From MSN.com:

Left-lane slowpokes drive you crazy?

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.

By Christopher Solomon
In these days of longer commutes and simmering tempers, nothing seems to set off already-testy motorists like the left-lane camper -- the guy or 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 aide 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 the 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 a real big hot-button topic for the public at large right now," says Trooper Cliff Pratt. "We've had 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.

"We deal with it weekly," Lt. George Brown, supervisor of public affairs for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said of left-lane drivers going too slowly. He's issued more warnings than tickets.

Insurers haven't gotten aggressive yet, either, 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," says Susan Gallik Rouser, a spokeswoman for Progressive. "And because left-lane driving would be considered as such an infraction, we would take that into account when renewing a driver's policy."

What's the law in your state?
The laws vary widely, according to John Carr, who works for a software company in the Boston area and who compiled a list of the rules in each state after taking an interest in the issue:

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.

In 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 this year, 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 then-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, it's 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.
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Warren

 

UGH... left lane slowpokes are one of my biggest pet peeves. Nothing gives me road rage more.

 

 

I love the idea but it seems like it'll be hard to enforce. If a guy is doing the speed limit its going to be hard to justify giving a $125 ticket.

 

I give left lane pokes about 5-10 seconds to move over then I move closer, after 10 more seconds i turn my brights on (night or day). Florida also has a ton of immigrants who are culturally stupid, but common sense dictates that one would inquire as to why cars/drivers in the left lane get agitated with left lane slow pokes. The fundamental problem is there are too many stupid people on the road that do not pay attention. I can't tell you how many times i see some idiot blabbing on her phone while holding up the left lane. I honk at those people. I am still trying to figure out why women can't stop talking on their cell phones for any large part of a normal day.

 

one thing i've noticed works really well at getting people out of the left lane. i keep my lights on when i'm doing highway driving during the day. its hard to ignore our s2k headlights in your rearview, and i can tell a huge difference in people actually *noticing me* and getting out of the way. the main problem, as others have said, is most people when they're driving long distances on the highway pay 0 attention to what is going on around them. if you find an effective way to let them know you're there (without being too obnoxious about it) then they'll likely get out of the way. the headlights thing works for that.

i never honk, tailgate, or flash brights. i personally think 90% of the time that will only make people LESS likely to move over - if you do that shit to me, i'm sure as hell slowing down. then again i don't camp out in the left lane...

 

oh god. this is my absolute biggest pet peeve. i have an hour commute to and from work so i run into plenty of these people. i'll admit that i drive fast, but i don't think i drive like an asshole. i stay in the right lanes when they are open and i'm not passing. i hate those idiots that have no clue they are even holding you up. MOVE OVER!!! i'm hesitant to honk of flash, but i do get close enough to them that most people realize and move over thankfully.

enforcing this law more often would be fantastic. i really don't think these people deserve a ticket, but law enforcment needs to do something to educate people more about this. if it's pulling people over, fine.

 

I usually turn on my headlights to try and get their attention to move over. Either that or move left and/or right a few times to "look around them" and hopefully catch their eye. However, I will often switch to flashing my brights or even honking if they stay there for miles on end.

Coming back from Houston last week, I had a person in the left lane doing 50 in a 70 zone who would speed up whenever someone tried to get by them. A few finally got around them and they gave up but it was pretty frustrating to sit there for miles while they backed traffic up for no good reason.

 

i had someone pulling that speed up slow down crap in a pickup truck... i eventually got a big enough opening on the right and downshifted+hammered it. when i got around him and looked at my speedo i was a lil shocked...

 

people are idiots......

i sometimes get pissed if someone is in my way until i realize that maybe i am going 85 and they are going 75..... so i am speeding more than they are so i usually try to realize that I am being pushy..... but people going under the speed limit in the "passing" lane...they be ignorant...you ignorant.... fo'