New Left-Lane Slowpoke Bill Could Be Minnesota’s Best Law Ever
If you've ever said, "There oughta be a law against that!" when it comes to somebody who's mindlessly clogging up traffic on Highway-52, I-90, I-35 or any other four-lane highway by driving slowly in the lefthand lane, I have good news for you.
That kind of driving could soon be illegal here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes! That's if a bill introduced by Faribault state Senator John Jasinski becomes law. And, I say it's about time.
Is there anything more annoying than someone who's camped out in the left lane, completely clueless that they're clogging up traffic, all while causing tempers to rise as the rest of us try to get around them in the right lane?!? (I'd already expressed my frustration with these drivers last fall-- read about it HERE.)
Well, according to this Fox-9 story, there's good news. In that bill Senator Jasinki introduced last week, slow-moving drivers camped out in the left lane would be penalized under a new law. The story describes the bill like this:
"The bill states that a driver traveling at less than the speed of traffic must drive in the right-hand lane or as close as possible. If drivers don't move over, a violation would be a misdemeanor," the story said.
There would be a few exceptions, though. "Passing vehicles, vehicles preparing for a left turn or vehicles in a specific lane designed for a certain type of traffic, like a carpool lane," would all be exempted from the law, the story said.
The bill is currently in the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, and is scheduled for discussion on Wednesday morning, the story noted.
Now, if they could also get a bill going that would crack down on those drivers who don't accelerate up to the speed of traffic when they're merging onto the highway (like along Highway-52 or I-35 anyone?!?), we'd REALLY be on to something!
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