Own up. In a hurry to get to work or a meeting, you’ve encountered a slowpoke hogging the left lane on I-80 or the Turnpike and secretly wished you had one of those monster trucks with 66-inch tires so you could roll over his sedan.

Maybe you’ve even passed him on the right and displayed a hand signal letting him know you think he’s number one.

Drivers who hate it when fellow travelers clog the left lane, take heart. The New Jersey Senate Transportation Committee Monday advanced a proposal to increase fines for drivers who fail to stay right except to pass — from $50 to $200 now, to $100 to $300, with $50 to go toward signs reminding motorists entering New Jersey about the stay right law.

"Having conversations with law enforcement, they refer to this as one of the triggers for road rage," state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), the bill sponsor, said of left-lane campers.

He got to experience express lane obstructions first-hand on his way to Trenton Monday, saying, "Certainly, driving here today just reminds me why this is a good bill."

"It tends to be more the out-of-state drivers, who are not aware of our stay right law," Norcross said. "So what we want to do here is raise awareness and make the roads a little safer."

Almost all states require slower traffic to stay right, but New Jersey is one of the stricter states when it comes to keeping the left lane open except to pass. Other states have variations. In neighboring Pennsylvania, for example, motorists traveling at a speed greater than the traffic flow can stay in the left lane.

New Jersey Senate Bill No. 530 passed the committee 3-1, with Norcross and state Sens. Nicholas J. Sacco (D-Hudson) and Robert M. Gordon (D-Bergen) voting to release it and state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris) opposing.

Pennacchio agrees in theory with keeping the traffic flowing, but said increasing fines in a state where fees are already high can be seen as "draconian."

He said that last week, there was the "move over" measure, where drivers were required to move over one lane or slow down when approaching stopped emergency or highway safety vehicles that flashed their warning lights.

"We had the move over law last week that said you’ve got to move from the right to the left. Now we get the move-from-the-left-to-the-right law," Pennacchio said. "Eventually, we’re going to run out of lanes."

There were 5,127 tickets written for violations of the stay right law in the last calendar year, according to the state judiciary. It is a 2-point violation for New Jersey drivers.

Norcross said that in talking with State Police, drivers usually aren’t cited for failure to stay right unless they camp out in the lane for three miles.

"Some of them won’t get out of the left-hand lane until the lights of the state trooper cars" are flashing, he said. "They are completely oblivious."

Norcross, who encounters left-lane slowpokes during his frequent trips on the Atlantic City Expressway, is hopeful the increased fines and new signs will be approved by the full House by the end of the year.

Steve Carrellas, New Jersey representative of the National Motorists Association driving rights group, said the association supports efforts by Norcross to foster smooth, safe and efficient flow of traffic on multi-lane highways.

The association every year designates June as "lane courtesy month," and Carrellas said the clogging of the left lane is always a "hot button" for the general motoring public.

"We and all motorists who find poor lane courtesy a detraction from safe and pleasurable driving support the senator in his efforts to improve lane courtesy on New Jersey’s highways," he said.

Related:

• Opinion: N.J. should step up enforcement of left-lane offenders

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Editorial: Left-lane drivers should move over, and pay higher fines