Vehicles enter and exit the Richmond, B.C., end of the Massey Tunnel on Sept. 11, 2017.DARRYL DYCK/For The Globe and Mail
Some driving habits are wrong, most of us would agree. I’m not referring to criminal acts such as drunk driving, which no right-minded individual would defend, but more innocuous infractions that might be open to debate. Tops on this list are drivers who crawl along in the passing lane going well below the speed limit – left-lane hogs – as well as those creeping along in the middle lane of a three-lane highway.
I’ve made it my personal mission to combat these vile driving practices. I devote a column every year to lamenting such poor driving. I have to admit that, so far, I’m failing badly at my mission.
Take British Columbia, where failing to keep right except when passing is an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act. In 2018, the RCMP fined 699 drivers for failing to keep right. That was down from the 799 in 2017. An RCMP spokesperson told the media, ticketing left-lane hogs isn’t a “priority” because “taking unnecessary risks like following too closely, passing improperly and speeding out of frustration contributes more to the cause of collisions than the act of driving in the left lane.”
Many other provinces and states have similar laws. Alabama just passed a bill that makes it a misdemeanour for a “vehicle traveling on the interstate highway from remaining in the leftmost lane for more than 1.5 miles without completely passing another vehicle.”
But these don’t seem to be doing much good either.
Left-lane hogs? They frustrate everyone. We live in a fractured, divided world, but if you Google “passing lane” you find posts from around the globe vilifying these miscreant. It may be the one thing people of all views can agree on – we all despise drivers who go slow in the passing lane.
Yet, because there are worse things that drivers do, no one makes curing this automotive plague a priority.
But here’s the reality: Sloppy driving turns leads to deadly driving.
Drivers who clog up the passing lane cause those going the appropriate speed to make dangerous passes on the right-hand side. It can lead drivers to – as the RCMP spokesperson claimed – take “unnecessary risks like following too closely, passing improperly and speeding out of frustration.” Show me a left-lane hog and I will show you an accident in the making. If you’re so oblivious behind the wheel, what other infringements might you make?
In 1982, the world was introduced to the “broken window theory,” a concept created by American academics that maintained that people are more likely to commit a petty crime – for instance, breaking a window – if their environment already had plenty of broken windows (or graffiti, litter, prostitution). The broken window theory, while controversial, has had a significant influence on policing.
What if we applied it to “petty” driving infractions such as clogging the passing lane? Would prioritizing this kind of traffic enforcement lead to a reduction in more serious driving transgressions? It might be worth a test period to see.
Right now, however, it’s so rare for there to be any consequence for clogging the passing lane, that last year a video of an Indiana cop issuing a ticket to a left lane hog went viral.
We can’t prevent another driver from hogging the left lane but we can be vigilant about how we drive. Ultimately, that’s the only way to curb this annoying – potentially deadly – practice. The fault, dear drivers, is not in our cars but in ourselves.
Shopping for a new car? Check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest discounts, rebates and rates on new cars, trucks and SUVs. Click here to get your price.
Stay on top of all our Drive stories. We have a Drive newsletter covering car reviews, innovative new cars and the ups and downs of everyday driving. Sign up for the weekly Drive newsletter, delivered to your inbox for free. Follow us on Instagram, @globedrive.