Slow down. This ain’t the mainland!"

I saw this bumper sticker when I first arrived in Hawaii five years ago as I sat in the cab from Honolulu Airport. It made a striking first impression. I couldn’t help but smile, thinking, "I’m in laid-back Hawaii!"

Little did I know that people take that slogan pretty seriously here. It was a change in driving culture for a guy who learned how to drive in Los Angeles where driving at "only" 70 mph on the freeway guarantees you’ll be run over.

Two weeks ago I complained about slow drivers in the left lane. Many of you agreed with me, and many of you said, "Well, I’m going the speed limit, so don’t honk at me or give me stink eye."

One reader argued, "It is common knowledge that police allow about 10 mph variance above the posted speed limit." One shot back that it’s not common knowledge and that the limit should be followed.

In Los Angeles many people never drive at the posted speed limit. My normal speed on the 405 freeway (when it wasn’t jammed up) was about 80 mph. So yes, I’m one of those people who think that there’s a few miles per hour of variance.

There’s some precedence for it in Hawaii. Several years ago, tickets given to drivers caught by van cams were thrown out if they were going less than 10 mph over the speed limit. And many people drive at 65 rather than the 55 mph limit on the freeway.

"Proper lane discipline is what makes other freeways in the world with no speed limits so much safer than ours," one Kailua reader wrote. "The autobahn in Germany has a lesser percentage of traffic fatalities than our country’s freeways, yet people drive over 200 mph daily.

"Sometimes aloha is getting the hell out of the way."

Maj. Kurt Kendro of the police Traffic Division said unambiguously, "Drivers should travel at the posted speed limit. A driver exceeding the speed limit is subject to a citation.

"We are aware of the anecdotes. However, the bottom line is that anyone who exceeds the speed limit is subject to a citation. There is no minimum threshold or leeway."

In addition, there is a city ordinance (Sec. 15-7.4) that says slower drivers must move to "the righthand edge of any roadway, laned or unlaned, for traffic."

For roads with two or more lanes, no one should drive at a speed that is 5 mph or more below the maximum posted limit, for example, driving 40 mph in a 45 mph zone. The exception would be for drivers in the extreme right lane.

So there it is. Drive at the speed limit, but if you’re going slower, please drive with aloha, follow the ordinance and kindly move to the right.

Reach Gene Park at gpark@staradvertiser.com or Twitter as @GenePark.