Ive gone over to the left.

[Perd Hapley]

Boys and girls, Ive had it.  From now on, Ill be driving in the left lane.  No, not in the oncoming lane.  Im talking about the fast lane, the passing lane, that lane thats supposed to be the sacred abode of the speedy. 

When I try to do things the right way, by using the left lane to pass and then going back to the right, I end up getting stuck behind the next slow-moving vehicle, while a caravan passes me on the left.  How does that help anyone or make anyone safer? 

Whence this superstition about the left lane?  Why should we pass on the left, and not the right?  Why should we try to stay to the right, when that is the lane where people are entering from on-ramps, or stopping to make right turns? 

Or do I need to be talked down? 

[Tuco]

I like running in the right and fighting to pass in the left.

Keeps me awake and interested in driving. 

[Gewehr98]

Not to be a jerk, but...

"Where's the fire, Chief?"

(What I ask folks I pull over for blatant stormtrooping in traffic)

What did they teach you in Driver's Ed?  Or are you one of those who did a brain dump as soon as the license examiner gave you the passing grade? I see those a lot, turn signals are optional equipment, too.

[Bogie]

I drive in the middle. Even if it is just two lanes.
 

[grislyatoms]

I drive in the middle. Even if it is just two lanes.
 

So you're the one I'm always stuck behind.

I stay in the right lane the majority of the time. And, I take my time. The rest of the world can blow by me in the hammer lane all they want. It's just not worth getting all ticked off in traffic, for me.

[Paddy]

When I try to do things the right way, by using the left lane to pass and then going back to the right, I end up getting stuck behind the next slow-moving vehicle, while a caravan passes me on the left.  How does that help anyone or make anyone safer?

I hear ya.  Around here though, the left lane is typically moving at 80+mph and everybody tailgates.  I don't like the stress.

[wmenorr67]

Where I am at right now I drive where I want, when I want and how fast I want.  Of course not many honest people going to challenge an up-armoured hummer with a .50 cal or 240B mounted on it.

[grislyatoms]

Was this you, wmenorr67?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zZD05PQ1fbA

[Bogie]

I _have_ been known to smile and wave at the guy who I pull up next to at a red light... The same guy who passed three cars to get there first...
 
I drive the speed limit. In the van, with the trailer, it saves about 3mpg...
 

[Tuco]

...or better yet, just go 1 mph slower (in the right lane) than the slowest car on the road.  Does wonders for the blood pressure.

[K Frame]

Not to be a jerk, but...

"Where's the fire, Chief?"

(What I ask folks I pull over for blatant stormtrooping in traffic)

What did they teach you in Driver's Ed?  Or are you one of those who did a brain dump as soon as the license examiner gave you the passing grade? I see those a lot, turn signals are optional equipment, too.

I don't think you're being a jerk.

I think we all know who's being the jerk...

[Manedwolf]

IMO, passing on the right is extremely dangerous because you're in more of a blind spot for the driver you're passing.

If you come up behind a snail in the left lane, I think it's safer to do a euro-style double-blink of your highbeams to let them know you'd like to pass. People generally wake up with a sort of "oh!, right..." and move one lane over to the right if you do that, in my experience.

[Fly320s]

The left lane isn't the fast lane.  The signs say, "Slower traffic keep right."  That means that cars that are going so slow as to be an impediment to traffic traveling the normal speed limit should move to the right.  That does not mean that drivers who choose to speed get free reign in the left lane.

[cosine]

The left lane isn't the fast lane.  The signs say, "Slower traffic keep right."  That means that cars that are going so slow as to be an impediment to traffic traveling the normal speed limit should move to the right.  That does not mean that drivers who choose to speed get free reign in the left lane.

I've always been under the impression that if you're going the speed limit, and you are the slower traffic, you stay right.

[Gewehr98]

If you come up behind a snail in the left lane, I think it's safer to do a euro-style double-blink of your highbeams to let them know you'd like to pass. People generally wake up with a sort of "oh!, right..." and move one lane over to the right if you do that, in my experience.

Or, because not everybody here in the States has driven on the Autobahn, they wonder who the a*@hole is behind them flashing their headlights, hit the brakes, road rage erupts, and I get to clean up afterwards. Hilarity ensues as backup arrives for the incident.

Everybody's an excellent driver - just ask them. They'll be more than happy to tell you, be it the kid with the learner's permit, to the 20-something in the slammed Acura w/rubber bands mounted on off-camber 20" rims, to the octogenarian in the Buick Roadmaster, they're all friggin' Mario Andretti.  I'd love to see all those excellent drivers eventually die of natural causes like prostate cancer or Alzheimers, because I'd rather not scrape and rinse them off the asphalt again. I *hate* that.

As the bumper sticker on my Grandpa's old pickup said, "Drive like Hell - you'll get there!" 

[Perd Hapley]

Not to be a jerk, but...

"Where's the fire, Chief?"

(What I ask folks I pull over for blatant stormtrooping in traffic)

Storm-trooping?  Fires?  I've gone to the left lane partly because it is the only way I can cruise somewhere near the speed limit, without constantly dodging back and forth.  Whatever the speed limit, I usually stay pretty close to it.  The "storm-troopers" are the ones that get annoyed at me, because they want to travel 72 in a 60 zone.  And someone told them that I should get over for them, instead of just going around when the right lane is clear.  Why? 

And actually I do use turn signals, even though no one else seems to around here.   

I think we all know who's being the jerk...

Yeah.  It's the people tooling along in the right lane, when people are trying to get in from the on ramp.  Or those of you darting out into the left lane, when the guy ahead of you makes that right turn.  I'm glad we see eye-to-eye, Mike.   

[Gewehr98]

Why?

Why?  Because you haven't elected somebody who will change traffic laws, abolishing the slow lane and fast lane rules.  Get busy.

[Perd Hapley]

So far as I know, there are no such laws in my state.  They did just pass one in Illinois, though. 

[Fly320s]

Yeah.  It's the people tooling along in the right lane, when people are trying to get in from the on ramp.

You mean people are respecting the right-of-way rules?  The horror!!  When traffic flow permits, and I think about it, I will move one lane to the left to allow traffic to merge more easily, but I am not required to make life easier for the merging traffic; I do have the right of way, after all.

Remember, folks, the speed limit is a maximum speed limit, not a minimum.  The minimum is 40 or 45, I think, on interstate freeways.

[Bogie]

I pick a lane, and I stay in it - especially when going through an urban area towing the trailer. It probably isn't going to be the far right lane, but it won't be the far left lane either.
 

[Perd Hapley]

Yeah.  It's the people tooling along in the right lane, when people are trying to get in from the on ramp.

You mean people are respecting the right-of-way rules?  The horror!!  When traffic flow permits, and I think about it, I will move one lane to the left to allow traffic to merge more easily, but I am not required to make life easier for the merging traffic; I do have the right of way, after all.

Remember, folks, the speed limit is a maximum speed limit, not a minimum.  The minimum is 40 or 45, I think, on interstate freeways.

Those sound like the reasons why I drive in the left.  Except for your flippant unconcern about the danger you pose by, apparently, staying in the right lane unless you "think about it." 


Yeah, Bogie, the middle lane is often the best. 

[Bogie]

It's just polite to help folks merge...

What I _hate_ are the folks who play the speed up and slow down bit, as you're running out of merge lane...
 

[Perd Hapley]

Other driving gripes:

The turn lane is NOT there to help you merge onto a busy road.  It is ONLY for people making left turns OFF of the road. 

Using the brights in fog will NOT make you go blind.  I guess it depends on the fog that you're in.  I usually switch between high and low beams because each one shows me a different picture of the road, and that helps me get a better idea of what the road looks like ahead. 

[Gewehr98]

I let people merge in, too.  I'd like to think they'd do the same for me, even if they might be related to Fly320.

As Fly320 should know, the "Big Sky" theory is just that, a theory, and a poor one at that.  Whether I'm in 500,000lbs of aluminum, nuts, and bolts flying in close formation, or a 4,100lb Crown Vic/Police Interceptor, I'll always give the other guy plenty of room to merge.  Physics demands it.

[Fly320s]

Well, I guess I didn't make myself clear.

I meant that the drivers on the on-ramp should not expexct or demand that the drivers on the freeway move over or change speed to allow the on-ramp to merge.  The vehicles on the freeway have the right of way, that's why those yield signs, and the occassional stop sign, are directed towards the on-ramp.  The on-ramp drivers are expected and required to merge their car into the flow of traffic that is already on the freeway.

Yes, when traffic conditions allow, I will move over to allow others to merge easily and allow me to maintain my speed.  Yes, that is the polite thing to do and it certainly follows my personal driving philosophy of "don't interfere with other's progress/course of action."  The fact remains, however, that I am not required to change my course to allow others to merge.  The problem is with those drivers who think that "everyone else is in my way and must immediatly move out of the way because I am: going faster, or changing lanes, or turning, or merging, or exiting."

The merging driver needs to plan ahead.  He needs to assess the flow of traffic to determine the best way to merge safely.  Sometimes the driver will need to put the pedal-to-the-metal to match speeds and find a hole in the traffic.  Other times, such as during heavy traffic, the driver will need to slow to a crawl to complete a safe merge.  And sometimes the only course of action is to charge right in and hope the other drivers are paying attention.

Predictability equals safety.  If you know (have a reasonable belief) that the other drivers are going to act in a manner that you can predict, i.e. follow the traffic laws, then you can reasonably expect not to be crashed into.  Or would you rather drive like those countries that traffic suggestions?