SC

SC Lawmaker: Slowpokes, Keep Right

S.C. Rep. Joshua Putnam (R-Anderson) has filed legislation requiring slow drivers to stay out of the farthest left-hand lane on Palmetto State highways. Putnum’s bill – H. 4390 – would make it against the law for anyone to drive less than five miles per hour below the posted speed in the farthest…

S.C. Rep. Joshua Putnam (R-Anderson) has filed legislation requiring slow drivers to stay out of the farthest left-hand lane on Palmetto State highways.

Putnum’s bill – H. 4390 – would make it against the law for anyone to drive less than five miles per hour below the posted speed in the farthest left-handed lane. Violators would be ticketed and fined – and would lose two of the twelve points on their licenses.

“The bill is designed for safety and to eliminate bottlenecks and congestion on our interstates and highway systems,” Putnam told the S.C. Radio Network.

“We don’t want cars to be passing folks on the right hand side of the road because that’s where your accidents come into play,” he added. “We don’t want to stop people from driving 5- and 10-miles-per-hour below the speed limits because some people are not comfortable with those speeds … we want them just to use the right hand lanes.”

Hmmm …

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41 comments

Jackie Chiles December 6, 2013 at 11:52 am

I hate slow drivers in the left lane, but I’m not sure we need to give them tickets.

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nitrat December 6, 2013 at 1:57 pm

…and, 12 points…that’s a little absurd and a sure sign this guy wants to be driving 20 MPH over the limit and that’s what has him so PO’d.

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CorruptionInColumbia December 6, 2013 at 2:44 pm

“Violators would be ticketed and fined – and would lose two of the twelve points on their licenses.”

Two points.

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euwe max December 8, 2013 at 8:51 am

What this says to me is cops don’t have enough to do.

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DarCoPoPo December 8, 2013 at 9:36 am

Cops have PLENTY to do;

Obviously, legislators don’t.

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euwe max December 9, 2013 at 5:16 am

Poor legislators… they are overworked and underpaid… that’s why most of them are millionaires when they leave office – they were forced to earn a living instead of do their jobs!

We should increase their salary so they have more time to do the people’s work.

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Slartibartfast December 9, 2013 at 11:34 pm

I heard that the person in the left-hand lane going slowly is almost always Russ Cassell (well-loved upstate radio talk show dude). There’s an unwritten state law that says it’s ok to ridicule him, in this instance, only.

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Gillon December 6, 2013 at 12:12 pm

They wouldn’t be driving slow if they weren’t texting or fiddling with their I-Phones. So how about some prohibition on that? Other states have it. But I guess that’s too progressive for a state that still allows adults on motorcycles to ride on interstates or elsewhere without helmets. After all, in the words of Libertarian Mark Sanford, “South Carolinians have the right to be as stupid as they want to.”. (and unfortunately, too often are–look who we elect to office.)

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CorruptionInColumbia December 6, 2013 at 1:09 pm

I don’t know how old you are, but I am more than old enough to remember the slow pokes in the left lanes, LONG BEFORE there were such things as cell phones and texting.

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L I'll Be December 6, 2013 at 12:12 pm

Praise the Lord! About time………….. Even though pretty sure this is already a law, just not being enforced.

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nitrat December 6, 2013 at 1:55 pm

I bet that’s why they have all those ‘slower traffic keep right’ signs on the side of the roads.

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fatalbert2013 December 6, 2013 at 5:51 pm

Courts won’t enforce it…..not the police

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Smirks December 6, 2013 at 12:27 pm

“Slower traffic keep right” is really, really not a hard concept to grasp.

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Truth December 6, 2013 at 10:46 pm

That is what SC law already says. And the law allows tickets to be issued already for driving slow in the passing lane.

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Hammerdown December 6, 2013 at 12:41 pm

Better yet, stay the fuck off the interstates. If you cant run with the big dogs, stay in the yard!

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Nölff December 6, 2013 at 1:07 pm

Now if we could keep people from Georgia off our roads it will make things even safer.

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CorruptionInColumbia December 6, 2013 at 1:12 pm

I like the sound of this but in one report I read in recent days, there was verbiage in the bill to the effect that having a cell phone in your hand could get you ticketed if you are driving in the left hand lane. Sorry, but if you can manage a cell phone, keep up with traffic (at or above posted speed limit), stay in your lane, and all that good stuff, I don’t see the need for that verbiage.

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Thomas December 6, 2013 at 1:25 pm

This is just the kind of legislative buffoonery we would expect from democrats.

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Jackie Chiles December 6, 2013 at 2:13 pm

This bill has the full endorsement of Andre Bauer.

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? December 6, 2013 at 2:54 pm

Ha! Nicely done. I just don’t think the bill is gonna have a soft landing after his endorsement. :)

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Ass Blow December 6, 2013 at 2:47 pm

If it’s a fuckin moped you are screwed no matter what lane they are in. Moped is code for ” I don’t really have a license” and the milk crate on the front is were I keep my 40 ounce and shit!

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TontoBubbaGoldstein December 6, 2013 at 3:09 pm

We don’t want to stop people from driving 5- and 10-miles-per-hour below the speed limits because some people are not comfortable with those speeds

Pro Tip;:
If you are not comfortable with maintaining the posted speed on multi-lane highways–perhaps you shouldn’t drive on them at all.

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Penus Williams December 6, 2013 at 3:21 pm

Hell yeah! Get your slow asses out of the effing way!

I propose the following amendment: All marked law enforcement vehicles MUST travel at least 79 MPH on Interstate Highways to avoid creating those bottlenecks of drivers who are unable to pass a law enforcement vehicle. :-)

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idcydm December 6, 2013 at 5:17 pm

“Putnum’s bill – H. 4390 – would make it against the law for anyone to drive less than five miles per hour below the posted speed in the farthest left-handed lane.’

I’m usually in the right lane driving the speed limit and pass very few car driving 5 mph below the speed limit. Me thinks it’s not driving 5 mph below the posted speed that is the problem.

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shifty henry December 6, 2013 at 5:47 pm

Anyone driving faster than you is an idiot, and anyone
driving slower than you is a moron. (George Carlin)

The wheel was man’s greatest invention until he got behind
it (Bill Ireland)

I was stopped once for going 53 in a 35 mile per hour zone,
but I got off. I told them I had dyslexia. (Steve McFarlin)

My license plate says PMS. Nobody cuts me off. (Wendy
Liebman)

Liz: I get so nervous and frightened during driving tests!
Doctor: Never mind, you’ll pass eventually.
Liz: But I’m the examiner!

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idcydm December 6, 2013 at 7:09 pm

Carlin is right on :) and it makes no difference how fast or slow you are driving.

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Captain Chucktown December 7, 2013 at 6:51 am

So long as you get there.

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shifty henry December 6, 2013 at 5:23 pm

It’s been suggested that every car be equipped with a speaker telephone, and that your tag number is your telephone number. Then you can call the slowpokes and tell them to get the hell out of the way. Habitual
slowpokes get a toll-free number.

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fatalbert2013 December 6, 2013 at 5:50 pm

150 years overdue

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Slartibartfast December 9, 2013 at 11:27 pm

Hey, hey, hey! You are riiiiiiiiiight on, brother!

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FUCK TAILGATERS December 6, 2013 at 10:27 pm

This guy is a total douche and is clearly out of touch with reality. Sheeshus!!! You want to deter these crazy insane drivers in our state? Then LOCK THEM UP in jail for a few days for speeding … our statutes of law pertaining to motor vehicle operation MANDATE it as one of the forms of PUNISHMENT. If something is not down about these aggressive drivers soon, I can see other people whipping out guns and shooting them .. its is getting THAT bad on our roads that are also in DIRE NEED OF REPAIR … Anyway, this lawmaker is a complete DUMBASS!

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tomstickler December 6, 2013 at 11:10 pm

This law can only work if passing on the right is verboten, as it is on the Autobahn. It seems that unless you are on the bumper of the car ahead in the left lane, there will always be some dumbass who will pass on the right and then squeeze in front of you.

That only happens to me when I am driving the cage.

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Barry December 7, 2013 at 4:37 pm

I’d add this too. It’s a damn shame we can’t train German-style driving rules here (i.e. flashing high beams means get over to the right NOW because I’m passing, instead of instigating a drag race or road rage).

Of course, driver training in the US is a sick joke so there you go…

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euwe max December 7, 2013 at 6:54 am

Speed kills.

Smoke pot.

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nobodyspecial December 7, 2013 at 8:54 pm

Dogs and people.

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euwe max December 8, 2013 at 8:48 am

Speed doesn’t kill people, people kill people – dogs too

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Barry December 7, 2013 at 4:27 pm

Texas has it right…stay the fuck out of the left lane except to pass. Period. And they aggressively post it and aggressively enforce it. I was inattentive on a long drive and got pulled for loitering one minute too many in the left lane on I-40 (rightfully so, he had me dead to rights and I told him so), but he let me off with a warning. Maybe because I had SC plates but who knows. Anyway, we need that kind of left-lane enforcement. We have too many squatters and would-be speed limit enforcers creating a hazard for other drivers. I’d make the first offense zero points until the law was at least two years old though to break people in.

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Carol December 7, 2013 at 4:36 pm

Not everybody can stay in the right lane. Sometimes these exits are in the left lane and why stay in the right lane when you need to be in left. Sometimes these idiots that want to drive too fast all the time don’t quite make their turns. Not everybody are from the same place and familiar with the road as someone that frequents the road all the time. Respect is a lot of the problem on the road.

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Easy Money December 7, 2013 at 4:43 pm

I slam on my brakes for tailgaters. Hit me in the rear, and I own you.

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Slartibartfast December 9, 2013 at 11:17 pm

In the old days (30’s & 40’s) South Carolina posted speeds were suggestions. If you had a wreck, you could get sued blind and you got a ticket for “driving too fast for conditions” – prima faciae. It worked beautifully, until a couple of lawmakers had trouble getting out of their cul-de-sacs. So we got absolute speeds and stoplights. There was also the cheapening of the highway budget as lawmakers stole the funds for their pet county projects. (See a scholarly examination of why speeds are set slower for political reasons, not safety. https://engineering.purdue.edu/~flm/CE361_files/Mannering-TRF-08.pdf .)

Wouldn’t you rather see the Highway Patrol go back to helping motorists rather than passing out tickets for income reasons? ( – of course almost all of you are too young to remember that.) Or is it all about control? Again.

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Mguzman December 10, 2013 at 7:05 am

Some folks refuse to move out of that left hand lane because its more convenient for them due to the fact at some point and time they will have to pass a car if they are in the right hand lane so this is why they stay in the left lane……obviously some haven’t quite mastered the art of passing….blow the horn, flash lights, hand gestures nothing moves some out of that left hand lane……

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