NYTimes: "Speed Up, Slowpokes, or Get a Ticket"

[SidS1045]

From today's New York Times:

Slowpokes, beware: More states are cracking down on drivers who dawdle in the left lane.

While all states require slow-moving vehicles to keep to the right, laws that went into effect in Tennessee this year, Indiana last year, Georgia in 2014 and Florida and New Jersey in 2013 are setting harsher penalties for dawdling drivers.

Tennessee is one of the latest states to impose harsher punishments, often also called "slowpoke"  or "left-lane courtesy"  laws. As of the beginning of this month, slow drivers there face a $50 fine for camping out in the left lane.

Since a similar law went into effect in Indiana a year ago, the state police reported issuing 109 tickets and 1,535 warnings, according to WISH-TV, a local news station. That law allows a maximum fine of $500 for unreasonably slow drivers who block the left lane.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/us/more-states-are-cracking-down-on-left-lane-slowpokes.html

[PurdueBill]

Deceiving headline.  It's not necessarily "speed up", it's "move over" out of the left lane if you're not passing somebody.  You can do 55 and let those doing 65 by in the left lane.

These laws are different from dealing with vehicles that can't or won't keep up with the prevailing speeds (those few you see who insist on doing FAR below the speed of traffic on an expressway, causing dangerous logjams and weaving).

[jbnv]

[Henry]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought of that rap song that says "Move, get out the way" while reading this

[8.Lug]

Considering it's an actual law in the rest of the world - it's amazed me it has taken this long for people to do something about it. The most offending states I've experienced so far are Florida, Ohio and Minnesooootaaaaa. Believe it or not Florida isn't anywhere near as bad as the other two. Ohio is probably the worst.

[mrsman]

The best way to deal with the situation is to have more signs along the road with "keep right except to pass". It is a clear directive. 

NJ has this posted at regular intervals and I belive that it does help.  Now, of course, there are many areas within the state where people still violate the rule - but I do have to say that along some stretches this is generally adhered to and traffic moves fairly well.  Ex. I-295 in southern NJ during off-peak times.

[empirestate]

Maybe they should post occasional signs in the left lane that say "Passing anyone?"

(Sort of like how they used to put signs after a tunnel that said "Headlights on?"–you know, back when it wasn't actually expected that you'd burn your headlights all damn day!)