Ore. Senate bill aims to herd slow drivers out of the left lane
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SALEM, Ore. - Anyone droning down I-5 between Portland, Salem, Eugene or Medford with the cruise control on knows the frustration of the dreaded Slow Driver In The Left Lane.
You either have to slow down or wait to make a less-than-safe pass using the right lane before resuming your previous pace.
Now, an Oregon politician who admits she has become frustrated with left lane lollygaggers - and has even been one herself - has introduced legislation to make it illegal to poke along in the fast lane.
"If someone on the freeway passes me on the right, I feel a sense of personal failure," State Senator Ginny Burdick said with a laugh. "Even I, as hard as I work at it, can get careless at times" and drive too slow in the left lane.
"It would just basically enforce common courtesy on the roads," Burdick said of Senate Bill 511. "If you’re not passing, get over in the next lane and then you don’t even have to think about it. You’re where you belong and if somebody wants to pass you they can pass you on the left - where they should be."
So far, Burdick said reaction to the bill has been very positive.
"There’s just a lot of enthusiasm around this bill," she said. "And I think people are ready to have more enforcement of what really is existing law, you’re not supposed to impede traffic. But that’s kind of a vague term and this is very specific."
The law would not apply during heavy, congested traffic. Burdick hopes to have the bill out of committee next week and up for a full vote soon.
Burdick said the legislation was born of "many thousands of miles of observation - of personal observation - on this problem" while on the road. "It would simply make it a traffic offense to drive in the left hand lane when you’re not passing."
"All you have to do is look on the freeway and you’ll see somebody tailgating, trying to get by, sometimes you’ll see them flashing their lights, you’ll see them dodging in and out of traffic and those are all signs of frustration," Burdick said.
She said the bill "would simply make it a traffic offense to drive in the left hand lane when you’re not passing."
"I think I would have less gray hair if Oregon had had this a while ago," Burdick said. "I’m on a feckless mission to train the traffic."
Bad idea. This will really slow traffic and create more problems. The main problem is with the proliferation of big rigs that typically go between 60-65 mph when the speed limit for them is only 55. No one wants to drive behind them at any speed because you cannot see over, around or through them. In order to pass them you would have to make a lane change and go over the posted 65 mph - another opportunity to get pulled over for revenue generation. Too many lane changes.
What's wrong with just tooting your horn or flashing your lights if the person in front of you is going too slow or, in most cases, going the posted speed limit?
This proposed bill has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with revenue generation and finding more excuses to pull people over.
@Nomorenakba LOL... First of all, split speed limits for cars and trucks are a BAD idea. That should be done away with.
 Second, if the semis are speeding and doing 65, why are you complaining about having to speed to go around? If you are going around, then you are obviously already speeding.
 Which brings me to my third point, I think on a typical drive between Portland and Salem I can count on one hand the number of cars doing the speed limit or less.
 The biggest problem with drivers around here is that they will sit side by side going the same speed. And completely ignoring the basic keep right except to pass/slower traffic keep right traffic rules that are already in place.
Sounds great! No driving slower than the speed limit in the left lane, no driving under or over in the middle lane and you must remain below the limit in the far right lane, also no smoking in the left lane, no cell phones in any lanes, if someone blinks their lights twice, you must get out of the way, most likely because it is some psychotic lawmaker tailgating, honking and swerving because they're late to a luncheon and having to contemplate idiotic drivers all the way there LoL.
Great idea. Also tack on a requirement that ALL vehicles must have their HEADLIGHTS ON while they are moving. No running lights, parking lights, etc. Actual headlights. Day and night.
Specifically targeting Washington Drivers lol.
Left lane louis...and always 10 miles below the posted speed limit.
there is one problem that i see with this. if the person in the left lane is going the posted speed limit you can not give them a ticket so a speeder can go by. the person who is speeding should get the ticket since they are the ones breaking the law. i to hate people who get in that lane and then just putter along and do not care that they are disrupting traffic flow, but as i said as long as they are going the posted speed it is their right. i could see even a bad attorney getting every one of these tickets thrown out.
@mark The purpose of the farthest left lane is to allow vehicles to pass other vehicles, not to park in. While your idea would work in a perfect world, the freeways are not such a place. Far too many drivers who use the freeways should not be on there at all. And big trucks should never be in the farthest left lane.
Washington drivers are pretty used to staying out of the left lane and even the middle lane, sometime too much so that they end up hindering the entire flow of traffic (example: the onramps immediately before the I-5 Bridge on either side of the river - a smart driver already on the freeway would move to the left to facilitate the oncoming traffic - most Washington drivers simply sit in the right lane and plug up the flow).
Unfortunately, you can't fix stupid. And a lot of drivers are stupid when it comes to freeway driving. I don't know if it's even taught anymore in schools, but judging by the way so many drivers merge onto the freeways, it's not likely. So the legislature has to step in and try to fix things...things that should never be a problem to begin with. But poor driver education and inconsiderate drivers force their hand.
please tell me how they would do this??  they cant even enforce the anti cell phone use today! every day i see hundreds of people on cell phones! i can see them with my un trained eye? why dont the police give them tickets? or maybe its just the token 100 dollar fine? should be 1000 at least!
Washington state had this law for years - move the f over if you ain't passing no one. Â Every time I go up North I make a game out of how many Oregon plates I see going 55 on the left lane when it's 75 at times.
Time to get these idiots to drive and pump their own gas. Â
@Benjamin Schniffle you are right they have had this law for a long time and no one up there gets out of the way even if they are going 20 miles an hour under the speed limit. and i have never seen a officer pull someone over for being in that lane and not moving over.
A nice idea, BUT
It will have the UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE of forcing drivers to move in and out of the left lane. Â In and out! Â Far more dangerous than people staying in their own lane.
By the way, with this proposed law, how slow is slow? Â Must the left lane be dedicated to the use of speeders?
"Must the left lane be dedicated to the use of speeders?"
Which actually equals...."Lawbreakers", if the posted speed limit is 55, 65, 75, 85 and people are following it, it should not matter what lane they are using. If people are exceeding the speed limit,
then they shoud earn themsleves a nice ticket
They should first be making TOUGHER LAWS FOR DRUNK DRIVERS. Do these idiots not know the meaning of the word of priorities. Â The no texting on major hwys has no effect on drivers, why do they think the slow poke law will work. Â
What a bunch oh morons.
Poor little speeders need to just get over it. I do not usually use the left lane as there are way too many self centered idiots flying down it. I try to stay in the middle lane and with the flow of traffic. Safer in the middle anyway, no on or off ramp nuts blasting on or off the highway.
They can try to pass more and more laws....but they will not enforce them. Sounds like she has nothing important to do except waste time.
Let the speeders stay in the left lane, some of them go a bit overboard behind the wheel anyway.
Perhaps OSP and the counties need to start ticketing and enforcing the actual speed limit for a change?
@Just Lookin >'Perhaps OSP and the counties need to start ticketing and enforcing the actual speed limit for a change? '
Insofar as counties, Marion Co does. They have at least one patrol deputy assigned to traffic and he or she ends up on I5 between the Linn Co line and Champoeg exit almost every day. I have to wonder how much revenue Marion Co brings in with just that dedicated unit alone. No exaggeration, daily I see a Marion Co deputy somewhere in that range on I5 with someone pulled over. Even if you figure it's just a minimum bail, it's around $200. Tack on court costs, and that hurry to get where you're going just cost you close to $300.Â
Personally, I love to let the lead foots be my bird dog. Set my cruise about 5mph below them and just wait for the inevitable to occur. Then I just wave and smile while officer friendly gives them their 1st place award.Â
Regarding OSP, if Sen Burdick and her pals down in Salem would find it in their hearts to spend some money on the OSP budget instead of every other pet project one of them, or Lord Kitzhaber, can come up with... well... Perhaps OSP could keep a patrol cruiser on I5 in the Willamette Valley dedicated to traffic control.Â
Perhaps... just perhaps... they could then enforce the existing laws that pertain to exactly the problem that the wise and all knowing Sen Burdick is bravely addressing with her legislation.Â
"Then I just wave and smile while officer friendly gives them their 1st place award. "
I love that!! That would be great to allow a full time OSP cruiser checking on I5.
I have seen some LE pulling people over also. That helps a lot.
Sport...not sure why you decide to call names, but that is allowed if you feel you must.
I have never received a ticket for speeding.....because I follow the speed limit. Not hard to figure out really.
Oh and enjoy your name calling...
I think it's funny that you think you're so smart and such good drivers, but can't handle going the speed limit when it's only 55. So, you're a bad driver with bad logic. Oh, and a jerk.
If the person is going the speed limit, then people just need to put on their big boy panties and suck it up - because most of them are doing it to deliberately slow people down to the speed limit.
Good, the next time somebody bikes on the sidewalk, I'm going to clothesline them to make sure that they know they can't do that. I think a baby should get punched today because of you. Come to think of it, were you punched as a baby?
You seem to have issues...perhaps you need to get some counseling?
Oh, and if you punch a baby, I am hoping their mother or father takes appropriate actions.
Left lane drivers drive me nuts. They sit there with tunnel vision and seem oblivious to everything around them. I've seen emergency vehicles come right up behind them and they still didn't move. Luckily people in the right lane moved over for emergency vehicles to get by.Â
Move over, it's not up to you to regulate traffic. Move over and let the speeders past and let OSP deal with them.
@The Resistance Unfortunately from some of the posters in this forum it seems that not only are they oblivious, but they don't care either.
Hey! You know what slows traffic more than anything else on the freeway? A cop on the side of the road giving someone a ticket.
Boy do they not have better things to spend their time doing? And to think of all the money the politicians are spending on putting fluoride in the water. And none live in Portland...Go to the last thing on the page lists them all..http://www.kenricashe.com/intolerable/blog.cfm?cal=intolerable&ID=048316a6-347b-292d-a054-1b18675fdb1d
I'm all for getting slower drivers out of the passing lane but.......if you're driving 65 and don't get over are you breaking the law? If you are driving 65 and get over for the person to go around you then they are breaking the speed limit. So, either way someone is still breaking the the law.
There is a simple solution for those that don't like being passed on the right. Move out of the left lane! There is no crime to let faster drivers by you. It is just plain courtesy.
I am not surprised to read that Ginny Burdick admits that she does not pay attention while she is driving. From what I have heard of her, she does not pay attention when she works either.
The people in this town have little to no courtesy.
@Freedom1267Â
The problem is that you then get stuck in traffic that is going slower than the speed limit. Never seems to fail that if I get over, I can never get back into the left lane and I'm stuck behind someone doing 50.
If you're doing the speed limit, you shouldn't have to move out of the left lane.
@Jenni S. @Freedom1267 Not that I disagree with your point, but this whole discussion reminded me of a lesson that my drivers ed teacher offered.Â
Let's just call our random drivers Jenni and Boyscout. So, both drive daily between Albany and Downtown Portland. The distance is roughly 63 miles.Â
Jenni, not wanting to be forced to go 50mph, demands to go at least 70mph.Â
Boyscout, being the dutiful safe driver, insists on maintaining the posted speed limit of 65mph.Â
What is the difference in arrival times if they leave Albany at the same time?
(I'll even offer you the formula- D=R*T)
While I do get the frustration that people vent, I sincerely believe that more often than not it's a non-issue. As surely as I'm going to pass the 'slow' people when they oblige me and yeild, I'll end up behind another driver who doesnt'.Â
I drove between Aurora and Salem daily for 3 years M-F. Almost without exception, there was always a closet Mario Andretti somewhere along the way. And, again, almost without exception, Mario would end up within 3 cars of me on the offramp once I got to where I was going.Â
@Jenni S. @MarkKpic @Freedom1267 Yep.Â
The real beauty is that in addition to the victory in the 'me first' race between Albany and Portland, there's the very real probability that the trophy will be awarded by a law enforcement officer in the form of a $250 citation. There's at least 3 different speed traps in that stretch.Â
On any given day driving to work, I frequently (if not daily) see a Marion Co deputy, an OSP cruiser (typically with a big rig) and either a Clackamas or Yamhill Co deputy with an obliging driver offering their county some money.Â
I dunno. I can't say that I've always been, or always am, a saint insofar as my driving speed. There are times that I've set the cruise at 80 (or better) during late night jaunts. The problem with speeds dramatically above either posted, or observed, rates of travel during most daylight hours on I5 is the other cars. There are all too many collisions that are caused by some wannabe Mario Andretti (or, to be fair, Danica Patrick) who believes that their car can handle speeds and driving style that belong on PIR, not I5.Â
Either way, the whole 'slower traffic' issue is pretty irrelevent. For the most part, the 'slower' driver is typically obeying the speed limit and the overtaking driver is not. Then, when they do pass, they end up 5 car lengths behind the next 12 vehicles going the speed limit.Â
....exception granted, of course, for Sen Burdick. Who is obviously in a hurry to do her important work at the capitol.Â
@MarkKpic @Jenni S. @Freedom1267Â
That's been my experience. One of the news stations also did a test with a police officer some years back and they found the savings was under a minute.
@Jenni S.While you may be doing the lawful limit, that doesn't give you jurisdiction over someone that wants to drive faster. No more than someone has the right to drive slower than the limit in order to slow you down. :-)
@Jenni S. @wondering Yes it is, that is what signals are for.  In a perfect world, those going 50 in the middle lane should be in the right lane, but they wont move either.  Just like the folks in the left lane who shouldn't be there..  I find myself in the same predicament often, I could pass on the right but don't feel its very safe, especially with many on-ramps.  The right thing to do though, is move over for those traveling faster.Â
@wondering @Jenni S.Â
Usually what happens is there are so many jerks who want to go way over the limit that I get stuck in the other lane with the people going slow. Either that or every other minute I'm pulling over to the right and then back to the left. Going back and forth between lanes is not a safe thing to do.
@Jenni S.  Nobody said to slow down. Just move the f&(k over. You can get back in the left lane after you are passed.
@last boyscout @Jenni S.Â
Yes, but I shouldn't have to slow down because they want to go faster.
Fair enough. We'll try it without the derogitory commentary...
Sen Burdick, perhaps you could spend some time reviewing laws that are already on the books and seeking enforcement of them instead of expending your (taxpayer funded) time and efforts attempting to enact new laws that will also not be enforced.Â
ORS 811.320Â - Failure to drive to right on divided highwayÂ
ORS 811.315Â - Failure of slow driver to drive on right
ORS 811.425Â - Failure of slower driver to yield to overtaking vehicle
And, the proverbial catch all,Â
ORSÂ 811.130 -Â Impeding traffic
What is particularly telling about Ms Birdicks apparent predisposition is her belief that if she passes a law, *POOF* the problem will disappear.Â
It wont.Â
@MarkKpic 811.320 means you can't drive on the wrong side of a divided hwy. :)
But 811.315 certainly covers what she is trying to "fix."
@MarkKpic Another example of what a mess Burdick is, and the morbidly fascinating overtones of nanny-statism.
@mine9 @MarkKpic I'll give you a 'like' for the nanny state comment. I don't know that Sen Burdick is any more of a 'mess' than the majority of our seemingly oblivious legislators and governor are. They're busily running about working on legislation for pet projects and pet peeves while the budget hasn't even come into focus.Â
Lord Kitzhaber offered one, and my guess is that his pet legislature is going to rubber stamp it (save for the obligitory re-election fodder objections to budget cuts that single out voter demographics within any given district), and come mid-summer every school district and municipality in the state will start whispering about operating levies and bonds because the mean 'ol legislature didn't give them all  the funding they asked for (read:needed) to support basic services.Â
The real irony is that if Sen Burdick and her fellow elected officials would kindly see that the OSP is better funded, there would be more OSP cruisers on I5, and they could actually enforce the existing laws that address the very issue that good 'ol ginny is addressing....
@MarkKpic ~  Yes... added to her firmly-entrenched (and, IMHO, extremely condescending) belief that she knows best "what is best for us"... a belief that is, of course, shared by most of our other elected officials, from Congress and the WH right on down through the ranks... Â
It would be wonderful if all these politicians / legislators would recognize that a great part of many of the problems we are facing now are not because we don't have enough laws... but because we are not effectively ENFORCING the laws that we already have... and your illustration, above, is a prime example of that. Â Â
@margay1 @MarkKpic One of the great ironies is the fact that the single biggest problem facing both the federal and state governments is the lack of money availible.Â
Now, one would think that would make our legicritters hustle down to the marbled halls of the capitol and get to work on finding savings, cutting budgets and working their butts off trying to close the gap between what's availible and what's actually there.
Thus far, as far as our Oregon legislature goes, budget hasn't even come up yet. Instead, all of this energy (and, therefore money) is being spent on ideological issues.... most of which will cost even MORE money.Â
Forrest was a bit of a prophet, I believe.Â
Stupid is as stupid does.Â
@margay1 @MarkKpic >'...working on budgets is boring'
Not to mention potentially ripe with political liabilities. For every penny saved, there's a whole cascade of special interests who will PR and spin it as if the world is coming to an end if they don't get that money....and the press is all too happy to oblige with heart-string pulling stories about the atrocities.Â
>'...or creating new taxes on something...'
Or, the holy grail.... They get to spend money on a new bridge, AND create a new revenue source (tolls)! They had to be whooping and dancing after that one passed.Â
@MarkKpic @margay1 ~  Ain't it the truth..?   Can't really blame them, I guess... after all, working on budgets is boring - no fun at all - especially when you can spend all your time writing up all these stupid new laws, taking things away from people, telling them there's something ELSE they can't do or can't have, or creating new taxes on something... Â
I mean, hey; what good is all this power if you can't use it to scare people or make them mad or unhappy..???Â
The problem is that you can be doing the speed limit, passing drivers who are going slower, and there is still the jerks who will pass you on the right because they want to go 70 in a 55. So then you get over because of the jerks and you're never able to get back over and you're stuck behind the true slow drivers. If you're going the speed limit, you're not a slow driver. How about we start busting those going faster than they should on the freeways and highways?
@Jenni S.
Like impatient state senators?
This is probably the only thing I agree with Burdick on. The left lane is not "the fast lane," it's the passing lane.
The intent is reasonable, and it is what most conscientious drivers do anyway. But a few bad apples spoil the system for miles.
Instead, simply make it illegal to be passed on the right.
@7Ws
Never work under current law.Â
You are stopped to make a legal left turn in the lane of travel, no left turn lane. It is currently legal for me to pass you on the right if I stay on the pavement.
Under your proposal YOU can be cited for being passed on the right.
@WebFootSTiÂ
My proposal is to cite drivers who allow vehicles to pass on the right. (With reasonable exceptions like left turns excluded like they are now.)
@7Ws @WebFootSTi
So, you want to replace a simple law/rule to follow with one that has to be loaded up with exceptions that everyone has to remember?