House approves fine for Virginia s left-lane dawdlers, Crime
House approves fine for Virginia’s left-lane dawdlers
Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Bristol
RICHMOND—The House of Delegates has approved a bill that would impose a mandatory $250 fine for driving too leisurely in the left lane on highways.
HB two thousand two hundred one was introduced by Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Bristol, and co-sponsored by Democrats Del. Kaye Kory of Falls Church and Sen. Scott Surovell of Fairfax to demonstrate bipartisan support for the measure.
“Left-lane bandits,” as they are often known, have become a “particularly pervasive and ever-growing problem” on Virginia roadways, O’Quinn said.
“It doesn’t matter which corner of the commonwealth you come from,” he said when addressing the bill on the House floor earlier this week. “It doesn’t matter which interstate or four-lane highway that you have going through the districts you represent. I ensure you are going to encounter this many times, even if you’re on the highways for just a few minutes.”
Under current Virginia law, driving in the left lane is illegal except when passing or when it is deemed “otherwise impractical,” but there is no fine for failing to obey the law. O’Quinn said that, for the safety of all Virginian drivers, he hopes to switch that.
“I consulted with a lot of law-enforcement officers, very first responders, et cetera, about this, and every single one of them, without fail, had some sort of story where they ran up on a car who’s going grossly under the speed limit in the left lane, which then required them to have to attempt to pass on the right, which is not legal nor safe,” O’Quinn said. “A number of close calls and a few accidents, in fact, have occurred from that.
“This is also something that is one of the leading causes of road rage—which certainly, I am not condoning by any stretch—but it’s something that law-enforcement officers many times can point back to as the root of a number of road-rage incidents,” he added.
He added that he and his co-sponsors are not attempting to switch traffic laws, but rather help drivers understand the dangers of disobeying lane rules.
The House voted 66-31 for final passage of the bill on Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
YEAS (66)—Adams, Anderson, Austin, Bell, John J., Bell, Richard P., Byron, Campbell, Cline, Collins, Cox, Davis, Dudenhefer, Edmunds, Farrell, Fowler, Freitas, Gilbert, Greason, Habeeb, Hayes, Head, Helsel, Heretick, Herring, Hester, Hodges, Holcomb, Hope, Ingram, James, Jones, Kilgore, Knight, Krizek, Landes, LaRock, Leftwich, LeMunyon, Lindsey, Lingamfelter, Lopez, Loupassi, Marshall, D.W., Marshall, R.G., Massie, Miller, Minchew, Morris, O’Bannon, O’Quinn, Orrock, Peace, Pillion, Plum, Ransone, Rasoul, Rush, Stolle, Villanueva, Ware, Watts, Webert, Wright, Yancey, Yost, Speaker Howell.
NAYS (31)—Aird, Albo, Bagby, Bell, Robert B., Bloxom, Boysko, Bulova, Carr, Cole, Filler-Corn, Garrett, Hugo, Keam, Kory, Levine, McQuinn, Miyares, Mullin, Murphy, Pogge, Poindexter, Price, Robinson, Sickles, Simon, Sullivan, Torian, Toscano, Tyler, Ward, Wilt.
