Gov. Bill Owens has signed legislation intended to keep slowpokes out of the left lane on Colorado multilane highways.

The new law gives troopers more authority to ticket drivers who go too slowly in the left lane, blocking the normal flow of traffic.

“Vehicles traveling below the speed limit often create real traffic hazards if they are in the left lane,” Owens said as he announced the signing of the bill March 17. “Reserving the left lane for passing will improve safety as well as traffic flow.”

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, hopes the bill, HB1076, cuts down on road rage and eases traffic woes on the state’s highways.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen more and more drivers in that left-hand lane, and it’s becoming increasingly dangerous,” Madden recently told Denver’s KUSA TV. “This bill basically tells people, ‘You drive in the right-hand lane, you go into the left lane to pass and then, if possible, you get back over as soon as you can.”

Under the new rule, which takes effect July 1, those who lag in the left lane could be ticketed and fined between $15 and $100 with no points off the driver’s license if they are blocking the flow of traffic.

The only exceptions would be for left turns – if permitted – or if the volume of traffic does not allow a vehicle to merge safely back into a nonpassing lane.