Versailles, IN – An Indiana State Police sergeant is getting national acclaim after he tweeted that he had pulled over a slow driver in the left lane.
“I stopped this vehicle today for a left lane violation on I-65,” Sergeant Stephen Wheeles tweeted June 16. “The driver had approximately 20 cars slowed behind her because she would not move back to the right lane.”
“Again …,” Sgt. Wheeles continued, “if there are vehicles behind you, you must move to the right lane to allow them to pass.”
The tweet had 78,000 “likes” and 4,600 comments in the first three days on Twitter.
The reaction on Twitter to Sgt. Wheeles was overwhelmingly supportive.
“Wow .. I am overwhelmed,” Sgt. Wheeles tweets after his post went viral. “You are all amazing!!! Just trying to do my part to make the roadways safer for the traveling public.”
“Someone write his superiors so he can get himself a raise,” The Official Dirty White Boy Twitter account tweeted.
“Now that’s a tweet I can agree with,” Sgt. Wheeles responded.
“Yooooooo, do you wanna come to Hawaii and tell everyone that??” Kaya tweeted.
“As long as I could tell them from a beach chair with my feet in the sand,” Sgt. Wheeles said.
One of the commenters included race car driver Graham Rahal, whose father Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indy 500.
“This guy is my hero,” Rahal tweeted. “Fast lane cruisers are one of my biggest frustrations.”
Former NFL star Troy Aikman even chimed in.
“Finally!” Aikman tweeted with a thumbs up emoji.
Someone asked Sgt. Wheeles on Twitter if they could be ticketed for being in the left lane even if they were going the speed limit, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Sgt Wheeles stated, "The spirit of the law is that since many people drive well above the speed limit, it creates an 'accordion effect' as traffic starts backing up behind the slower vehicle. This is where many of our crashes occur on the interstates. It’s all in the name of safety."
Do you think that slow drivers in the left lane should be ticketed? We'd like to hear from you. Please let us know in the comments.
