In our neighborhood, Muncie where I once lived, a backyard picnic turned violent over the holiday weekend when a woman stabbed another woman in the eye with a barbecue fork in a disagreement over who got the last chunk of ribs. We take our BBQ seriously in Indiana.
We do, however, take our legislature as a joke. A recently passed law soon takes effect in Indiana. It requires a vehicle traveling in the left lane of a four-lane highway to move over when another vehicle approaches from the rear. Yes, this means that if you are traveling 70 mph in a seventy-mile zone and an idiot going ninety comes up on you, you must move over. Failure to do so could cause you to incur a fine of up to $500. More to the point, if the idiot is going 90, protect yourself at all costs.
Anyway, the idiocy ratio (IR) in our legislature is 100% in the house (97 - 0) and 59% in the senate (29 - 20) for an overall legislative IR of 86%. Seems about right.
Yes, I know it is idiotic to drive the speed limit in the left lane if the right lane is clear. But how dumb is it to pass a law that could impose a fine on an otherwise law-abiding driver in favor of a fool.
It is sufficient to treat the left lane as a passing lane only.
Credit, if any, where credit is due: It is my understanding that our fair state was not the first to endorse this legislation.
Headline: School destroyed by tomato plants now garden.
My fault. This is a case of faulty eyesight, not faulty writing or weird occurrences. It actually reads: School destroyed by tornado plants new garden.
The story is from Lafayette, also in the neighborhood, approximately as far west of us as Muncie is to the east.
12 comments:
This has all got to be an evil nightmare. I'm going back to bed. Perhaps I'll wake up later and things will be okay. Or not.
I'm tellin' ya, the world has gone crazy. And our politicians helped us to get there.
Chuck, it is the way of the press. Seems the "stories" break about 90 - 10 evil over good. 'Tis said, "No news is good news." My corollary: Good news is no news.
Lin, true. And when I hear someone complain that the congress or the legislature is "doing nothing" I count that a blessing. It is when they "do something" that things get worse.
Love your comment to Lin...
In Jersey, this is an unwritten law. It doesn't matter which lane you are in. If you are not going at least 15 miles over the speed limit, you are going to get creamed. This is why I avoid interstate travel.
Grace, unfortunately, I believe that to be true.
Ilene, you just described the deplorable driving conditions on almost all highways these days. And they don't have to be limited-access to be included in that.
Methinks your legislators have a case of the lead foot.
Bob, as in "Get outta my way!" I think you are right, and worse I think they often pass legislation they expect "us" to abide by but think it doesn't apply to themselves. But I could be wrong.
The law in Colorado is that on four-lane highways you can only be in the left lane while you are passing. Unless one goes to sleep after passing a car or line of cars, it is no big deal to move back over to the right lane. Right side passing was pretty much eliminated by this law.
Vee, "Left lane for passing only" signs are nearly universal and should be sufficient. The "move over" law, as passed in Indiana, is senseless and probably can't or won't be enforced. Let the officers judiciously enforce the existing rules.
Well, that would be quite a tomato. I think I like that story
Sharkey, sometimes the eye plays a trick on one, and the trick is more interesting than the reality.
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