Free Republic

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The West Virginia State Senate has passed a bill designed to keep slow drivers out of the fast lane. Senate Bill 441 was introduced to the State Senate in January with a goal of restricting slow drivers from driving in the left lane, or the fast lane, of multi-lane roads. It would require drivers to remain in the right lane, except in circumstances such as passing a vehicle, preparing to exit to the left or if the right side of the road is in need of repair or otherwise unsafe to drive on, among other exceptions....

You're on a highway or an expressway, adhering to the maximum permitted speed (that's why you chose this route), then you encounter a noticeably slow vehicle that obstinately occupies the left lane. No indication suggests that the driver is attempting to overtake - they might be satisfying a selfish whim, lacking driving experience, or any other obscure reason. A driver like this forces others to brake, reducing traffic fluidity. In these instances, impatient and discourteous drivers might flash their lights or even honk their horns, which is inappropriate. A desire to travel at the maximum permissible speed does not justify...

Only two Idaho drivers have been cited for driving too slowly in the fast lane since the state’s new “slowpoke” law took effect July 1. Three other drivers got warnings that they better go the speed limit in the left lane or scoot over. Those numbers, current as of July 27, are from the Idaho State Police, which patrols the state’s highways. Tickets for speeding during that time frame — numbering 2,495 — far surpass these five cases of impeding fast-lane traffic. Even so, the new law gives troopers another tool to keep roads safer, said bill sponsor Rep. Lance...

Maryland has submitted another grant application seeking federal money to help widen part of Interstate 81. The application will face a little less competition, because another Maryland project was withdrawn. "I feel pretty good (about the application) for a couple of reasons. ... We're a large project that's not looking for a lot of money in a rural area," Matt Mullenax, executive director of the Hagerstown/Eastern Panhandle Metropolitan Planning Organization, said Monday. The $81.9 million project would extend the widening of I-81 to six lanes from Williamsport to Interstate 70. Mullenax said the Maryland Department of Transportation plans to fund...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan came to Hagerstown Thursday bearing gifts, announcing the start of a $105 million project to widen Interstate 81. In partnership with West Virginia, the first phase of construction of the long-sought project, which recently got under way, will expand the heavily traveled interstate to six lanes from U.S. 11 in West Virginia to Md. 63 near Williamsport. "These improvements to I-81 are critical infrastructure investments that will help citizens here in Washington County, across Western Maryland and all across our state go about their daily lives in a faster, more efficient and safer manner," Hogan said...

You know something is a big deal when politicians start fighting for credit — and camera time. Given the "thank me" glomming going on in Baton Rouge these days, clearly news that the federal government will pony up enough cash to fix the disaster that is Interstate 10 westbound off the Mississippi River Bridge is one of those hallelujah moments. There was Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday (Aug. 4), at old McKinley High School with U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond by his side, telling the world Louisiana will be getting between $20 million and $25 million in FASTLANE grant money...

Baltimore came up empty-handed Wednesday when the federal government turned down Maryland's request for $231 million to fund two large transportation projects. The state had been seeking $76.1 million in federal assistance for an Interstate 95 interchange project to spur redevelopment at the 160-acre Port Covington site in South Baltimore where Sagamore Development wants to build a mixed-use project with a new Under Armour corporate campus, housing, retail and more. The state also came up short on its bid for $155 million to help alleviate the freight rail bottleneck caused by the obsolete design of the Howard Street Tunnel, which...

The Federal Communications Commission is getting ready to propose new rules when it comes to net neutrality, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are reporting based on unnamed sources. Late Wednesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler called the reports of a turnaround “flat out wrong.” According to the Times and the Journal, the FCC is planning to allow Internet service providers to sell a faster pipe into people’s homes to content companies willing to pay for it. In other words, content providers could pay for preferential treatment into American homes. …

Left-lane lurkers on Georgia’s highways and interstates are a pen-stroke away from trouble under legislation given final passage Tuesday by the Georgia Senate. House Bill 459 would allow authorities to ticket those who lollygag in the state’s left lanes. The bill makes it a misdemeanor for any driver on a divided highway who does not move to the right when a car going faster approaches from behind. With the state House already signing off on the measure, all it needs is Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature to become law.

FReep this Poll! "When driving on the freeway, do you most often move over to the right lane to allow faster drivers to pass or do you maintain your speed and lane?" Move over Maintain

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...

LEFT LANE DRIVERS of AMERICA “If you’re not a Left Lane Driver then get out of the Left Lane!” Traffic has become increasingly congested and tempers flare as slower drivers occupy what has been historically referred to as the “fast lane”. It’s time to get that Left Lane back! It is our considered opinion that not only will traffic move more smoothly and more quickly once the Left Lane is used in the way it has been designed but also headaches, frustration, bad tempers and road rage will all be greatly reduced when this pressure valve is released. It’s time...

ROME (Reuters) - The zig-zagging car gave them away. When Italian police pulled over the vehicle, they found a completely naked 70-year-old woman who had been trying to have sex with the driver -- 11 years her junior. After demanding the joy-riding couple get dressed, the police tested the semi-nude male motorist for drunk driving. "He was three times over the legal (blood-alcohol) limit," said police commander Angelo D'Anardo in the city of Cologno al Serio, northeast of Milan. "We assume they must have been drinking at lunch and then things got out of control." Asked if the couple were...

ARLINGTON, Va. – Instead of crawling out of bed at 4 a.m. to beat the morning rush, Frank Murphy sleeps late these days. He says he owes it all to his hybrid car – and a law that has some of his fellow commuters upset. Drivers of the environmentally friendly cars are allowed to cruise solo in Virginia's car pool lanes, slicing Murphy's daily two-hour commute in half. And since buying a hybrid 18 months ago, Murphy is leaving his home as much as three hours later. "The quality of life has gone up tremendously," he said. But Murphy's joy...