Wednesday, August 6, 2003

"Left Lane Laggards," as you label them, are only part of the problem, but certainly not the root cause of traffic problems in Fayette County. It doesn't take a doctorate in proctology to come to the conclusion that our neighboring friends from other counties are the real royal pains in the lower anatomy when it comes to our traffic woes!

Look at them! From morning to late evening you'll see license plates from other surrounding counties all over the place!And if you look close enough you'll see that, for the most part, they're the onesfailing to yield, failing to use turn signals, driving aggressively, cutting you off, driving slowly in the left lanes, hugging your bumper, etc. Furthermore, when you pass by auto accidents, you'll also see they're the ones involved in about 70 percent of all the accidents.

Now let's add in the mix of problematic people: The irresponsible "teen of baby boomer" who, responsible or not, was overgenerously given the keys to a brand new car on their 16th birthday(primarily to get them out of the house); the stressed out "mini-van moms" who have one linear thought process going through their minds when behind the wheel: "I'm late picking up my kids!" Lest we not forget the high testosterone crowdof the "Macho Mashers" (if you happen to own an SUV or monster truck and believe its sheer size alone gives you some type of diplomatic immunity or road supremacy.)

According to a survey, over half of the drivers in the U.S.A. now suffer from road rage.This means thatthe majority of us will now encounter road ragers many times in our lives.

One website that I lookedup before actually writingthis response actually suggested that motorists make "Sorry" signs for your vehicle, which I personally don't think is such a bad idea.

We have some serious traffic problems out there and at its root, it's a shared problem caused by the times we live in and the road system we drive on (which by the way, hasn't kept up with the growth rate over the past 10 years). To blame one type of bad habit isn't fair, nor is it responsible considering the audience you write to on a weekly basis. You're just fueling the driver stress and anxiety that already exists and giving motorists one more reason to hate the person that you share the road with.

So the next time you identify a motorist who happens to enjoy the left-hand side of the road, make an attempt to pass on the right as the law allows. I could easily make the argument that "left lane laggards" are saving lives of many by slowing down you "Righteous Right Lane Road Ragers"who think a Sunday drive is doing 85 mph in a 45 mph zone with a cell phone to your ear.

We're all at fault to some degree.I guess a good start for all of us would be to ask yourself, "What can I do to be part of the solution, not the problem?"

Left Lane Lenny