SLOW DRIVERS IN FAST LANE HAVE TEMPERS RACING.

Byline: SUE DOYLE

Absent-minded slowpokes who putter along in the left lane, beware!

A spitting-mad caravan of speeders is on your tail, and they're sending you a clear message: MOVE OVER.

The grass-roots group Left Lane Drivers of America is out to reclaim the left lane for true speeders and push any dawdlers to slower, right-hand lanes.

With vinyl signs stretched across the tops of their windshields reading "Move Over" -- and arrows pointing to the right lanes -- these drivers are taking to the streets to spread the good word.

"The idea came to me out of frustration," said J.A. Tosti, who spearheaded the movement three months ago.

"Everyone has probably asked themselves, 'Boy, I wish there was a way I could tell the guy in front of me to move over.' I think it's a common sentiment."

Messing up mojo

Is it ever.

When stuck behind sluggish cars in the left lane, Byron Bush of Long Beach waits until there's an opening on the right and then shoots the slow drivers a bewildered look while zooming around them.

He said he doesn't want to be rude, but he wants them to know they are "messing up my mojo."

"It's a pain when people in front want to go 55mph because that's not the 55mph lane. It's the 75mph lane. I know it's not supposed to be, but it is," Bush said.

"If you're afraid to drive over 70mph, then get out of it."

It seems slow drivers in the left lane are causing motorists to use the right lanes to pass them -- not exactly the rules of the road.

The Department of Motor Vehicles handbook teaches motorists to use the left lane for driving faster and passing. It tells drivers moving slower to use the right lane.

But somehow, somewhere that message has been lost. Whether qualified or not, it seems everyone wants to live life in the fast lane.

"But the more that people are reminded of the need to move over, the better off we'll all be," said Tosti, a self-employed newsletter publisher living in Washington.

A clear sign

Still, Tosti made clear that he doesn't advise tailgating or resorting to other aggressive methods to encourage motorists to move over. He hopes the signs will speak for themselves.

His signs cost $29 at leftlanedrivers.org. So far, fewer than 1,000 have been sold.

But the way Tosti sees it, the signs are a cheaper alternative for getting through bottlenecks than adding more lanes to clogged freeways.

Especially today, when there's no money in sight for expansions.

"You have to work with what you've got," the 58-year-old said.

"If we can increase the flow of traffic by people being more conscious that they need to move when done passing, that will help an awful lot with the flow of traffic."

Failing to go fast

Although all lanes on the freeway have the same speed limit, any lane should be expected to go 65mph, California Highway Patrol Officer Rick Quintero said.

Drivers not driving the speed limit can be cited for impeding traffic. The CHP has issued 16 tickets for that so far this year in Los Angeles County.

Last year, 40 citations in the county -- and 247 statewide -- were given to drivers failing to drive fast enough on the freeway.

Michael Wacht, a Westside computer consultant, wonders what the problem is with slackers in the left lane when there are often up to five other lanes to choose from.

"It's kind of sad, especially if you have a six-lane highway like the 405," Wacht said. "It's obnoxious for people not to move over."

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) This "Move Over" decal is displayed on a vehicle to encourage slow drivers to move out of the left lane.