't get me wrong, those drivers piss me off, but there's nothing I can do until my chance comes to pass the ****ers.

[-King-]

I remember this was posted a few years back

[KCHawg]

Revised Statutes Missouri Chapter 304


2. The driver of a motor vehicle may overtake and pass to the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions:
(1) When the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn;
(2) Upon a city street with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width for two or more lines of vehicles in each direction;
(3) Upon a one-way street; (4) Upon any highway outside of a city with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width and clearly marked for four or more lines of traffic. The driver of a motor vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right only under the foregoing conditions when such movement may be made in safety. In no event shall such movement be made by driving off the paved or main traveled portion of the roadway. The provisions of this subsection shall not relieve the driver of a slow-moving vehicle from the duty to drive as closely as practicable to the right-hand edge of the roadway.

[seclark]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Given that I pass far, far, far, far, far more people than pass me...

that's cause you won't get out of the left lane.
go back to jersey, ya moron!

[Dayze]

Slowpokes are delicious. Not in a Jeffrey Dahmer way, mind you.

[frankotank]

Missouri drivers SUCK! inconsiderate reeruns! I hate you ALL! (oh...and you too alnorth! )
(why can't you just drive like me.....idiots....)