JOAN PECK of Locust Grove
"I live off Route 3 west in Orange County and encounter these infuriating folks nearly every trip coming home from the Fredericksburg area," Peck wrote in an e-mail.
"I agree wholeheartedly that these rolling roadblocks are a hazard that zooms the blood pressure of those of us stuck behind them. They never seem to look in their rearview mirrors, or just don't plain care. Come on, folks--Move over!"
Sara Toye of Spotsylvania County has a different perspective on traffic along State Route 3 in her area, between Five-Mile Fork and Andora Drive.
"My frustration is not with the people driving at or even slightly below the speed limit in the left lane, but with the people who fly down that road well over the speed limit, in both lanes and in both directions," Toye wrote.
Toye noted that although the speed limit on some stretches of Route 3 is 45 mph, her experience has been that few people honor it.
"So please do not expect me
Those are just a few of the many responses I got to recent columns on left-lane hangers.
In my last column, I shared input from a state police spokesman who said that state law requires vehicles traveling abreast with another vehicle on
Specifically, if that vehicle signals an intent to pass with a horn or flashed lights, the car or tuck blocking the left lane must move to the right as soon as it is safe to do so.
Critics of left-lane hoggers outnumbered defenders by a ratio of roughly 10 to 1.
Terri Elliot of Spotsylvania said in an e-mail that she's amazed by the number of people who get into the left lane and simply stay there.
"VDOT needs to have everyone complete both a written and driving exam every five years to sort of refresh everyone's memory about how to drive safely, both for themselves and for others who are stacking up behind them."
Carla Jones of Spotsylvania wrote that she notices left-lane hogs on every trip she makes out Route 3 west.
"It is dangerous and inconsiderate, what these people are doing," her e-mail said. "One basically has to get lucky and pass them in the right lane, if you want to get by."
Hugh Risseeuw wrote that he's been commuting from Wilderness Church in Spotsylvania to the city train station for three years and deals with left-lane hoggers daily.
"When the car in the right lane finally pulls ahead and four or five cars stream around the lane hog, you'd think they'd figure it out."
Reader Kevin Brent of Fredericksburg was one of more than two dozen readers who noted that left-lane hogs aren't unique to Route 3.
"They're also particularly bad on I-64 between Richmond & Newport News," he wrote in an
Reader Kevin Stottlar sees plenty of left-lane hogs going to Dahlgren each day using I-95 and Route 3.
"I grew up in New York state, and there are signs reminding motorists that the left lane is for passing only," he wrote. "It's actually illegal to pass on the right."
Jerry Welch of Fredericksburg sees many "self-proclaimed traffic monitors staking out their place in the left lane on I-95, holding up traffic during morning rush hour northbound."
Steven Betts of Spotsylvania said he believes cell phones send some drivers into the left lane.
Why?
"To talk on the phone because they know no one will be in front of them who would require them to focus on their driving," he wrote.
Many who responded to the column argued the other side of the issue, saying that speeders and reckless drivers are more of a problem than people who linger in the left lane.
Ann Cooper of Stafford County said that if she dallies in the left lane, it's for a reason.
"I am probably going to make a left turn in a half-mile or so," she wrote. "Invariably, I find that if I move over to the right lane to let the impatient person pass me, no one will then let me back in so I can make my left turn,
Mark Keith of Spotsylvania agreed.
"I have found that unless you get into the lane you want when you turn onto Route 3, you're going to be stuck and not allowed to change lanes farther down the road. Drivers are reluctant to let other cars in front of them if they are driving in the right lane and want to make a left-hand turn. Whatever happened to common courtesy?"
Charter Wells of Spotsylvania finds left-lane hogs less annoying and hazardous than Route 3 tailgaters, particularly those driving 18-wheelers and oversized SUVs.
"Typically, I drive Route 3 west of Andora Drive in the right lane with my cruise control set at or slightly above the posted speed limit," he wrote. "These guys come roaring up behind me often with lights flashing, horns sounding and middle-finger salute."
To reach ROB HEDELT:
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com