A reader e-mail unrelated to baseball, #2:
On the idea of a state law requiring slower drivers to move out of the left lane, mentioned in my Sunday column:
There are certain people who believe they have an inherent RIGHT to drive in the left hand lane at speeds below the flow of traffic. Having talked to some of them [friends and relatives], it appears they exercise this "right" for one of two inconsiderate and self-absorbed reasons. Either, one, they do not want to bother with traffic merging into the right lane from entrance ramps. Or, two, THEY don't exceed the speed limit, and they don't see any reason why anyone else should, either. -- Patrick Seery, Ruskin
My own thinking is that anybody who deliberately clogs up traffic in the left lane for any length of time longer than necessary for safe traffic maneuvering is a $#$%. Do you think I should spend a print column in the newspaper on this topic? I bet it would get a million responses... (this is a constant struggle in choosing column topics. I got zero, nada, zippo response to Tuesday's column about the EPA overriding state clean-air standards).
Welcome to TroxBlog, the web-home of columnist Howard Troxler, where he and readers discuss his column topics and current events. The goal here is to focus on the merits of issues, instead of personal attacks or knee-jerk partisanship.
As much as possible, I stay in the right lane on 275, out of the way of the idiots who weave in and out of traffic at 75-80 mph or more. One almost nailed me this morning. I wonder how many of the cars in I-4 pileup were driving the speed limit?
Posted by: andy | January 11, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Howard,
Your colleague Ernest Hooper wrote a column a year or two ago about this very issue. He was in the "no one should be going over the speed limit anyway" category, and, needless to say, felt bad for the poor trees that had to die so that garbage could be printed. I often point to Germany. Speed is not worried about there outside of urban areas and no one gets in the left lane unless they are overtaking. There is no overtaking on the right. And you know what? They have fewer deadly crashes. Andy, wondering about in the I-4 pileup is incorrect. Speed was not a factor.
Posted by: RB | January 11, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Thank you, RB, for that eyewitness account.
Posted by: andy | January 11, 2008 at 01:33 PM
A few years ago. I ran into heavy fog, in an area of US 4 near Tampa.
It was eerie, you are afraid to put on the brakes because you know there are cars behind you and the big rigs drivers do not even slow down because they are higher up and can still see.
It was pure luck that there wasn't a very bad accident.
Posted by: guy | January 11, 2008 at 04:07 PM