Left-lane driving gets on our nerves

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums Beth Padgett • Movie brings message of hope and forgiveness (03/14/04) • Keep taxes and power in local hands (03/07/04) • Left-lane driving gets on our nerves (02/22/04) • At least Jackson's 'reveal' has us talking (02/07/04) • Our state's colleges can't be everything to everybody (01/18/04)

What was your first clue? Well, maybe the dozen or so letters to the editor that we've run over the past few months where you've been called everything from "control freaks" to slowpokes who are a road hazard.

And your second clue? Well, a Senate committee is considering a bill designed to punish you for blocking traffic, causing road rage and in general being a real pain in the neck to other drivers.

"The paramount consideration is safety," state Sen. Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, told Greenville News reporter Richard Walton. The bill he's talking about would allow state troopers to ticket left-lane drivers under certain circumstances. Drivers who camp out in the left lane could face fines ranging from $75 to $150.

And those drivers disgustingly fond of the left lane do more than clog up our interstates. They cause a disproportionate share of road rage.

Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, a co-sponsor of the bill, said these left-lane drivers cause accidents and frustration out on our highways, partly because those offending drivers are forcing people to pass them in the right lane. "It's the No. 1 cause of road rage in South Carolina," he said.

The bill introduced in the Senate last month boldly states, "A vehicle may not be driven in the left lane of an interstate highway except when overtaking and passing another vehicle."

Then the exceptions come into play. The new state law wouldn't apply: (1) when no other vehicle is directly behind the vehicle in the left lane, (2) when traffic conditions and congestion make it impractical to drive in the right lane, (3) when snow and other inclement weather conditions make it necessary to drive in the left lane, (4) when obstructions or hazards exist in the right lane or (5) when because of highway design, a vehicle must be in the left lane to exit. The bill also wouldn't apply to law enforcement vehicles, ambulances or other vehicles carrying out their official duties.

The exceptions make it clear this bill relies heavily on subjective factors that would make it exceptionally difficult to enforce. It's comparatively easy to tell when someone's speeding or not wearing a seat belt.

But in fairness to the senators pushing this bill, they're taking on a problem that has many of their constituents fighting mad.

A Piedmont man wrote to us in November, "If people think it's their God-given right to cruise in the left lane and block the passing lane on a highway, please take note. South Carolina has a law against this."

To which another Greenville man added last month, "I am on the road in the Upstate five days a week, and the abuse of the left lane, the passing lane, drives me crazy." He claimed there is a "nationwide traffic law" prohibiting such behavior.

A Clemson man noted that when he learned to drive in the 1960s, "the left lane was for passing and the other lanes were for slower traffic." He criticized the state for not making people aware of the danger they cause when they drive "for miles with traffic stacked behind them."

But some left-lane lovers have pointed out that the S.C. Driver's Manual doesn't call the left lane a "passing lane." And they've defended people driving forever in the left lane if they're doing the speed limit.

Left-lane hogs are a problem on our highways, although I fear they're not the only one.

Equally dangerous are the drivers who refuse to shift from the right to the left lane when someone's trying to merge onto the interstate. And for many drivers, it's obvious the posted speed limit is just a suggestion, nothing more really.

The proposed bill would serve two useful purposes: It would codify what some drivers already think is a law, and it might educate some drivers about a dangerous habit. But that's about it.

If you're on our highways a lot, you know a lot of laws aren't being enforced by a very thin blue line. And you'll know courtesy is not a strong point for many drivers.

Write to Beth Padgett, editorial page editor, at bpadgett@greenvillenews.com.