Left-lane laggers better learn to get lead out



Law enforcement is cracking down on left-lane laggers.

An article on MSN’s MoneyCentral reports that the days of slow drivers hogging the left lane of multi-lane highways could be over. And if the law doesn’t move them to the right, irate bumper-huggers might.

There are even Web sites dedicated to reserving the left as the fast lane or for passing only. In fact, that’s the law in many states. The story claims that Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell became so disgusted when his limo was slowed by port-side pokies that he ordered the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to install signs that read “Keep Right, Pass Left. It’s the Law.”

Washington State has a $124 fine for hogging the left lane, although troopers mostly give warnings. “This is a real big hot-button topic for the public at large right now,” Trooper Cliff Pratt is quoted. “A lot of people think that if they’re going at or near the speed limit that they don’t have to get out of the lane.”

Indeed, with varying left-lane laws across the land, drivers are often confused as to what’s a legal left lane excursion and what’s not. Some states — such as Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey — allow only passing or turning left.

Others, like Georgia and Colorado, require drivers to keep right if they’re slower than the flow of traffic. My question is, how can they be slower if everyone else is following them?

In the Tar Heel State, vehicles are allowed in the left lane if they’re doing the speed limit.

My philosophy has always been to stay in the right lane as much as possible. I figure the cops are looking more at left-lane vehicles when they point their radar guns.

I once made the mistake of moving to the left lane when I saw a semi in my rearview mirror approaching my bumper at near-mach speed.

Thinking it was easier for my sedan to pull over to the left than for the big rig, I eased to the left and let the tractor-trailer whiz by on my right.

When the semi was cleared, I edged back into the right lane. Then, at the crest of a hill, the trucker hit his brakes and came back to me. When I got to where I could see over the hill, I observed a state trooper crossing the median to flag down both of us.

I got a ticket because the trooper thought I was tailgating the speeding truck. In actuality, I wasn’t going as fast as the semi when the trooper clocked it. Never mind that I was still well over the speed limit.

That taught me to stay in the right lane and keep within five miles per hour of the speed limit. The left lane is for passing farm tractors and scooter caravans. It’s certainly no place for the faint of heart.

Left-lane Sunday driving can lead to accidents, not to mention road rage. J.A. Tosti, founder of Left Lane Drivers of America, sells see-through decals that say “REVO EVOM,” translated by a slowpoke’s rearview mirror as “MOVE OVER.”

Tosti called the decals a “labor of love. ... On a trip from Portland to Seattle, I felt at times like I was sweeping the left lane with a broom.”

Just think of all the $124 fines Tosti prevented. But where was J.A. when I needed him?



Larry Penkava, who has written Now and Then since 1994, thanks D.C. for providing an idea ripe for the stealing.