Posted on 06/18/2007 1:49:50 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Lefties launch 'Move over' campaign
By: Dave Downey - Commentary
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Look out, all you left-lane campers.
Soon, you could be approached from behind by an impatient commuter with the words "move over" and a giant arrow pointed in the direction of the No. 2 lane pasted across his or her windshield.
Those drivers who routinely get irritated when you create those mile-long backups now have a polite way of communicating with you. For $29, they can buy their very own "move over" windshield decals through the Web site leftlanedrivers.org.
The site was set up earlier this year by J.A. Tosti of Vancouver, Wash., who said by e-mail Friday that he is the director of a new group called Left Lane Drivers of America. He termed the project a "labor of love."
Apparently, the site already is a hit. After being up just three months, more than 500,000 people have visited, Tosti said.
Rick Reiss, a Temecula man who commutes to downtown San Diego, stumbled upon the site recently and called it to my attention. It struck a cord with Reiss, who often becomes frustrated by the left-lane blockade that confronts his van pool daily.
"You've got people who just want to camp out there all the time," Reiss said by phone last week. "It is kind of frustrating."
Reiss said his commute can take one to two hours. And it doesn't help when someone creates artificial congestion by refusing to let anyone pass.
"I don't want to come across as a speed demon," he said. "But we commute a long distance ... and we want to get home to our families."
For that reason, he supports the group's stated goal of taking back the fast lane. The goal is displayed prominently on the Web site.
"We invite you to join Left Lane Drivers of America, a growing, grass-roots effort to reclaim the left lanes on our freeways and multiple-lane highways," the site states. "To do this, those of us who are genuine left lane drivers are politely, but firmly, reminding others what the left lane is for."
In case you missed those "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs posted along the freeways, the lane is for passing, not cruising. Incidentally, the word is "slower," not "slow."
So far, Reiss hasn't bought one of the decals. But he's considering it.
"There is a need for a campaign to get all of these slow-moving Mr. Magoos out of the freeway fast lanes," he said.
Get out of my lane!
I need one of those.
I like it, too. The sign is more polite than the gesture more commonly seen in such situations.
That stuff will go over real well in court if you get in an accident. Your insurance company will love it too.
Unfortunately because it's so rarely enforced, so few people actually know it. and that's where NJ has gotten its reputation as the tailgating capital of the world.
Excellent road rage bait.
Ping!
Yeah, but isn’t the sign inappropriate for almost all other driving situations? It needs to be something that only shows up when you want someone to get out of the passing lane.
Keep right except to pass, or some variant, is the law in 49 states. I don’t see how advocating that people please comply with the law would get you in trouble.
Well, maybe I do: Some laws are more equal than others.
Needs to be a way to make in visible or not as needed.
Of course, (with that sign on my car) when I’m in the right lane letting the REALLY fast guys pass - the folks in front of me keep going off the edge of the shoulder into the ravine.
I feel bad when that happens.
It looks like the bumpers are touching. The sign should say tailgater.
I live in Massachusetts, and the people that get in the left hand lane doing 55, holding up all traffic, and creating artificial traffic jams (meaning, that traffic isn’t really backed up, but since they refuse to make use of the 3 miles of open road in front of them, it becomes backed up) are the bane of human existence and there is a special place in hell reserved for them.
Face it, if you’re driving a Volve, Volks Wagon, or any Mini Van, get the hell out of the laft hand lane, everyone knows you’re going slow as crap and have no intentions of pushing your speedometer past 60.
Pansies
Then, when they get to their exit they slow down because they are afraid to merge back into the right lane at 65-70 mph.
If you notice - left lane congestion always seems to be worst just before exits.
Read posts #12 and #15.
I’m not against this, but my pet peeve is going north on I5 with only two lanes. The slow lane is full of trucks and I’m doing 85 in the fast lane...... then some idiot gets on my bumper and flashes his lites for me to move over. I get pi$$ed and just slow down next to a truck for a while.
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