TAMPA, Fla. – It’s a complaint many have: Drivers going too slow in the passing lane.

And St. Petersburg native Jennifer Griffin says it's an issue that leads to a lot of issues on the road in Tampa Bay.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida law says drivers should stay on the right side of the roadway unless they’re trying to pass another vehicle

  • Drivers can get a ticket for failing to move from the left lane that is punished as a moving violation

  • Gov. Ron DeSantis did not sign a bill that was passed by the Legislature that would have banned driving in the left lane for anyone not actively passing another vehicle

“It’s a chronic problem,” Griffin said. “Everyone is driving in the left lane and it holds up traffic behind.”

Griffin reached out to Spectrum Bay News 9 with concerns that left-lane cruising contributes to traffic in Tampa Bay, citing roads like the Howard Frankland Bridge, where she commutes each day.

“People will drive in the left lane going under 50 mph and not think they’re the problem,” Griffin said.

Griffin said she tries to stay to the right as much as she can.

And according to Florida law, that’s what drivers should do.

Statute 316.081 says drivers should stay on the right side of the roadway unless they’re trying to pass another vehicle.

Florida nearly had a new law that would have outright banned cruising in the left lane earlier this year, but Gov. Ron DeSantis did not sign the bill that was passed by the Legislature.

Officials with Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles confirmed that Florida Highway Patrol does already enforce this issue on the roads. Drivers can, however, get a ticket for failing to move from the left lane when not passing another vehicle.

Griffin said she would like to see more drivers aware of that.

“I would like there to be more awareness about the problem that this is," she said. "And people more willing to accept the fact that they are causing the problem."