LOUISIANA, USA — With a 150-mile-long district that stretches from Central to North Louisiana, state Senator Jay Luneau drives a lot and notices something.
“I saw firsthand a lot of people driving in the left lane and blocking traffic,” said Sen. Luneau.
Luneau, who lives in Alexandria, says that type of rolling roadblock goes beyond just frustration.
“It is dangerous because when you get up there people get aggravated, they get mad, they try to switch lanes,” said Sen. Luneau.
Sen. Luneau says that can lead to crashes, which in turn raises Louisiana drivers’ auto insurance rates. To make roadways safer, Sen. Luneau filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would tweak the current law, which states that the left lane is for passing only.
“People need to be courteous and think about what they’re doing on the road,” said Sen. Luneau.
By removing a 10-mile-per-hour exception from current law, the bill would require anyone driving slower than the posted speed limit to stay out of the left lane. The proposed changes would also increase the fine from $100 to $150 on the first offense, $250 on the second offense, and $350 on the third offense. Multiple offenses could also land you in jail for up to 30 days.
“They’re not trying to get over or pass a slow-moving vehicle,” said co-owner of NOLA Driving Institute Tonya Bergeron as she pointed to a truck. “They’re just riding in the lane.”
Last fall, WWL Louisiana buckled up with Bergeron to examine the law on left-hand lane use in Louisiana. In her 14 years teaching drivers, Bergeron says many people are unaware the law even exists.
“You will see people driving in the left lane all day, every day, wherever you go you’ll see it,” said Bergeron.
WWL Louisiana requested almost five years’ worth of traffic citations related to improper left-hand lane usage from law enforcement agencies across Southeast Louisiana. Only a few agencies had a handful of citations.
“We’re going to try and change the attitudes about that and let people know that we need to do something about this,” said Sen. Luneau.
Luneau says tweaking the law will hopefully make it easier for officers to enforce it and for drivers to obey it.
“I’m just hopeful that we can improve our driving habits here in the state of Louisiana and that people can be more respectful of other motorists on the road,” said Luneau.
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