Measure would allow police to cite drivers that don’t yield to faster traffic.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
A measure moving through the Oregon Legislature would allow police to cite drivers that don’t yield to faster traffic.
It passed the Senate in a 23-6 vote and will head back to the House for concurrence.
The bill would allow police to ticket drivers in the left lane who refuse to move over for faster-moving traffic. It applies to highways with a speed limit of at least 55 mph and at least two lanes in each direction.
The bill would raise the speed limit on rural stretches of freeway in eastern Oregon. The state’s top speed limit would become 70 mph, up from 65, on Interstate 84 between The Dalles and Idaho. It would also be 70 mph on Highway 95, which connects Nevada and Idaho through far southeastern Oregon.
(SOURCE: Associated Press)
Legislators, who presumably travel from their district to Salem regularly, were acutely aware of the issue.
Sen. Ginny Burdick, a Portland Democrat and key backer of the policy, claimed she’d spotted a “left-lane hog” just that morning during her commute to Salem.
“She was reading, so I couldn’t catch her attention,” Burdick said of the culprit.
(SOURCE: Register-Guard)
Sen. Alan Olsen (R-Canby) was dismayed by the proposal and thought it would lead to more accidents.
