Drivers Sound Off About Left Lane Hogs

So many comments have come in about the lady getting run off the road a few weeks ago, I decided to publish the related columns here in the blog.

On April 12th, the Times-News published this column:

"You won't believe what just happened," the caller began (I'll call her Anne). Tearfully she recounted her story. She was driving north on Interstate 81 in the inside lane near Greeneville. A maroon pickup truck beside her suddenly swerved over into her lane, forcing her to jerk the wheel to avoid a collision. "Before I realized what happened, I was in the grass median. All I could see was the concrete culvert coming at me at a speed of 80 miles an hour.

"My 10-year-old son was in the passenger seat. I usually have him ride in the back, but he gets carsick, so today I let him ride in the front. So I managed somehow to get back onto the roadway, and when I looked over at the two guys in the truck they were laughing hysterically."
The two men, still laughing, each gave her a thumbs-up and drove off, careful to stay in a position that kept her from reading their tag number. "If I had died, or my son had been killed, would they still be laughing?" she wondered.

A letter tells a similar story, this time about a dark blue Ford Excursion. "He whipped past me on the ramp from 11-W going onto I-26 East. By the time I was up to full speed, he was doing a minimum of 90 miles per hour, weaving in and out of traffic, forcing cars out of his way. This is at 7 a.m. in the morning. Anyone who was distracted or wasn't watching would be killed."

I see the same thing each morning on Stone Drive at about 7:15 a.m. A PT Cruiser and a late-model Lexus play Russian road roulette. They drive well over the speed limit as they zip in and out of the traffic lanes. The crowded road only increases the anger and hostility of nearby drivers who feel forced to move. It's just a matter of time until somebody gets hurt.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) studies show that driver error is responsible for at least 88 percent of vehicle crashes. Forcing his way through as he rapidly changes lanes, tailgates, speeds and runs a red light, the discourteous, illegal driver may feel he's on high alert and can avoid an accident. Or maybe that's just his big ego talking.

But even if his reflexes are as great as he thinks, what about the inattention or inability of surrounding drivers?

Only part of that 88 percent is the behavior of the riskier driver. The rest belongs to the drivers he's pushing around. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes people look and simply don't see a vehicle that's there. Sometimes their reaction time is slower because, gee, we expect other people to drive the speed limit and obey traffic laws. No study can tell us just how much rude driving costs in terms of crashes and deaths, but some people worry that aggressive driving has become a way of life.

That rudeness has the potential to turn our quiet East Tennessee highways into death traps. Just ask Anne. Be careful out there!

Here’s the April 26th column reflecting reader responses:

The story of Anne, who I wrote about a few weeks ago, didn't earn much sympathy from readers.

Anne was driving 80 mph in the inside lane of Interstate 81 near Greeneville when she was forced off the road by a pickup truck. She drove into the grass median and nearly hit a concrete barrier before she returned to the road. The two men inside the truck laughed when she managed to get her vehicle back on the roadway.

I usually hear from both sides when I write a story like that. A few callers say, "hear, hear," and appreciate the fact that I'm trying to get drivers to behave themselves. But this time most of the calls and e-mails came from people who want to applaud the perpetrators. That's because left-lane hogs are a pet peeve for many drivers.

Left-lane drivers are a major cause of road rage. There's even a Web site about it: leftlaneidiots.com. And if that's not enough to convince you, there's the law, which says the left lane is to be used only for passing.

Otherwise, you're supposed to remain in the right lane. One reader referred to drivers like Anne as "slow leaks in the left lane, with all day to get nowhere. She needs to be educated on the driving law ‘Slower Traffic Keep Right.'" Another said Anne was creeping along holding up traffic. "I say thanks for getting that dummy out of the passing lane," he concluded.

I have to stand up for Anne. First, her speed was 80 mph, not 40 mph, so she certainly wasn't a left-lane slowpoke. Secondly, I heard the fear in her voice as she told me the story of how frightened she was, and how she usually puts her 10-year-old son in the back but, today of all days, he rode in the front. She thought her son would be killed.

And to be fair, I never asked her what she was doing in the inside lane in the first place. She may have been passing, for all we know.

Please don't misunderstand my point. I'm totally against the drivers who hog the left lane at speeds well below the maximum limit. In fact, between starting and finishing this column I had to deal with one. I wish the police would materialize right behind them and give them a really big ticket, big enough to actually make them change their driving behavior and stay to the right.

But what's horrifying is that those people who cheer the maroon pickup for knocking Anne off the road are the drivers who surround you and me on the daily commute. While you're expecting kindness and forgiveness, they're wishing you'd fall off the roadway - and they'll be happy if you do. The lady was doing 80 mph, certainly more than any interstate speed limit in Tennessee, but the consensus is "good for them, pushing her off the road."

It's a frightening world. Maybe I'll dust off my bicycle.

Be careful out there!