I take I-95 every day to work. I usually set my cruise control at 79. Often I am in the left lane passing slower cars in the middle lane. Often there will drivers going 85-90 weaving through the far right lane to pass both lanes. So who would the cops give the ticket to? The driver speeding excessively? Me? Or the slower driver in the middle lane who may be going 75? Is this really how Florida Republicans spend their time legislating?
The worst are the 18-wheelers that hog the left lane going well under the limit and then they're not able to cross back over to the right lane because right lane traffic caught up to them. Or the 18-wheeler that just has to pass another 18-wheeler and taking 5 minutes to pass said other 18-wheeler. I believe Texas had a law (at least at one time) which prohibited 18-wheelers in the left lane period. I've seen "trucks stay in the right lane" signs in other states, but from what I can tell, it's rarely, if ever enforced.
even more fun going up a mountain pass to have a turtle race of side by side semis going 35 in a 70 zone. good times.
The Turnpike clears up most of these issues and you don't deal with the trucks. That is one of those things I bite the bullet and pay for. Time is our most precious commodity...
Well, that’s part of the problem… cops need to start enforcing it so that people will follow the law. I’m ok with it, because this is actually a law that I’ve been hoping they would enact and or enforce for a long time. Left lane slow drivers are a nuisance to society and a safety concern to boot.
I agreed with you on everything except the last part. Cars today are very fast and capable. Our speed limits don’t match modern cars. Doing 85 mph is basically just cruising. If the speed limit is 75 mph, I usually set cruise at 85 mph on a long trip because cops don’t really mess with you unless you are going 15-20 over or more.
After all these years, we have finally found the issue that unites us. I could hug you right now, man.
Murph, this is a law that is going to be enforced in an arbitrary manner because of how extraordinarily broad it is. Who do you think will receive the brunt of that arbitrary enforcement? When you give police broad powers like these, it inevitably is used to justify pretext stops and discriminatory enforcement. If faced with a choice of having to maneuver around some jackass going 71 (in a 70) in the fast lane or drastically expanding law enforcement authority to conduct traffic stops on interstates, I choose the former option.
In all my years of driving, I don't think I've ever seen a single 18-wheeler pulled over to be ticketed by HP or police. Likely because they rarely ever go more than 5 over limit, but as pointed out by others, the clear and present danger they present by clogging the left lane should be an enforced ticketable offense.
You obviously haven't experienced the glory of highway driving without left lane hogs. It's worth the risk. I think that if there are cops out there who want to pull over people illegally, they already enough ways for them to do it. This probably won't increase anything.
is it a cowboy/country macho thing to drive your truck in the left lane regardless of speed? The problem with Florida 4 lane interstates, outside of urban areas, is about 78% of the traffic is in the left lane passing the 20% who are going 5-10 mph slower. The other two percent are passing in the right lane going even faster (I’d be a liar if I said I have never done that).
I have. I am confident this law won't stop them. And I am also confident the cops won't enforce it vigorously. I strongly disagree that it won't increase anything. You're expanding the law, which means expanding their power to use pretext stops.
Some legislators aren’t the sharpest. Apparently a bunch. Just a silly law. I’m ticketing you because you weren’t speeding enough . Damn semi’s clogging up two lanes (or more,) with a bigger problem being the slow poke in the center lane forcing everyone around them. Damn clouds! Maybe event something to reduce truck congestion, call it a train?
Law won't be enforced. Can't imagine if it is and we're all driving in the middle/right lanes behind all the truckers. Good times.
It's simple... the new law... it's to make sure that speeders that are already in the left lane must move over so that faster speeders can zip past them in the left lane. They may as well call it the Autobahn law... Autobahn lane.
How many center lane collisions are we going to have with people being required by law to move out of both the left and right lanes? Best not to drive in the center lane, either. Just stay home.
This is totally unworkable on 4 lane highways (2 in each direction.) You simply can't restrict a substantial volume of traffic traveling that fast to one lane in each direction except when passing. On an 8 lane highway (4 in each direction,) I'd be OK with it.
In a straight line with no merging traffic? Of course. Many cars I’m sure cruise at 100mph and feel decently stable. So 85 wouldn’t be a big deal for most modern cars. But still not a good idea in congested areas or roads with lots of merges as I think that speed is also where a lot of vehicles would have a problem “saving it” if they had an issue at that speed. I certainly wouldn’t push that in a truck or suv. When i don’t have cruise control on I’m sure I almost always hit 85-90 at some points while passing. That’s actually one of the reasons I try to always have cruise on the interstate and set to 77. Most cars nowadays adjust to the distance of the car in front automatically so I just set it and forget. I don’t even have the urge to pass people when I have cruise control on, so actually sometimes it takes me a minute to realize im stuck behind a slow driver. The radar guided cruise control to me is like a cure to the lead foot.
