Enforce the speed limits

A letter to the editor last week in which the author offered a defense of aggressive driving created a flurry of responses - almost all of which were outraged by his position. Essentially, he argued that the real danger on the Garden State Parkway was drivers who refused to stay in the right lane if they weren't doing over 65 mph. He said the right lane during rush hour was for people who did 65, the middle lanes were for those who were doing 65 to 75 and the passing lane was for people doing 80. The problem, he said, was people who were only doing 65 were forcing those doing 75 to 80 to pass unsafely.
He's right that people who aren't passing should keep right. That's the law - one, unfortunately, that is never enforced. But to suggest that people who are going 65 - the maximum allowable limit - have no business being in lanes intended for those doing 75 to 80 is scary. Clearly, that mentality is pervasive. On my trip to work this morning, heading north on the Parkway south of the Asbury Park exit, I had the right lane to myself for a good part of the trip. I was doing 65 to 68. I didn't catch up to anyone in front of me, and cars were zooming past, many doing 75 and 80.
Why aren't the troopers out there? My guess: There probably haven't been many fatalities on that stretch. Unfortunately, deaths or no deaths, if you allow people to go that fast with no consequences, the behavior will become ingrained, no matter where they are. That leads to deaths and aggressive behavior on roads where there are fewer margins for error. There will be no demonstrable drop in auto deaths in New Jersey without stepped-up enforcement.