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Florida's Road Rage Bill (rant)

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  • Florida's Road Rage Bill (rant)

    Lately here in Florida, the discussion has been about the state's proposed Road Rage Bill. This isn't directed at those that are involved in road rage as one might think, but is aimed at those contributing to it. The bill proposes legislature making it an offense to hog the left lane on 4 lane and greater highways. Driver's should only use the left lane to pass when overtaking another vehicle or if no other vehicle is coming up behind you. There are a few other exceptions too. The idea is to try an prevent some of the right lane passing and weaving in and out that people do trying to get around the left lane hogs.

    When I moved to this state, I was appauled at how many people hog the left hand lane for no reason. In many other states, there are road information signs that state "slower moving vehicles, keep right." A pretty good idea. Why in this state it has never been this way is a mystery. Now usually I stay out of topics like politics or religion, but I have to speak up on this topic. I'm not decidedly for or against the idea, it just seems like good common sense to me. What really has me steamed is the letters that some people are submitting to the newspapers in regards to this topic. Letters with quotes like "If I'm in the left lane doing 5 mph over the speed limit and somone want to pass me, I'm not getting out of the way... period." or...... " Why not ticket the speeders instead of harassing those that obey the law?". Here's another one: "It is my right to drive in whichever lane I please, I'm not moving out of the way for anyone."

    What it boils down to folks, is common courtesy. The same kind of courtesy that involves not taking 50 items at the grocery store though the 10 item only express checkout line because you just don't give a crap. The same kind of courtesy as letting a mother and child take your seat on the bus when you see that they are worn out and could use a break. The same kind of courtesy about letting someone behind you in line at a fast food restarant place their order ahead of you because you haven't decided on what you want yet. By not doing these things are you breaking the law? No..... you're just being a selfish !@#$ who cares little for anyone else except yourself. It's no wonder why Florida has so many problems with folks like this. I log an incredible amount of miles in a year and there is not a day that goes by that on my way to work I don't see folks traveling 10-15 mph under the speed limit all bunched up in the left lane and believe me, they aren't getting out of that lane for anything. Around my area, a 6 lane divided highway, the left lane handles 70% of the traffic and is pretty slow, the middle gets 20% and is a little quicker,the right lane (the supposed slow lane) is hardly used. Why the "slower traffic keep right" makes these left lane turtles indignant is a mystery. Folks just don't have any common courtesy anymore and to be so bad as to write those kinds of letters to the editor of a newspaper proves that the gene pool needs cleansing.

    Sorry to take up so much space over a non f-body topic, but more people should be aware of the true stumbling blocks in society..... people's attitude toward each other. Is it really going to hurt you to step aside to let someone though? What if a paniced housewife is driving her wounded husband who is lying down in the back seat, to the hospital because it would take less time than to call an ambulance? If you have the attitude that "I'm not getting out of the way for anyone... it's my right", It's no wonder there are so many cases of road rage each year. Two wrongs don't make a right, but allowing someone to go by you is still allowing you to be in control of the situation, you don't have to try to control others like you are a self appointed keeper of the speed limit. It's much safer and more peaceful to just stay out of other people's way. Of course there are folks that will disagree, that's fine. If you disagree, please just disagree and don't try to force others to obey your will. And for God's sake, don't write letters to the editor that show your extreme lack of courtesy and ignorance.



    "stepping off my soapbox and walking away, shaking my head in utter disbelief" Good day, Ya'll !

  • #2
    We've had a similar law here in Texas for some time now. They posted big signs on the dividing median on all the major highways that said "Left lane for passing only." It is not really strictly enforced that I am aware of, otr at least I've never heard of anyone actually getting a ticket for sleeping in the left lane.

    Originally posted by Joe1320
    Why the "slower traffic keep right" makes these left lane turtles indignant is a mystery. Folks just don't have any common courtesy anymore and to be so bad as to write those kinds of letters to the editor of a newspaper proves that the gene pool needs cleansing.
    It is a little like the "Don't look down" theory. Maybe if we just use reverse psychology on these boneheads and just state that the left lane is the slow lane. Respect, compassion, and just overall regard for others is rapidly diminshing.

    You know how many times I have come up on a left lane slug, and I instantly imagine myself utilizing a little bump draft or even better a bump and run technique. Then reality soaks back in, and you have to sort in behind those heathens. Well that is unless there is an opening in the right lane.

    BTW here is an interesting site with the various current state laws on this:

    www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

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    • #3
      Here in San Antonio, we always hear something about road-rage happening. That's why I like having a Z28. If someone driving around me goes psycho, I can push the small pedal to the right of the brake and they go away! Works like a charm . . . .
      Darrin C
      '97 Z28 LT1 157K (((S O L D ))) A4, C/I Cold Air Induction, Flomaster Exhaust, SLP Fan Control Mod, Eibach Springs w/1" Drop, Racing Dynamics Shock Tower Brace, Lakewood LCA's.
      07 Ford F150 - Daily Driver. I went from f-body to f-series. I think I'm out of my f'in mind.....

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      • #4
        Here in Canada it has been law since I don’t know when to only use the left lane as passing. Here in Alberta we have High way 2 going south to Calgary from Edmonton. I can count on one hand the amount of times I have come upon a person in the left lane going slow. Everyone stays right. Most of the time when you catch someone in the left lane its because they were day dreaming. In fact the highway is one of the safest highways on North America, and the RCMP do not actively patrol it.
        highway safety technologies

        Eric W.

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        • #5
          Believe me, I have flashbacks to "World's Scariest Police Videos" when they pull the PIT (or whatever it's called at speed) on people and they go circling off the road like a tornado. But I'll never do that. I get sick of it, people hogging up lanes and they can see people piling up behind them. But at least when it's cars you can get around them in less than a minute. What I hate are the trucks. It's like it's "Who's 18 wheeler with 80,000#'s in the trailer can make it up this hill first" day around here. 50 MPH in the right lane, 50.1 in the left lane (and I'm not kidding either). You can see traffic start backing up at least 20 deep behind them on both sides.

          I'm with you though, people have lost common courtesy. I ride the left lane hard, but when people come up behind me I move over. The only exception is if I'm about to pass somebody, then I'll speed up some so the car behind me doesn't have to slow down so much. Now if they take it upon themselves to floor it, zoom around me then around the car I'm about to pass, then that's their problem. But I'm not going to change lanes and slow down 10 MPH just because you can't wait 10 seconds for me to complete my pass.

          Luckily for me, I ride my bike a good bit. So when I come up on idiots playing "who can get the most cars behind them", I just split between them. Of course it's not legal in Alabama like it is in California, but dadgummit it oughta be
          "No, officer, that bottle is my onboard Halon system"

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          • #6
            I used to travel regularly from wisconsin to florida, you could almost tell exactly where the florida state line beings coming in from georgia. In every single state up and down I-75 and I-65 and I-95 if I'm traveling in the left lane with my lights on and I come upon a slower moving vehicle they almost suredly move to the right lane. In florida on the other hand, it's as if the left lane is the slow lane.

            Here in Naples up to Sarasota I-75 is two lane and it is a constant struggle to even sometimes go the speed limit, regardless of how many "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs are posted. In fact, north of sarasota when I-75 turns from 2 lanes into 3, I travel exclusivley in the far RIGHT lane for the first 15 miles or so, because there is no one there, they're all in the left lane.

            I-4 through Orlando up to Daytona is absolutly horrible. Sometimes while driving home between 2am and 3 am when there are no other cars on the road there are still people traveling the speed limit, less than the speed limit, in the left lane.

            The rationale is this: the speed limit is 70mph, and I'm doing 75mph soooo you have NO business traveling faster than me. When the reality is the people in the left hand lane are obstructing the flow of traffic by travelling less than the wolf-pack around them. I work at a pretty popular sports bar with locations throughout Orlando, and we require off-duty officers as bouncers 7 nights a week and almost everyone of them has said that although the instance is blatantly obvious they won't ticket anyone for it.

            I do applaud it, and have many a times considered putting "slwer traffic keep right on my windshield as a banner that can be read in the person in fronts rear view mirror. It's frustrating, and I can see where these self-appointed road moniters could be endangered by persons with road rage....

            Someone just gave me a penny for my thoughts and I think they want change back....
            '99 Z28 A4, 101K, fresh tranny, fresh rear-end, fresh window motor!!

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            • #7
              Sigh*.... Florida... Home of amusement parks, great beaches, and old people lol.

              Thats funny Joe because i have a story that goes good with this. The other night I was driving my g/f's Toyota Rav 4 because i was working on the T/A when while i was cruising along i come upon a guy doing 35 in a 45(left lane of course ) on a two lane divided state rd. Well i eased over into the right lane waited til i got 3-4 car lengths in front of him and merged into the left lane because i had a turn coming up in a few miles.

              All of the sudden this a@$ decided to tailgate me for whatever reason(i'm talking bumper to bumper). So i tried speeding up and slowing down but nothing would get this guy off of me.. so because i was already dead tired from workin on the T/A i decided i wasn't gonna take his crap anymore so i veered into the right lane slowed down til I was next to him and began to slowly ease into his lane pushing him towards the inside of his lane and let him know through a few hand gestures that i'd had enough of his crap. I waited til i saw he was visibly scared and distressed (looked like a high school kid) then i moved back into my lane. I know now that it wasn't the right thing to do but i will tell ya that i had no more problems from him the rest of my drive home.
              1997 6-spd WS6 Trans Am

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              • #8
                people are dying left and right around here in the DC metro area, cars being wrecked, major and minor.....all because of cell phone, being in a rush, and the "me first" attitude. its gotten where driving is not even a pleasure most of the time..its a "white knuckle" every time i go somewhere..in the goat or the envoy...the van...well...let em bring it on.....

                im seriously afraid of what i might do if somebody smashes into my new goat driving like that...... chances are though, ill be outta jail before they get out of the hospital..............

                The Goldens: Reno and Rocky

                2008 C6, M6, LS3, Corsa Extreme C/B, (it flys) & 2008 Yukon loaded (Titanic), 03 Ford Focus..everydaydriver.

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                • #9
                  Here in DE i think if you travel for more then a mile in the left lane you get a ticket. I don't think anyone has ever been pulled over though. We don't really have a problem with slow people in the fast lane. So i guess its not as big of an issue
                  2006 Saturn Ion Redline
                  2003 Mits. Eclipse Spyder

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                  • #10
                    When I lived in Florida driving the stretch of Hwy 98 from Fort Walton Beach to Pensacola, then along I-110 to UWF, and back in my grandma 78 Grand LeMans, I swear the turtles in the left lane were in cahoots with the turtles in the right lane. There would be two cars going 15 mph below the speed limit, blocking both lanes of travel, paralleling eachother perfectly. As soon as on car would leave a gap (in the case one car was going 0.1mph faster than the other), I would immediately floor it, amd pass them in the gap they mistakingly left. Astonishingly bothturtles would immediately FLOOR the gas, as I got away from their moving blockade to 20+ mph over the speed limit. I would continue to go fast until the 2 turtles, blocking both lanes of travel, would ease up, and lose interest in me, and slow back down to 15 mph under the speed limit, and not let anyone else pass, by resetting their moving blockade, only to come upon yet another moving blockade not too far up the hwy The worst I have seen was 4 turtles on a 8-lane Freeway (interstate) all parallel driving eachother.. they backed up traffic over a 1/4 mile

                    Now I learned to drive in California, and have driven in most of the states. Some here in New England would say the Massachusetts drivers are the worst. I consider the Florida turtles to be the most irritating, and most likely to be the cause of road rage

                    How I would of loved to beat the living snot out of those slowpokes in the left lane that were parallel driving to the other slow turtle in the slow lane. And I would feel perfectly justified, to this day, if I did.

                    I agree the biggest problem is people have lost all common courtesy towards eachother As much as I would like to see the bill passed, I honestly doubt it will even be sucessfully enforced, just like the cell-phone-while-driving-laws that are not envorced in D.C. and elsewhere.

                    I miss Florida weather, but even after 4 years away from living in FL, I feel that all these incidents just happend yesterday. I really hope that the law will be STRICTLY enforced...

                    signed
                    "Frustrated beyond mortal comprehension"
                    Rhode Island Red *Lurker since 1997*

                    2002 Firehawk #0035/1503 !Cags | !Air | !PCV | Airborn-coated Kooks LT's | Powerbond UD Pulley | Custom Cam | Ported Oil pump | LS2 timing chain | Comp 918's | Hardened push rods | LSS | BMR STB | SLP Bolt-on SFC's | drill mod |TB Bypass | Ported TB | Custom Dyno tuning | 160* thermostat | LS7 Clutch
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                    • #11
                      As of January 1st, 2004, Illinois started the left lane law. Basically just says that you cannot ever drive in the left lane. The left lane should only be used for passing unless in an urban area during rush hour (or when traffic is just bad which is how it can be at 1 in the morning here in chicago sometimes ). I will say it's a good law. It's nice cruising the highways and having a lane open almost all the time. Surprisingly too, I've seen the majority of people actually abide by it. It isn't even enforced though. I heard on the radio a couple months back, that in one year of that law, there were 17 tickets given for breaking it. I remember I got pulled over on 88 east at about 2 in the morning, and the state trooper didn't care.

                      I'm obviously glad I got off, but that was about a week after the law passed, and can honestly say I now follow it pretty good. My point is why make a law though if it won't be enforced. Fortunately so far, there have been no problems, but who knows how it will be in a couple of years. People driving slow in the left lane are just provoking an accident even if they aren't the actual speeders. I agree that people just need to understand the concept of common courtesy. If they did, I bet we would have a lot less accidents on our roads.
                      black 95 t/a, a4, beefed up tranny w/ higher stall converter, transgo shift kit, trans temp gauge, trans cooler, richmond 3.73's, loudmouth, hypertech programmer, 160 thermo, descreened maf, TB bypass and airfoil, trick flow intake elbow, underdrive pulleys, moroso cai, edelbrock panhard rod, bmr stb, slp sfc's, fiberglass firehawk hood, hawk pads, taylor wires, ngk plugs, royal purple fluids,...and hopefully more to come

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                      • #12
                        After reading all of your post about the highways in the stated Ihave a new apprecictaion for mine here in Canada. I went to Calgary this morning and back two hours both ways, there at 8:00-10:00 and back at about 11:30-1:30, not once did I get stuck behind a vehicle. And there were lots of people at different speeds. I drive about 125 the whole way (KPH). I think Ill fly to the US

                        Eric W.

                        89 Firebird Formula WS6
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                        • #13
                          i 4

                          i have just got back from my vacation in orlando (btw i now own a house in kissisime) and i did not bother going any where near the i 4 it is terible road. i do not want to cause offence to any one on here but the standard of some of the driving i saw while i was out ther was terible as joe said left lane hoging is rife. but the one that will stick with me is the lack of ability of some people to do a simple turn in the road case in point i wanted to do a u turn at a center divder (i had a full size suberban) the road i was turning in was 4 lanes wide the chevy caviler in front of me took 4 shunts at the turn and still mounted the grass on the right. sorry just my little rant
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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by bigtow
                            i have just got back from my vacation in orlando (btw i now own a house in kissisime) and i did not bother going any where near the i 4 it is terible road. i do not want to cause offence to any one on here but the standard of some of the driving i saw while i was out ther was terible as joe said left lane hoging is rife. but the one that will stick with me is the lack of ability of some people to do a simple turn in the road case in point i wanted to do a u turn at a center divder (i had a full size suberban) the road i was turning in was 4 lanes wide the chevy caviler in front of me took 4 shunts at the turn and still mounted the grass on the right. sorry just my little rant
                            You shoulda let me know you were going to be here, Kissisime is just up the road........

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                            • #15
                              Just for kicks..... I took a pic of exactly the type of traffic flow I was describing. Sure enough, check out the left lane hogs and how empty the right lane is.

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