Look out, all you left-lane campers.
Soon, you could be approached from behind by an impatient commuter with the words "move over" and a giant arrow pointed in the direction of the No. 2 lane pasted across his or her windshield.
Those drivers who routinely get irritated when you create those mile-long backups now have a polite way of communicating with you. For $29, they can buy their very own "move over" windshield decals through the Web site leftlanedrivers.org.
The site was set up earlier this year by J.A. Tosti of Vancouver, Wash., who said by e-mail Friday that he is the director of a new group called Left Lane Drivers of America. He termed the project a "labor of love."
Apparently, the site already is a hit. After being up just three months, more than 500,000 people have visited, Tosti said.
Rick Reiss, a Temecula man who commutes to downtown San Diego, stumbled upon the site recently and called it to my attention. It struck a cord with Reiss, who often becomes frustrated by the left-lane blockade that confronts his van pool daily.
"You've got people who just want to camp out there all the time," Reiss said by phone last week. "It is kind of frustrating."
Reiss said his commute can take one to two hours. And it doesn't help when someone creates artificial congestion by refusing to let anyone pass.
"I don't want to come across as a speed demon," he said. "But we commute a long distance … and we want to get home to our families."
For that reason, he supports the group's stated goal of taking back the fast lane. The goal is displayed prominently on the Web site.
"We invite you to join Left Lane Drivers of America, a growing, grass-roots effort to reclaim the left lanes on our freeways and multiple-lane highways," the site states. "To do this, those of us who are genuine left lane drivers are politely, but firmly, reminding others what the left lane is for."
In case you missed those "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs posted along the freeways, the lane is for passing, not cruising. Incidentally, the word is "slower," not "slow."
So far, Reiss hasn't bought one of the decals. But he's considering it.
"There is a need for a campaign to get all of these slow-moving Mr. Magoos out of the freeway fast lanes," he said.
Readers are encouraged to ask questions and submit ideas for commuter columns. Staff writer Dave Downey may be reached at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com.
Posted in Local on Monday, June 18, 2007 12:00 am Updated: 2:23 am.
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