Ross: Why not link the fast lane to driving skills?

I’ve been suggesting ways to reorganize freeway lanes to reduce accidents, and last week I talked about a system to sort people into three lanes by their preferred driving speed – from 75 on the left, down to 55 on the right – because it’s much safer to drive in a lane where everybody agrees on the speed. Less jockeying, less tailgating.

But Neil in Kingston sent me a suggestion that would take this to the next level. He proposed something I’d never considered – a system that would link your lane to your driving skills.

As he points out: “Most drivers are handed a license at 15 or 16, kissed goodbye and never checked again to see if they can actually handle it.”

So, his suggestion is a merit system, based on color-coded electronic windshield tags, like souped-up “Good To Go!” passes. Drivers who want to use the freeway would have to pass a competency test.

Ordinary drivers with no special driving talent would get a red windshield tag, and they’re confined to the right lane.

For drivers who have the skills and want to drive a little faster, they get a yellow tag for the medium speed lane in the middle, and would pay a modest fee.

And for the honor students who have mastered the defensive skills required for high-speed driving – people like Chris Sullivan — they pay the highest fee, but they get to drive in the fastest lane. They get the coveted green windshield tag. Those are the people you’re going to want to carpool with.

Neil, our listener, would be very strict about enforcement. If the freeway scanners catch you in a lane you are not eligible for? Automatic ticket!

I realize that this system would require that drivers follow pretty strict rules, and behave professionally, which is tough for Americans who believe in the freedom to drive competitively.

But when you depend on a transportation system where just one lapse in judgment can leave thousands of people stranded for hours, we will one day come to the point where incompetence behind the wheel is no longer an option.

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