Traffic: WSP addressing important safety issue

Re: “Doesn’t State Patrol have bigger concerns?” (letter, 3-20).

The writer states that ticket revenue is why the State Patrol is focusing on left-lane campers. She could not be more wrong.

When drivers “camp” in the left lane, they not only plug up the highway, they create a safety issue as frustrated drivers behind them try to pass on the right, then cut back in further up the line the “camper” has created.

Folks in the left lane don’t want someone cutting back in, so everyone closes the gaps and they end up bumper to bumper at freeway speeds. This is a disaster in the making that would easily be averted if the camper weren’t either clueless about staying right or too obstinate to move over.

Further, studies have shown that the congestion campers cause is akin to reducing lane volume by 25 percent. Kudos to the State Patrol for addressing these dangerous and obstructive scofflaws.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Traffic: WSP addressing important safety issue."