It’s bad enough that we have an elite group using our highways that is above trivial things like speed limits; but now the road bullies want the cops to ticket people who don’t get out of their way fast enough? Gene Gisin’s opinion article about the left lane being for “passing only” (“Keep the left lanes on freeways for passing only,” Sept. 16) sounds fine in a dream world of courteous drivers who obey the rules they agreed to obey when they got their licenses.
But in real life, more often than not, there are slow-moving cars and trucks scattered along the right lane(s); so you pull out to pass them, speed up to 70 or so, and in no time some road bully’s SUV is breathing down your back bumper demanding you get out of his way. Never mind that the speed limit sign says 65—that’s for sissies.
Pull back into that line of 55 mph cars so he can speed on, and good luck getting back into the left lane, with that chain of tailgating 80mph-ers trying to outdo each other.
Speed limits don’t work? Of course they don’t work! They’re not enforced. Start pulling over those speeding, tailgating yahoos on a regular basis—there’s no shortage of them—and at $500 a pop, the state will get out of debt, and they’ll either slow down or lose their licenses.
Posting any speed limit is pointless if you don’t enforce it. And penalizing people who are only trying to do what they’re supposed to do, in favor of those who think they’re above it all or just don’t care, makes no sense at all.
This article appears in Sep 23-30, 2010.
