Ron_H

You all know who you are. You get stressed out and frustrated by the left lane pokes who insist on remaining in that lane at all costs.

Well, now you have the chance to vent your frustration by directing it toward an effective remedy, and without utilizing the "one finger salute"! <img border="0" alt="[icon501]" title="" src="graemlins/icon501.gif" />

Here is a constructive way to begin ridding our country of this scourge:
May 19, 2003

Dear NMA supporter,

The press release listed below kicks off our formal campaign to promote lane
courtesy on our highways. This is the first in a series of five releases we
will be sending out between now and the end of June. Each release will deal
with a separate facet of lane courtesy.

The theme for this campaign is, "Do the RIGHT Thing!" (Courtesy of our
Massachusetts State Chapter Coordinator Ivan Sever and NMA Member Bill
Stinnett). We are designating June as "Lane Courtesy Month."

We want this first release in the hands of the press before Memorial Day
weekend. The press is always looking for holiday travel topics and we're
hoping they pick up on our lane courtesy theme. If you can copy and
distribute this release to your local newspapers, radio, and TV outlets it
should greatly expand our impact. Even if this arrives too late for
Memorial Day weekend, please distribute the release to all possible outlets.

This project is being funded by your contributions to the National Motorists
Association Foundation. Thank you for your financial and personal support.

Sincerely,

James J. Baxter
NMA President

Do the RIGHT Thing!
June is Lane Courtesy Month

FOR RELEASE: May 16, 2003
For More Information, contact:
Eric Skrum, NMA Communications Director, 608-849-6000

With summer just around the corner and visions of vacations dominating
Americans' thoughts, our highways will experience a dramatic increase in
traffic. To enhance the travel experience for motorists, the National
Motorists Association (NMA) has designated June as Lane Courtesy Month and
is kicking off the campaign with the slogan "Do the RIGHT Thing!"

Lane Courtesy, also called Lane Discipline, has a powerful influence on
highway safety, traffic flow, and congestion. Arguably, its effect is more
important than speed limits, traffic enforcement, or any other attempt to
control driver behavior. Ask almost any motorist what most raises their ire
when using major highways and the answer will be "failure of slower traffic
to keep right or yield to the right when faster traffic approaches."

The concept, or ethic, of lane courtesy evolved in the United States with
the development of the Interstate System. However, the concept of slower
traffic yielding to the right for faster traffic has its origins in the
older system of two lane highways. Almost all states have a provision in
their traffic law that requires slower traffic, upon being signaled by a
following vehicle, to pull to the right to allow the faster traffic to pass.

Prior to 1973, rural speed limits reflected typical travel speeds.
Consequently, slower vehicles were not driving the speed limit and there was
no rationale for deliberately blocking the progress of faster traffic. The
55 MPH National Maximum Speed Limit changed all that.

After 1973, there was a serious disconnect between speed limits and the
actual speed of traffic. There was also a total breakdown in lane courtesy.
The slower traffic that would normally stay in the right hand lane could now
linger anywhere on the highway, in any lane, and still be traveling at the
legal maximum speed of 55 miles per hour. This counter productive process
was reinforced over a period of 21 years, influencing a whole generation of
new drivers.

In 1995 the 55 MPH National Maximum Speed Limit was repealed and several
states raised speed limits to put the limits more in concert with the
reality of highway travel. However, the almost quarter century habit of
wallowing anywhere on the highway did not disappear with the advent of new
speed limit signs.

The lane courtesy ethic must be reinvigorated, promoted, and recognized for
the contribution it can make toward safer, faster and more enjoyable travel.
We hope the NMA's "Do the RIGHT Thing!" campaign and declaring June as "Lane
Courtesy Month" will reawaken interest and support for this incredibly
important and positive traffic safety concept.

###

This is the first in a series of five releases on the importance of lane
courtesy. For more information concerning "Do the RIGHT Thing!" and other
highway safety tips, please visit our site at <a href="http://www.motorists.org." target="_blank">www.motorists.org.</a>

The National Motorists Association (NMA) was established in 1982 to
represent the interests and rights of North American motorists. It operates
at the national level and through a system of state chapters. The NMA is
supported through the contributions of individuals, families and small
businesses. For more information about the NMA, call 608-849-6000, Email us
at nma@motorists.org, or visit the NMA web site at <a href="http://www.motorists.org." target="_blank">www.motorists.org.</a>

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