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‘Hell no’: Florida bill would ban left-lane cruising

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A bill filed in the Florida Legislature that would ban drivers from cruising in the left lane of highways is drawing a mixed response from drivers.

Cruising in the fast lane is pretty standard.

Those who choose to drive at or under the speed limit in the left lane are often seen as a nuisance.

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“People are weaving in and out to go around you. Pass somebody. Move over,” Mark Fournier, a Connecticut resident driving through Florida, told WJAX.

“It’s dangerous out there,” said West Virginia’s John Baker, who was travelling to Bradenton, Florida.

The proposal, HB 421, would make it illegal for drivers to continuously drive in the left lane of highways, requiring it to be used as a passing lane only. The bill would apply only to roads and highways with two or more lanes and a speed limit of at least 65 mph.

Florida Statute 316.081, the current statute in place, allows drivers to use the left lane to drive unless “the driver knows or reasonably should know that he or she is being overtaken in that lane from the rear by a motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed.”

Some drivers, like “Paul,” who wouldn’t give his last name to WJAX, said he drives in the left lane to avoid semi-trucks.

“I drive like I drive. I mean drive a little over the speed limit, but I’m not going go get into those trucks so that some other guy can get into my bumper,” Paul said.

Still, the new law would be welcomed by many drivers.

“It’s simple, everything moves,” said Fournier.

For other drivers, it’s just one more “nuisance” law to deal with: “We have too many laws on the books. You know in Pennsylvania we have laws about your horse pooping on the road?” Dianne Sutton told WJAX.

And don’t expect Paul to support the proposal either.

“Hell no.”

If the bill becomes law, drivers who violate it risk getting a noncriminal traffic citation.

Florida HB 421 by National Content Desk on Scribd