The Florida Highway Patrol is starting a new initiative to crack down on slow left lane drivers traveling 10 miles per hour or more below the speed limit.
A warning is going up on highway billboards warning people to move over if they plan to drive slower than traffic. That has drivers ABC Action News talked to excited.
“I've always kind of hoped they would start ticketing slow drivers,” Adam Swope said. “Everybody gets road rage a little bit. Being a motorcyclist, it just makes everyone else a little more reckless and when you are on a bike some people get so annoyed by those slow drivers they just swerve out and never look. It makes it safer for everyone.”
Highway Patrol troopers say a lot of times slower drivers in the left lane are distracted: talking on their cell phones or texting while driving. That could result in two citations instead of one during their crackdown. All of the drivers Action News spoke to are in favor of the $60 fine and hope it helps keep traffic moving.
“I think for safety, if you are in the left lane, you should at least be driving a little over the speed limit,” Kimberly Broida said. “It creates an unsafe situation” if drivers are not.
There are exceptions to the law. For example, when drivers are preparing to turn left at intersections. Violators face $60 fines and a 3-point moving violation.
