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New Illinois law bans excessive left-lane driving

bwasson@dailyegyptian.com

Illinois motorists received a little help this year from the state‚s legislature with preventing one of highway travel‚s most annoying occurrences: drivers who block traffic by staying in the left lane.

Effective Jan. 1, it is illegal for anyone driving in Illinois on an Interstate highway or a four-lane full-access controlled freeway to drive in the left lane for more than half a mile when another vehicle is behind that person. In other words, if someone wants to pass you while you are driving in the left lane, you have to move to the right.

Although the law cracks down on left-lane driving that blocks the flow of traffic, it is not illegal to drive in the left lane for more than half a mile as long traffic is not being backed up.

Illinois State Police District 13 Trooper Ray Minor said he does not believe the law will have much of a local impact as it only applies to Interstate highways and freeways. Local highways such as Illinois Routes 13, 51 and 127 are exempt from the left lane law.

Despite implementation of the new law, Minor said Illinois drivers should not feel like officers are out to get them and that police would probably enforce the law simply through observation.

"I don‚t foresee officers out looking aggressively to enforce this statute," Minor said. "They‚re going to enforce it like any other statute and if they observe the violation, they‚re going to pull you over."

Minor said the law is most likely to be enforced when slow-moving vehicles such as tractor-trailers are driving in the left lane on Interstate highways.

Rep. John Sacia, R-Freeport, who helped sponsor the left-lane bill in the Illinois House in 2003, said he felt compelled to support deterring "left-lane drivers" simply because it is a matter of common courtesy.

"I remember hearing about it and thinking it was an exceptionally good idea," Sacia said. "Many states already have a law that keeps traffic to the right except to pass. It‚s just courteous, common sense driving, and I felt strongly about it."

An overwhelming number of Illinois General Assembly members also felt strongly about the bill in 2003, as the Illinois House approved by the bill with a 99-13 vote, and the Illinois Senate voted in its favor 40-10.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, who voted in favor of the bill‚s passage in the House, said the bill should have been signed into law years ago.

"There are a tremendous amount of people out there who for some reason stay in the left lane," Bost said. "I think it‚s being very uncourteous to other drivers. Hopefully, we get it enforced as much as possible."