News, New Indiana law: Move over, slowpokes; if you don't, it could cost you $500 (Indianapolis: gated, dangerous)

[JD59]

INDIANAPOLIS | The never-ending battle over use of the left lane on interstate highways almost certainly is intensifying this Memorial Day weekend as millions of motorists travel to or through Indiana, the "Crossroads of America."

Speedy drivers tend to believe the left lane is reserved for them to pass all the slowpokes and trucks in the highway's right lane.

New Indiana law: Move over, slowpokes; if you don't, it could cost you $500 - Indiana Economic Digest - Indiana

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Great news. Maybe they will start handing out tickets to these nervous and/or selfish people. These people who drive at speeds no more than 55 or 60 mph need to get off the interstate and drive on the frontage road, or if there is no frontage road, they should drive on a state highway that runs paralell to the interstate. Driving on the interstate 20 miles an hour slower than the flow of traffic is not only self-centerred and dangerous, their slow-poke driving defeats the purpose of driving on the interstate. Either drive it like you own it or get out of the way.

[Graywhiskers]

People get angry on I-65 if I am in the left lane doing 75 mph, while I am passing cars and trucks in the right hand lane. I have been flipped off, tail gated, lights flashed at me, occasionally a driver has pulled in front of me and slowed down, trying to back me off out of the lane, which I never do. I just slow down with them as they go slow in the fast lane, creating the safety hazard.
I don't have this problem on I-74 which has less traffic. I don't sit out in the fast lane any longer than I need to safely pass the slower traffic.
There are too many impatient angry drivers on I-65 from Indianapolis to Lafayette. How fast are we supposed to speed in the fast lane to keep those jerks happy?

[Humboldt1]

Speed limit is 70mph except thru Marion and Tippecanoe counties in Indiana on I 65. I also take I 74 southeast of Indy on my way to see the folks from Chicago.

The issue is not so much your speed as how long it takes you to pass in the left lane. If you are going 75mph and you are passing someone going 74mph it will take forever. We see this a lot with semis where one has 69mph governor and the other has 70mph governor. Tis is for company trucks. It is not unusual to see owner operators going well in excess of 70mph.

You should be going at least 80mph if you are going to hang out in the left lane. I average 85 mph from Chicago to Indy, and try to stay above 80 unless there is heavy traffic. Under ideal conditions I will go 90mph so long as there is light traffic and no cops. I usually will go 70mph or slightly less on 465 if there is police presence or traffic dictates it.

With cops I will keep within 10mph, but usually do not get down to 75 unless traffic dictates it.

[cdr18]

It is definitely a needed law. Too many people will go at or below the speed limit and just "camp" in the left lane. It is almost as if they have too much pride to get over in the right lane. If you're not going to go a little faster than the speed limit, get in the right lane.

However, this is going to be a very difficult law to enforce. It will have to be obvious to pull someone over and I'm sure there is a valid argument to get out of a ticket. Similar to the texting while driving law, it is difficult to enforce. Needless to say, still an effective law to have.

[MissingIndiana]

Most of the time if you're running 75 in the left lane, you are gradually passing people that are on the right. I'm never going to get over in the right lane and end up getting stuck behind slower moving traffic just because some people feel like they have a right to run 85-90. Even if I can get in the right lane, I'm not going to let myself get pinned in there where I can't move back over before I catch up to the next vehicle on the right and have to hit the brakes.

I'm not sure where so many people get the idea that they are entitled to drive as fast as they want, and that if people trying to obey the law and drive safely don't get out of their way then they are in the wrong.

[ColdAilment]

Wow...another regressive law in Indiana, is anyone really surprised?

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Wow...another regressive law in Indiana, is anyone really surprised?

How is it regressive?

[ischyros]

My favorite are the couple of news stations that seem to be trying to spin this law. Channel 16 in South Bend had a headline saying something along the lines of possibly being fined for going the speed limit (the headline has since been changed). Channel 15 in Fort Wayne has this "Indiana motorists who obey the speed limit in the left lanes of multi-lane highways soon will be required to move over to allow faster vehicles to pass or risk $500 fines." Um, no, it requires slower traffic in the left lane not passing someone to get over to the right if they are being overtaken from behind. It doesn't matter if that slower traffic is going 50 or 80.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Wow...another regressive law in Indiana, is anyone really surprised?

I do believe a lot of states have this sort of law in place already.