Some **roads** in Georgia, like the Ga. 400 in Sandy Springs, have shoulder lanes for **traffic use** during the day. From 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. on weekdays, one lane acts as a shoulder. Yet, not every driver gets this, or maybe they just **ignore** the warning signs dotting the highway.

Regardless of why they are ignoring the shoulder lanes, these drivers now risk a traffic citation for ignoring the posted signs. Georgian police have initiated a new program to find and cite those drivers who think they can ignore the posted signs and risk the life of everyone sharing the road with them.

Lane sharing is a becoming a more common practice as roads become more and more congested. Cities and traffic planners will sometimes use roads for travel in one direction in the morning, and the other direction at night. They will also widen roads, making use of the shoulder, during certain specific times of the day.

This spring the Georgia Department of Transportation opened the southbound right shoulder of Ga. 400 from Holcomb Bridge Road to the North Springs MARTA station exit in the Roswell and Sandy Springs areas to morning rush-hour drivers. The idea was to increase the usable road when there were more cars using it. When rush hour traffic is over, however, these shoulders return to their normal use. However, not every driver chooses to follow instructions and some continue to use these shoulder lanes as a way to circumvent traffic. This is not only illegal it is also dangerous as there might well be a disabled vehicle parked on the should during these times.

Georgia police are hoping increased vigilance will help them send a message to these drivers, keep everyone safe and help keep traffic congestion to a bare minimum when possible.