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Slow Drivers - Move Over!
Grassroots campaign prods slowpokes out of left lanes
Enough with slow drivers in the left lane! “As traffic gets increasingly congested, it’s time for citizens to reclaim the left lane,” says J.A. Tosti, spokesman for Left Lane Drivers of America, a grassroots effort to get slower traffic to move right. “More and more these days, you find slow drivers in the left lane, causing no end of headache and frustration to those of us who have places to go and people to see.
Some of these offenders are timid and tentative, some are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them, and some are self-appointed ‘hall monitors’ regulating what they alone have determined to be proper driving speeds. Whatever be the case, it’s time for us to trumpet the message, ‘If you’re not a Left Lane Driver, get out of the left lane!’”
In order to actually help slower drivers move right, Left Lane Drivers of America offers copyrighted windshield decals which boldly and prominently display their unified sentiment in the offending driver’s rearview mirror. The decal, which reads “MOVE OVER” also has a large arrow showing them where to go.
The words and arrow display backwards on the windshield so that they read properly when seen in the mirror (go to www.leftlanedrivers.org to see picture). According to Tosti, “Although the message minces no words, the idea here is not to be rude or pushy but to offer slow drivers a gentle prod, reminding them of the need to either pick up the pace or make room for those who choose to drive a bit faster.”
In fact, slow drivers do need to move over. In many states, the left lane is supposed to be the passing lane and slower drivers can be cited for obstructing traffic. Those who stake out permanent positions for themselves in the left lane tend to provoke those wanting to drive faster, often giving them no other choice but the dangerous strategy of passing on the right in order to get ahead. Slow drivers can easily become slow moving safety hazards.
Bottom Line: Moving over is a matter of courtesy. It is a matter of safety. It is a matter of doing one's part to help traffic flow smoothly. And it is the law in many states: “Stay to the right except to pass”.
Left Lane Drivers of America is doing something positive to help improve traffic flow on today’s overcrowded, pressure-packed freeways. Their “Move Over” message has the potential of helping reduce instances of road rage, hazardous driving and untimely, often deadly accidents.
Website: www.leftlanedrivers.org