Amen... move it or lose it

Illinois officials say a little-publicized two-year-old law aimed at preventing people from blocking traffic by driving in the left lane on interstates and other divided highways has made an impact.

The Illinois State Police report that 170 citations and 2,647 warnings have been given out since the law was enacted Jan. 1, 2004.

Rick Hector, a spokesman for the state police, said that number is low compared with other lane violations, but added that he thinks the law has been successful.

"We just want people to realize you have to share the road," he said.

Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, a sponsor of the bill that become law, said the goal was not to give out a lot of citations, which cost $75 each, but to educate people about safe lane usage. He said the large number of warnings indicates that is what has happened.

Rutherford said when people hold up traffic in the left lane, they increase congestion, tailgating and, often, road rage.

The law does not prevent people from driving in the left lane; it just requires them to move to the right lane if a car is behind them, he said.

Hector said the law is geared toward creating safer roads.
...
Joel Brunsvold, a former state legislator who retired recently as director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, tried several times during the 1990s to get such a law passed. Brunsvold said it became a “pet peeve” of his because he often encountered drivers traveling under the speed limit in the left lane of interstate highways while going between his home in Milan and his legislative duties in Springfield.

Amazingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, the article also mentions that there's actually an advocacy group devoted to promoting anti-left lane hogging called "Drive Right, Pass Left". Egads.