Slow drivers bug me. They remind me of the most sanctimonious, self-righteous, religious freaks who are just flaunting their holier-than-thou superiority over those of us who have been found wanting. Granted there are times when they are just being poky, like my father does when he really wants to annoy my mother. Case in point: Several weeks ago we were driving back from Tombstone. I was so sleepy I couldn’t see the road in front of me. I pulled off I-10 and turned the car over to my father. Evidently, while I was sleeping, he managed to get the car up around 85 MPH, just a tad over the 75 MPH. speed limit. My mother fussed at him so he slowed down to 55MPH just to make her crazy!
Most often slow drivers fall into several categories:
1. The gray-hair who is driving slow so no one will know he/she has no business driving anymore.
2. The tourist who is just poking around for the heck of it.
3. The illegal who is driving some broken-down vehicle and doesn’t want to be arrested.
4. The working dude who is slowly meandering his pick-up truck to work.
5. And then there is the cautious driver, the one who thinks they are better than the rest of us.
Let’s face it, there’s not much you can do or say about the poor little gray-hair. That car is their hold on life, literally. Take the keys away from them and you’ve crushed their value as a viable person. It is something every son or daughter is going to face with their parents. Heck, my family got together and took the keys away from my mother ten years ago while she was still in her mid 60’s. Why?
My mother drives so fast she is terrifying. We were driving down a long, boring stretch of road outside of Hereford, Texas. I looked over and saw that she was doing 105MPH! I think I may have yelled at her a little, “Slow it down!” Needless to say, a few years later, when her oldest grandchild was stopped for doing about 95 along that same stretch of road, my mother expressed her chagrin. Why? Because Rachel managed to get herself ticketed. “I am so ashamed that you were caught! Why I’ve never had a speeding ticket in my life.” Sorry, there was that time in South Carolina where she was stopped doing around 85MPH on I-85. She told the cop the sign said “85,” then informed him her husband had told her the faster she drove the more gas she could save! My sister and I sent him a thank you note! (FYI: My mother’s brother has lost his license several times for too many speeding tickets).
Article comments
1 - JAT
Do we ever sympathize with your post! Pls check this article about Left Lane Drivers of America which is from one of the Internet news sites:
Enough with slow drivers in the left lane! "As traffic gets increasingly congested, it's time for citizens to reclaim the left lane," says J.A. Tosti, spokesman for Left Lane Drivers of America, a grassroots effort to get slower traffic to move right. "More and more these days, you find slow drivers in the left lane, causing no end of headache and frustration to those of us who have places to go and people to see. Some of these offenders are timid and tentative, some are completely oblivious to what's going on around them, and some are self-appointed 'hall monitors' regulating what they alone have determined to be proper driving speeds. Whatever be the case, it's time for us to trumpet the message, 'If you're not a Left Lane Driver, get out of the left lane!'"
In order to actually help slower drivers move right, Left Lane Drivers of America offers copyrighted windshield decals which boldly and prominently display their unified sentiment in the offending driver's rearview mirror. The decal, which reads "MOVE OVER" also has a large arrow showing them where to go. The words and arrow display backwards on the windshield so that they read properly when seen in the mirror.
According to Tosti, "Although the message minces no words, the idea here is not to be rude or pushy but to offer slow drivers a gentle prod, reminding them of the need to either pick up the pace or make room for those who choose to drive a bit faster."
In fact, slow drivers do need to move over. In many states, the left lane is supposed to be the passing lane and slower drivers can be cited for obstructing traffic. Those who stake out permanent positions for themselves in the left lane tend to provoke those wanting to drive faster, often giving them no other choice but the dangerous strategy of passing on the right in order to get ahead. Slow drivers can easily become slow moving safety hazards.
Bottom Line: Moving over is a matter of courtesy. It is a matter of safety. It is a matter of doing one's part to help traffic flow smoothly. And it is the law in many states: "Stay to the right except to pass". Left Lane Drivers of America is doing something positive to help improve traffic flow on today's overcrowded, pressure-packed freeways. Their "Move Over" message has the potential of helping reduce instances of road rage, hazardous driving and untimely, often deadly accidents.