Posted on 03/19/2007 1:45:07 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A Broward County state senator has a message for pushy drivers who can't wait in line like everybody else stuck in traffic: Pay up.
Sen. Steven Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, wants to make it a crime for drivers to cut in at the front of the line at exit ramps, accident scenes and anywhere else traffic backs up.
His bill is probably a year or more away from getting a vote by the Legislature but it's sure to ignite passions before then.
"You want to look at what causes road rage? That is it," he says.
The "rude jerks" can spark fights and shouting matches, said Geller, who admits to almost losing his cool a few years back.
Geller and his son were waiting at an exit ramp, heading to a Marlins baseball game when a driver, "whose time obviously was more important than mine," cut in front of them.
Slapping such drivers with fines as high as $90 might make them think twice before butting in, he said.
The bill was referred to the Senate's transportation committee but won't reach the floor this year for lack of a companion bill in the House.
Geller plans to push for passage again next year.
Ok, this is something that irks me--and it's not what you think. I'm driving on the freeway and I see signs saying left lane closed, 1 mile. If I'm driving in the left lane, at what point should I merge to the right?
I maintain that to the extent possible, as safely as possible, and for as long as possible, drivers should make use of the left lane.
It drives me nuts when some driver, often a truck, blocks off the left lane half a mile from the bottleneck.
Just to be fair, when I'm in the right lane and at the bottleneck, I always try to allow someone to merge in front of me--the idea being one of taking turns.
I've seen multiple semi's do this and it gives me pure joy to watch it.
The one that burns me the most is when I get caught as one of the first cars behind an accident or other obstruction. Cars in the left lane still moving normally, but my lane is blocked.
Without fail, as soon as an opening appears, some jerk 10 cars back will move left into the opening...and then not let anyone in front of him in! When I'm the one in back I always slow down to block oncoming traffic in the moving lane and allow those stuck at the front to move over.
It is indeed a joy to watch. It's even more fun to get on the radio and help them set it up.
L
So you think common courtesy is infantile?
"Move your car over just enough so that it will block the strip on the side of the road."
Do that on a regular basis. Have had people swerve out onto the grassy shoulder (past the gravel shoulder) to get by. All so they could get 5 cars ahead.
A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a guard approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, "I'm sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.
"Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."
"Yes it does, but I am wondering, don't most traffic laws have a law against passing on the right on a non-divided highway? I believe that passing on the right using a breakdown lane (usually marked by a solid white line) should already be illegal."
Or theres always reckless driving, illegal lane change or many other laws already on the books. Cops are usually too busy at rush hour to pull people over for stuff like this.
I think we should use paintball guns. Rude drivers get marked.
What makes me angrier is the people in the front who let them cut the line! I'll let someone merge in from a side street, but I refuse to let anyone coming from the same direction cut in with a last minute merge.
Bad idea. I'm no friend of line-cutters (hate 'em, actually), but some of those people are just unfamiliar with the road ahead. That's why they're out of line in the first place. They're not jerks. You can't make that a crime.
Nope- just politicians.
My brother's car was recovered intact after being stolen in Chicago, largely because the cops were suspicious of a car driven by four "yutes," and sporting Northwestern Medical School, Hines VA Hospital, and ND Go Irish! bumper stickers.
I'd wager there will be more prosecutions under this law than under any of the immigration laws.
Why do we need this law when we have concealed carry? ;-)
I can't stand it when we see a sign that says, "Merge into one lane in two miles."
And cars start lining up in one line two miles away, leaving one clear lane for miles ahead.
If they want to drive like that, let them. But don't blame me if I wait until the signs tell me I have to merge before I do it.
Totally agree.
lol
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
One evening, on the way home, I was on the highway entrance ramp. It was a slow crawl.
Some person behind me absolutely had to be in front of me so I thought, why bother, let this person go. At least whoever it was signaled.
Fine. Then the ramp merges down from two lanes to one. Another car stayed to the right (lane that was ending) and wouldn't yield to Mr. or Mrs. had to be in front of me, who wouldn't yield to Have to be in front of Mr. or Mrs. had to be in front of me.
Naturally they collided, side by side. I could figure that each one would blame the other.
I would rather not have legislation as the person who usually does this kind of thing has universal right of way disorder- the more in the wrong the person is, the more self righteous he or she will be.
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