Plan rolled out to get slow drivers out of the fast lane

Miami-Dade commissioners were asked this week to approve a mayoral memo directing police to “coordinate ‘Slower Traffic Keep Right’ enforcement details.

The reason for the memorandum, however, isn’t that commuters are driving too fast, but that they’re driving too slowly – and in the wrong lane.
“Motorists who impede the smooth flow of traffic in the leftmost lanes of an expressway,” the memorandum asserts, “pose a hazard to other drivers and reduce the overall efficiency of commuting.”

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is proposing a three-phase plan, none of which includes making Get the Lead Out signs.

The effort strives to keep up with a Florida State statute (Section 316.081) that requires that “any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal posted speed limit shall utilize the right-hand lane or as close as practicable to the right-hand lane of the roadway.”

The section also requires that “a driver may not continue to operate a motor vehicle in the leftmost lane of a two or more lane highway when the driver knows or reasonably should know that he or she is being overtaken in that lane from the rear by a motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed.”

The memorandum also calls for stepped-up enforcement of truck-lane restrictions by “reducing weaving maneuvers during passing to prevent truck conflicts and crashes with vehicles.”

The Miami-Dade Police Department, the mayor wrote, should coordinate with “partner law enforcement agencies, such as the Florida Highway Patrol and the Miami Police Department to assist with enforcement along jurisdictional corridors.”

Phase one would be a four-week educational campaign consisting of “media advisories and social media postings to educate the public on ‘Slow Traffic Keep Right’ and truck lane restriction laws.”

In phase two, scheduled to last two weeks, “traffic stops will be conducted when a violation is observed.” Officers will issue written warnings that won’t include penalties or fine. Phase two’s goal is to “educate the motorist on the violations observed.”

During the final phase, enforcement agencies are to issue citations. “Marked police vehicles and police motorcycles” will conduct the traffic stops, the mayor wrote. Phase three is to be evaluated after a two-week enforcement period. “After a reduction in violations is observed, the enforcement operation will conclude.”

Miami Today asked the county police to clarify what constitutes a sufficient “reduction in violations” and specifically how the operation would be ended. There was no response by press time.