This is a little personal for me. My wife and I don’t disagree on much, but we do on this subject. If I know I am going to turn left or take a left exit ramp, I always get over to the left lane well in advance to avoid having to squeeze in at the last moment. My wife, on the other hand, stays in the right lane until the very last second. Makes me crazy. It’s her opinion that it should be illegal to be in the left lane unless you are passing or just about to exit or turn left. Well, while I still vehemently disagree with her, she may win in the end.
A bill has been filed in the Florida Senate that would penalize drivers who stay in the left lane on certain roadways. It would make it a “moving violation” to be in the left lane unless passing or preparing to exit.
For right now, this new law would only apply to roads on which the speed limit is 65 mph or greater. That’s for now. But once this genie gets out of the bottle, who knows how far it will go?
In my defense as a left-laner, when I am in that lane I am always driving the speed limit or a little above it. It you want to pass me, you will be breaking the law, because you will be speeding. It’s not that I’m trying to enforce the speed limit, I’m simply trying to drive safely and avoid the near-accidents that seem to happen around here too frequently when drivers decide to change lanes at the last minute.
I will admit my actions sometimes upset people other than my wife. I have had cars behind me get right on my bumper in an effort to move me over so they can speed by. When I don’t move, they come storming around me sometimes displaying the middle finger salute in my direction. I’d love to return it, but as we all know, it’s practically a requirement in the “Free State of Florida” to be armed at all times, so I restrain myself.
Oh, and in case you didn’t know, another state senator introduced a bill to make it illegal for your dog to stick its head out the window when you are driving. But wait, isn’t that a dog’s favorite thing to do? All dogs love going for a car ride so they can let the wind blow their ears back.
This bill would also make it illegal for dogs to be transported on the running board, fender, hood or roof of a motor vehicle. Good grief, who would ever do that? I mean other than Mitt Romney.
As an advocate of dogs everywhere, I would like to speak out against this bill. OK, not the part about dogs riding on the roof, etc., but the part about dogs sticking their heads out the window. Dogs deserve a little joy. They have hard lives. All they get to do is eat, sleep, go for walks, and get the occasional belly rub from their owners. Come on, let’s show the pooches some love.
After being inundated with complaints, however, Sen. Lauren Book told the Tampa Bay Times recently she was planning to scrap the language from the bill.
Oh, and one more piece of insanity from Tallahassee, this dog bill has another provision that would make it illegal to declaw your cat! Punishable by a $1,000 fine.
So let me see, we have rising seas, red tide issues, semi-regular mass shootings and poor schools and the Florida Senate is worried about cat claws and dogs having fun? Good to see our legislators hard at work instead of fighting like cats and dogs. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
