The best laws are the ones we don’t really need very much. They’re the one that tell us we can’t do what most of us wouldn’t do anyway. Few of us, even if there were no laws, would murder or steal from or beat up our fellow humans. For those few people who don’t understand the Golden Rule, the laws just allow us to grab them by the shirt collar, say to them, “See, it says right here you can’t do that,” and haul them off somewhere where they won’t be able to do it again.

 

Generally, I think there should be fewer laws, but that we should obey the ones that make sense. I am, after all, a Libertarian, not an anarchist. There are some laws, however, that make no sense, and are regularly ignored by large groups of people. A 35-per-hour speed limit on a four-lane, semi-residential street falls in that category. The requirement to turn into the nearest lane is another.

 

I have friends who unquestioningly follow all the laws. When making a left turn, even if they want to be in the right lane after they’re finished turning, they pull into the left lane, signal, check their rear-view mirror, and move over into the right lane. Many of us just turn into the right lane, and I see no harm in it.  I understand there are places where the law says you can turn into any available lane.  That makes more sense.

 

Here’s another one that I don’t understand.

 

Let’s imagine you are driving down a four-lane street in the left lane, and preparing to make a left-hand turn at the upcoming intersection. Here is what you will probably see:

 

There is a solid double yellow line immediately to your left. The two solid yellow lines mean that neither you nor the car approaching you on the other side can cross the line.

 

A lane begins to open up between your lane and the oncoming left lane. It starts out as a point, and widens as you approach the intersection, gradually squeezing the other four lanes apart. Something interesting happens to the yellow lines, too. On your side, the yellow line remains solid; you cannot cross it. The line on the inside of what will become the left-turn lane, however, is dashed. That means that whoever is driving in this as-yet-unfinished lane can cross out of it. You veer slightly right, following the curve of the solid yellow line that you may not cross for maybe 50 feet as the emerging lane grows to its full size.

 

Finally the left-turn lane is complete. It is as wide as the other four lanes. The two yellow lines have disappeared, replaced by the white line that indicates the division between lanes, but which you may cross at will. You signal, check your mirror, move into the left-turn lane, and come to a stop at the red light, waiting for your turn to pull into the intersection and make your turn.

 

As you sit there, I want you to think about something. Directly behind you, there is an area of roadway as large as the footprint of a modest home that NOBODY CAN LEGALLY DRIVE ON. There are solid yellow lines surrounding the lane which prohibit anyone currently driving in the vicinity from getting in there.

 

To be sure, if aliens beam you up and then drop you and your car directly in there, you can drive out. In that case, the dashed yellow lines are on your side, and you can cross them and be out there where all the other people are driving. But you can’t get in there without a helicopter.

 

Come to think of it, I guess, while legally positioned to make a left turn at the intersection, you could BACK UP into that forbidden zone.

 

I wonder if they’d arrest me for that.

 

KsSmallBiz.com, April 27, 2005

Posted by Sharon under Laughter | 1 Comment »