Left lane love affair with Egan Drive

Slower traffic keep right. My recommendation: take down the signs and throw them away. Numerous motorists clearly ignore the message.

What the signs stand for is not enforced, as near as I can tell (when is the last time you heard about someone being pulled over for going too slow in the left lane?).

My experience as a valley commuter, perhaps mirrored by your own, indicates that a significant number of Juneau drivers have a love affair with the left lane on Egan Drive, particularly on the valley to downtown drive.

In my view, it is unsafe for drivers to pull into the left lane and stay there, particularly if they are traveling at a slower rate of speed than the rest of the traffic. Please understand, I am not referring to the drivers that have a legitimate reason to be in the left lane as they approach a turnoff, such as people who turn left at Fred Meyer, Western Auto or Salmon Creek.

The people to which I am referring are the ones that jump on in the valley and launch into the left lane so they "reserve" their spot to turn left at the high school or the state office building, even though they have 10 miles before they reach the intended destination. And it seems these people are teaching the next generation their preferred technique of sitting in the left lane, making for a whole new generation of inconsiderate drivers.

It is the serial offenders that really exasperate me. They do not seem to understand that they are the bottleneck, the hazard, the road-risk. Furthermore, speed doesn't seem to matter to them in their "left lane love affair world". Never mind the other motorists behind you. If they are hoping to reach their destination a bit sooner than you or obey traffic signs, they will simply have to wait.

Driver courtesy and rules of the road? Forget about it. In their world, there is no need for the right lane. Egan Drive might as well be a two lane road. Winter or summer, it does not seem to make any difference. Maybe I'll just take the bus since the new schedule is more commuter-friendly.

Clay Cummins

Juneau