Florida being dumb. People on highways? dumber.
A Senate panel killed - then quickly revived - what was once known as the Road Rage Reduction Act, a perennial bill that would fine drivers, including those traveling at or below the speed limit, for not moving out of the way of faster-moving vehicles.
Since 2004, the bill has died in committee each year, with the exception of 2005, when then-Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed it, saying the law would penalize law-abiding drivers.
Proponents argue that the law would reduce wrecks and incidents of road rage that result from right-lane maneuvers around slow-moving drivers, and they hope that the bill meets a different fate under Gov. Charlie Crist.
A spokesman for Crist said Monday that the governor has not studied the bill and remains undecided.
When Crist was attorney general, he appeared to brush off complaints that the measure would be unenforceable, according to a published report.
The bill's longtime sponsor, Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said the law would improve highway decorum.
All we're asking is to practice common courtesy. If the right lane is available, move on over, Bennett said.
The Senate's Criminal Justice Committee initially voted down the bill by a 2-5 margin on Monday, before reversing itself by a 6-1 vote to allow the full chamber to hear the proposal."
Response from Greg that I agree with 100%:
I like the idea of a law that tickets people for using the left lane improperly, but that one is poorly worded.
The heart of the problem is that many people have no idea how to drive. They hear nicknames for the highway lanes, and use that to guide their behavior. Fast lane and slow lane are WRONG. Why? Because fast and slow are relative, and impossible to properly define.
Imagine the following, it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and some old fart puttering about in his 1947 Buick is out for his monthly drive. Feeling bold, he steps on the gas, and speedometer creeps slowly upward... 62..64..67! "Whoa, I'm SPEEDING!", he thinks. "I belong in the fast lane!". He signals, and moves over to the left side of the highway, wind whipping his remaining white hair into a frenzy.
Now, behind him, there is a 36 year old guy in a 2003 Corvette convertible, casually doing 93 while talking on his cellphone and applying sunblock to his bald spot. He glances ahead of him, drops his phone on the floor, and slams on the brakes with a tortured rubber sound, and screams "WHAT THE FUCK!?... DIE!" at the pokey Buick in front of him, veins bulging from his forehead.
Both of these people are idiots. Trying to legislate which of them is in the right is a futile task. What they really need is a little education. Here it is...
The real names for these lanes are the passing lane, and the travel lane.
If you are not actively passing someone, you have NO BUSINESS in the passing lane!
Repeat this to yourself. Tell your friends. Hell, if you feel like it, go register the domain www.stayoutofthegoddamnpassinglane.com and set up a website. The world would be a slightly better place.
(link to original article: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content...drage_0422.html)