Carpool Lanes Don’t Go With the Flow

I suppose I’m guilty of some of those bad driving habits you listed in “Commuting Habits Mostly Unchanged” (Aug. 7), but I have to tell you that nothing--and I mean nothing--makes my blood boil more than those passive-aggressive jerks who decide that the left lanes on the freeway are their private putt-putt alleys where they can tortoise along at 40 mph or so, holding the rest of us up.

Haven’t these rude, inconsiderate people learned by now that the right-hand lanes were made for slower traffic? How many blinking headlights, blaring horns and hand gestures must they receive before they finally get a clue and get with the program? If they can’t handle freeway speeds, they should stay off the freeways. It’s just that simple.

Alan Rosenstein

Santa Monica

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Your story has some very telling information. It states that the percentage of workers using carpools decreased between 1990 and last year. This is amazing, not surprising, because carpool-lane mileage has been greatly expanded during this time.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) is correct. The best proof is on the southbound 55 Freeway, which has vastly improved traffic flow since the high-occupancy-vehicle lane was returned to mixed-flow use.

A. Trujillo Escareno

Tustin