Left Lane, Right Lane: Whatever Happened
To Good Old Fashioned Kindness?

By Dr. DAVID L. CHANCEY
Pastor

Much is being written about slow-poke drivers clogging up the left lanes of our county's roads.

It all started with a Cal Beverly column on the front page of the Wednesday paper week before last. He made a good suggestion that could take the steam out of some road rage. Slow drivers need to drive in the right lane so drivers in a hurry can pass in the left lane.

That column must have struck a nerve based on reader response in last Wednesday's paper. The venting about "left-lane laggards" continued, but this traffic tirade expanded to traffic light issues and bashing bicyclists.

Like Cal, I'm surprised that we haven't heard more from the left lane drivers. The "hurry up and get over" people have had their say, but where is the feedback from the crowd on the left? I expected someone to counter with, "do you think you own the road?" and "what's wrong with a rolling roadblock?" And "what's the matter with your finger?"

Well, here I am, a left-lane driver, but I'm not even close to a slow poke who is oblivious to the caravan behind him. I'm like plenty of folks going the speed limit and still ticking off drivers riding our bumper. Often we can't get over because the car on the right is going the speed limit. If we increase our speed, we'd be the ones pulled over for speeding since we're leading the pack. ("But officer, I was being pushed to 75 mph by the 15 cars behind me"). If we slow down in order to pull behind the car on the right, that just increases the rage from the trailing driver.

I confess I'm a habitual speeder. My right foot is too heavy. Around town I try to drive the speed limit, but on the open road, I catch myself regularly going 5-10 mph over, especially on the interstate (even preachers have imperfections; I'm working on it). I'm not proud of this, but last summer on vacation I even got pulled over in a federal park for going 34 mph in a 20 mph zone. I got a warning, but that's a first for me.

There have been many times when I'm going five mph over in the left lane of a Fayette County highway, and still some driver flies up behind me, flashes his lights and acts like he's on the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

I've got to tell you, that ticks me off. Did you know preachers can be ticked off? Maybe I've been one who has added to this road rage ruckus because if you ride my bumper when I'm already going over the speed limit, buddy, you're in too big a hurry. And if you have the nerve to flash your lights, normally I don't get over. You can seethe and stomp and spit all day long until you back off my bumper. And if you keep on building rage, one of those protruding blood vessels may just pop right out of your neck.

I wouldn't want that to happen, so I'll make a deal with you. From now on, if for some reason you think you have to go faster than I'm already speeding, if you'll back off my bumper, then I'll go ahead and move over as soon as I have the first opportunity.

But leave it to a preacher to bring up the bottom-line of this whole left lane, right lane issue. Whatever happened to good, old fashioned kindness and courtesy? Where did "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another" (Eph. 4:32) go? Do we lose all patience when we get behind the wheel? Irritations and pet peeves aside, are we really in that big of a hurry? Isn't life too short to get all out of sorts over some pokey driver? What kind of witness are we presenting when we drive? And what are we teaching our children?

Instead of seeing them as a nuisance, is it possible to see these left-lane slow-pokes as a reminder to slow down and enjoy the drive? To stop and smell the roses? Let's just be nice out there. And as you fly by me, I'll give you a friendly nod and the warmest wave I can.

(Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor of McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville. The church family meets at 352 McDonough Road and invites you to join them for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m. this Sunday.)