Letters

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 300 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 FREEWAY DRIVING Focus on the real hazard -- speeders When I started driving many decades ago, we didn't have a freeway. Once it was completed and traffic grew, we were told that the traffic driving slower than the posted speed limit should stay to the right of the far left lane. Now, with greater congestion, we are being told that the left lane is only for passing. I see three things every day while I commute. First, because of congestion, most cars are using all lanes as a means of getting north and south on I-5. Second, the far left lane is in constant use. Third, although I do see an occasional passing in that lane, people are camping in the left lane (not using it to pass someone in the middle lane) and they are the speeders (those driving in excess of the posted speed limit). Even after the 60-mph cars leave the left lane, the speeders increase their speed and continue for miles down that lane. Posted speed limits are not a suggestion. They say the limit is 60 mph ... for everyone. A recent letter stated that slower traffic should stay to the right because it contributes to accidents, impedes traffic and causes road rage. In these comments, I hear a man who sees himself as a victim. "Slower traffic" to him means not going his 70-80 mph. He can't exercise his "right" not to be impeded so he can "camp" in his private fast lane. Oh, yes, someone else is the cause of his anger that might lead to road rage against others. What concerns me the most are the speeders who believe they have a greater right ... because they are victims of the rest of us. So, I agree with the writer that the State Patrol should issue more tickets ... but, to the "victims" ... who are a threat to the rest of us and our families. Randy Sehmel Marysville

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