Dear Urban Diplomat: Can I stop rude drivers from budging at a lane-closure queue?
Dear Urban Diplomat,
The left lane is closed about halfway along the off-ramp from the Bayview extension to River Street. Yet every morning, despite the lane closure signs, one in 10 drivers speeds past the queue and squeezes in at the bottleneck, making everyone else’s commute even more excruciating. One morning, I’d had enough, so I positioned my car over the dotted line, blocking the left lane. Some guy in a black BMW drove up behind me and laid on the horn. I held my ground. I think everyone else appreciated it—in fact, another driver mimicked my move. I was right, right?
—Vigilante in a Tercel, Davisville
Your intentions were commendable, but you know what they say about roads and good intentions. Until the merge, the left lane is a viable road and you have no right to block it. In fact, according to the Highway Traffic Act, you could be dinged for an improper lane change. Is it worth a $110 fine and two demerit points? If so, I and the vast majority of motorists applaud your quest to obliterate the scourge of queue-jumping D-bags.
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