Left lane on Loop 360 (Austin, Atlanta: move to, car, transit)

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by steve9229

I understand why you'd say that. It's kind of like when bicyclists take up a lane and hold up traffic just because it's legal. It just pisses everyone off. However I do at least go the speed limit and I am aware of who's around me when I drive. Now, if I was going the speed limit along with the person next to me and no one could get by at all. Well, I don't want to be that guy that holds up everyone just because I'm within my legal rights. I'd move over. But, I just don't see the point of moving over on a road that is not a freeway. Especially if there is room to pass on the right (or left in some cases). I try to be as courteous as I can to other drivers. But when I start the day off getting tailgated and ending the day getting tailgated no matter what lane I'm in or how fast I'm going. It gets old very quickly.

I believe the main issue (that may be coming to Austin in general) is alot of out of state drivers from much larger cities where this kind of aggression is pretty normal and where it is understood the left lane is for passing on both surface and interstate-grade roads are meeting more laid back locals who have lived here for some time before Austin really became a large city and the mix is causing conflicts. Locals seem to want Austin to remain laid back, out-of-state drivers seem to be baffled by this behavior in general.

From most of the states I've driven in, It is heavily condemned to use the left lane unless you are passing traffic both on surface roads and also freeways. While it may be within legalities, obstructing the flow of traffic can flare road rage situations to a decree where exceptions may be made within those legalities.

In Atlanta, the speed limit on I-285 used to be 55 MPH - where within the last decade it was increased to 65 MPH due to a mix of people trying to do 55 in the left lanes and accidents resulting from such. These students here conducted an expirement in attempt to hold traffic to 55 MPH (the posted speed):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ

They were heavily fined afterward, even though they were within their legal rights, as although it was 'legal' it posed a potentially dangerous situation.

You can't control how people drive around you, best thing to do is move out of their way if they want to go faster. I personally value my vehicular property and try my best to stay out of dodge of morons on the road. If you flare the wrong person, they may go to the extreme...I've had and seen that happen.

[Trainwreck20]

I have said it before, will say it again - I will stay out of the left-most lane as long as it makes sense. I will NOT move to the right IF the traffic to the right is going much slower than me and I am going the speed limit or greater myself, unless I can do so briefly and then re-enter the left lane.

What I will not do is move to the right and force myself to slow down to that right lane traffic (and maybe get 'stuck' over there) just so some driver can zoom ahead to the next bumper a few car lengths in front of me.

The situations where there is a left lane driver driving the same speed or slower than the right lane traffic AND an open highway in front of them is almost nonexistent nowadays. People that think that is a common occurrence have tunnel vision.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The situations where there is a left lane driver driving the same speed or slower than the right lane traffic AND an open highway in front of them is almost nonexistent nowadays. People that think that is a common occurrence have tunnel vision.

It happens way more than you think and last I checked my vision is just fine

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

It happens way more than you think and last I checked my vision is just fine

So is my vision, though, and my ability to think . I see the tail-gaters and aggressive drivers in the left lane, and almost without exception there is little to be gained by passing the 'slow' driver, except maybe a 100 feet or so up to the next car. What I suspect makes the 'gater' angry is that someone from the right may pull into the left lane in front of the 'slow' car. The gater is enraged that such behavior is allowed, because one more car is in front of them! Arrrgghh!

Again, I have no issue getting out of the way so long as it doesn't notably inconvenience me; however, I am not going to pull to the right, let the gater pass, then pull back right behind them and follow them while they tailgate the next car in line.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

So is my vision, though, and my ability to think . I see the tail-gaters and aggressive drivers in the left lane, and almost without exception there is little to be gained by passing the 'slow' driver, except maybe a 100 feet or so up to the next car. What I suspect makes the 'gater' angry is that someone from the right may pull into the left lane in front of the 'slow' car. The gater is enraged that such behavior is allowed, because one more car is in front of them! Arrrgghh!

Again, I have no issue getting out of the way so long as it doesn't notably inconvenience me; however, I am not going to pull to the right, let the gater pass, then pull back right behind them and follow them while they tailgate the next car in line.

I personally just let them go even if it is an inconvenience. If they have issues to the decree they have to ride your tail for 8 miles straight you dont want someone like that behind you. If he slips up, starts texting, day dreaming, ect... and you have to suddenly come to a stop...right into your rear bumper he comes. Yeah it sucks but for me, I let tail gators pass. I do not want to be rear ended.

[WhatTheFox]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Oh, Lord, more destruction of a beautiful area and more destruction of Austin in service to faster, faster, faster, FASTER!

Agreed! Leave 360 alone.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I personally just let them go even if it is an inconvenience. If they have issues to the decree they have to ride your tail for 8 miles straight you dont want someone like that behind you. If he slips up, starts texting, day dreaming, ect... and you have to suddenly come to a stop...right into your rear bumper he comes. Yeah it sucks but for me, I let tail gators pass. I do not want to be rear ended.

If I can, I will, but I am not going to pull over to the right and then be unable to get back to the left due to traffic. Fortunately, I rarely have to drive 8 miles on a highway anymore..

There are other places, though, where being to the right is not a good idea - I drive south on Mopac across 290 every day. I get in the far left lane to avoid the chaos that is a) people trying to avoid exiting 290 b) cars joining SB Mopas from the WB flyover of 290 c) cars entering SB Mopac from the frontage road prior to Wm Cannon and d) cars trying to exit Wm Cannon from SB Mopac. Anyone who drives that way is familiar with the CF that it can be. Since I don't exit until well after Wm Cannon, I am doing everyone a favor, imho, by staying out of the fray.

About once a month I will be in that far left lane going at or slightly above the limit and faster than the cars to my right when some person will come up behind me at some unsafe speed (85? 90?). If I try to get to the right, I risk them lane-changing at high speed and hitting me. If I stay, they may whip around me or they may tailgate me. Usually they come up on my tail, pause a second, then whip around (sometimes two lanes over and back, threading slower cars) then accelerating to high-speed. Generally, they seem to think that 'traffic has cleared' and are unaware of the chaos ahead. I need to get a dash cam to catch the carnage when it finally happens. Fortunately, the vast majority of people know the 'drill' and essentially accommodate the bad driver by driving defensively themselves.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by PrimusPilus

Surely, you must not travel on that road much. No doubt, it's beautiful. I travel that route to and from office everyday. It takes me 50 minutes to travel the 9 miles from my office in the evening. And more like 30 minutes in the morning. Traffic is pretty much at a standstill for long stretches.

City has approved more office space along 360. Now tell me if more standstill traffic is good for the beauty and health of that road and the residents living along 360?

You misunderstood

THL wrote

Oh, Lord, more destruction of a beautiful area and more destruction of Austin in service to faster, faster, faster, FASTER!

I was agreeing, that we should build bigger roads to service faster faster faster.

My home overlooks 360 and it will negatively impact me. Im still 100% fine with it. We should have done it 20 years ago when it was originally planned.

The same should be done with 620

We should have the following loops with all freeways.

outer loop - 620, 183, 71
Inner loop 360, 183,71 (and possibly directly to mopac)
Mopac should seamlessly interchange to 71/360 in the south and 183 on the northside

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by AlterEgo42

Except the proposed plan doesn’t really expand the footprint of the road, aside from utilizing a bit of the weed-filled ditch that is the center median.

You’re arguing against change that would actually make the area look better and be less impactful to the environment.

She argues against any change (except the change that happened right before she got there).

The status quo for austin should be the day she arrived. She doesnt seem to care about the function of a place, only the feel.


I think more about the function of a city that makes it a great place to live.

I do think the anti road people did help some. We now have the choice to allow density in the center of the city or build more roads. It turns out allowing density will be much easier than building big roads, so we are likely to get density as a solution.

That in turn will enable public transit of all kinds.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The situations where there is a left lane driver driving the same speed or slower than the right lane traffic AND an open highway in front of them is almost nonexistent nowadays. People that think that is a common occurrence have tunnel vision.

Oh, how I wish this were true. But I see it happen every single day. And several times a day.