Getting political about left lane slowpokes

When you drive South Carolina highways, occasionally you’ll see “Keep Right Except to Pass.” But increasingly motorists ignore the sign and routinely use the passing lane as others use the inside right lane on four-lane roadways.  Some states (examples are Georgia and Indiana) recognize this as a potential danger, especially when slower drivers clog the passing lane. That forces faster drivers to pull right and pass in the right lane, and that can create accidents.  Drivers who clog the passing lanes have been called left hand laggers or “Left Hand Lucys”, in the vernacular of one concerned Oconeean.  Dick Cottingham often drives across the state and, as late as last weekend, witnessed several dangerous examples of this traffic behavior.  He’s hopeful South Carolina lawmakers will follow the lead of Georgia and Indiana and establish fines for drivers who back up the left lane.  Even routinely police and ambulances drive the passing lane when they are not headed to emergencies.  94.1 The Lake and 101.7/WGOG decided to make this as a political issue, and recently posed a question to the candidates for Oconee County Sheriff.  You can hear those answers, as well as how Amanda Tinsley and Mike Crenshaw responded to other questions, as well, on 94.1 The Lake during the 9 o’clock Coffee Time tomorrow morning.