State representative Josh Byrnes from north central Iowa has proposed a $100 fine for drivers caught dawdling in the left-hand lanes of Iowa’s highways and interstates. A great idea in theory, but a quick check of other State's driving laws will tell you that most states already have some sort of law like this on the books, and most go un-enforced.

This emotional topics benefits the representative whom brings it to the floor more than it will ever help a single citizen on the roadways in Iowa. So in that regard, it's a waste of time to even debate. The drivers who would be in violation of the new law are already unaware of the minimum speed law already in place on our highways, what possible notion could lawmakers have that a new law would suddenly bring these folks up to speed, literally?

Josh's suggestion is that any vehicle traveling in the left lane (Passing lane to you, me, and everyone else) should be doing so at a speed no less than 10 MPH LESS that the posted speed limit. The suggestion that this is remotely helpful is ridonkulous, a term I save for only the dumbest of legislative ideas. Any vehicle that can maintain 40 MPH is allowed on the interstate in Iowa. That's 30 MPH slower than the posted limit on some stretches, and presumably 10 MPH slower than the minimum required speed or 20 MPH below the posted maximum. See what I mean here? It's already a jumbled mess, and a waste of Trooper's time to further complicate it, since it goes un-enforced in most other state anyway.

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Spend your time on ideas that help your constituents.

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