slacker
Team HuskerBoard
Irregular News for 01.09.06
Springfield, IL -- 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.
“We have been teaching this for years in our defensive-driving class,” he said. Those who only use the left lane to pass are less likely to be changing lanes as often, he added.
Exceptions allowed in the law include instances of traffic congestion, inclement weather, road hazards, left-side exits, tollways and law enforcement or emergency vehicles requiring use of the left lane.
Hector said police use no specific standards to determine when someone has violated the law. It is a judgment call on their part, he added.
He said the law has not prevented patrol officers from enforcing the speed limit for those drivers who are using the left lane to pass.
“We are still strictly enforcing our speed limit law,” he added.
New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine and Kentucky all have similar laws in effect, according to Drive Right, Pass Left, an advocacy group that promotes driving in the right lane unless there is a need to pass.
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.
Full Story
Springfield, IL -- 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.
“We have been teaching this for years in our defensive-driving class,” he said. Those who only use the left lane to pass are less likely to be changing lanes as often, he added.
Exceptions allowed in the law include instances of traffic congestion, inclement weather, road hazards, left-side exits, tollways and law enforcement or emergency vehicles requiring use of the left lane.
Hector said police use no specific standards to determine when someone has violated the law. It is a judgment call on their part, he added.
He said the law has not prevented patrol officers from enforcing the speed limit for those drivers who are using the left lane to pass.
“We are still strictly enforcing our speed limit law,” he added.
New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine and Kentucky all have similar laws in effect, according to Drive Right, Pass Left, an advocacy group that promotes driving in the right lane unless there is a need to pass.
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.
Full Story
