Reader questions driving techniques

This letter is addressed to anyone in law enforcement who can provide an answer. In Soldotna I had my second close call in as many weeks involving a car in the center lane attempting to merge into traffic while driving in that lane. Had I not swerved into the far-right lane in the nick of time (and had that lane not been empty at the time), we would have collided.

So please tell me: Is the center lane only for left turns off the highway, or is it also an on-ramp for those too impatient to wait until traffic in both directions has cleared? And if it is illegal to use this lane as an entry into traffic, why do I see it happen daily, and why have I never seen anyone pulled over for doing so?

Marc Berezin

Soldotna