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In fairness to Drover, just because someone doesn't have the courtesy to move into the right lane appropriately, it doesn't mean the person behind them will tailgate them. Most people trying to get past the doofus playing road savior in the left lane don't have the time to play games with them, so they unfortunately will have to pass them on the right WHICH does create an unpredictable flow of traffic and causes danger to other drivers on the road.
And Drover is also right that those goofballs will often move into the right lane when you have finally made the choice to also move into the right lane to pass them.
I understand flash to pass and its somewhat common knowledge, but many drivers have no idea what you're doing so I gave up on it a long time ago. Thankfully speed limits are 10-15 mph higher than when I first started driving so drag-asses in the left lane not the issue they once were (cars that is).
Biggest issue for me while driving on crowded Interstate 5 are trucks passes each other (or attempting to). Truck One is doing 54 mph. Truck Two merges into the left lane to pass at 56 mph cutting in front of cars doing 70-80 in the process. By the time his passing maneuver is finished five minutes have gone by (or many more if he's passing multiple trucks) and there's a huge string of cars piled up behind him. I like to drive, but trucks spoil it on many days.
Biggest issue for me while driving on crowded Interstate 5 are trucks passes each other (or attempting to). Truck One is doing 54 mph. Truck Two merges into the left lane to pass at 56 mph cutting in front of cars doing 70-80 in the process. By the time his passing maneuver is finished five minutes have gone by (or many more if he's passing multiple trucks) and there's a huge string of cars piled up behind him. I like to drive, but trucks spoil it on many days.
Yeah, I hate that too. And when a semi attempts to pass another semi and it takes ages!
With many semis being governed, they often don't have much choice about how quickly they pass another semi (or anyone else for that matter). And when when there's a constant traffic stream, they have to take their opportunity to pass whenever they can get it, so I can cut them some slack. People on the coasts tend to disagree with me, but at least here in the broad, flat Midwest, truck drivers tend to be very aware of the traffic situation around them and behave appropriately according to conditions.
You do realize that people that insist on everyone else getting out of their way when they are speeding are ALSO trying to play "mr (sic) police officer" and enforce their OWN made up law that the speed limit doesn't apply to them in the left lane, don't you?
It makes me laugh whenever I hear this excuse for "everyone should just get out of my way when I'm speeding because I DESERVE to speed", which is all that it is.
I disagree that that's the argument being made.
People will go different speeds on the highway, be it above, at or below the speed limit, both traffic flow and safety increases tremendously is there is an ordered fashion as to how people pass and drive.
Which is why in the state to TX for instance, it's illegal to drive in the left lane if you are not going faster than the general traffic (right lane(s)). The left lane is the passing lane and is not meant to be utilized as an additional lane where you go the speed of everyone around you.
What that means is that even if you are going over the legal speed limit, if you're holding up other people, you are breaking the law. And the law is there for very good reason; it improves safety for everyone on the road.
Now, I will be the first to admit that I sometimes speed (like most Texans, I probably do it most of the time), but I have never in my life claimed that I deserve to speed, nor that I'm enforcing "my own law". What I am doing is making a conscious decision to operate my vehicle at at speed higher than the legal limit on the road I am traveling on at the time. I do that when I'm confident I can do so safely, if I can't, I slow down.
I do not think I am above the law, I make the decision to break it. If I'm pulled over, I accept the consequences of my speeding.
Now if someone makes the conscious decision to break the law by holding up traffic in the left lane, they can obviously do so, and they do quite often, but it's unsafe and I cannot for the life of me understand the purpose and lives could be saved is the laws on the book were better taught and enforced.
Yeah, but I'm generally not moving at 60- to 70-some miles an hour at a stop sign. Furthermore, the possibility of being in an accident at a stop sign does not in any way preclude the obligation to try to maintain predictable and orderly traffic flow on the highway. "Get over and be done with it" should be aimed at the left-lane barnacle, not the people trying to get around him. Hogging the left lane isn't the solution.
Again, if I have to pass you on the right because you're a self-absorbed imbecile, then I will. But before then I'll do everything reasonable to try to coax you into moving over.
Tried to give you a Rep but again I get this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeremy2788
Yeah, I hate that too. And when a semi attempts to pass another semi and it takes ages!
There are signs every 2 miles down here in the swamps of South Fla on I-95 telling trucks to use the middle lane, and right lane if going slower or exiting. But I could see the general problem in the hill country where a truck gets stuck out there in the passing lane. In my 55 years of driving,(accident free BTW) I've seen most truck drivers avoid that by one of them slowing down to allow the other to get back in line. Long haul truck drivers on the most part are very courteous. It's the local haulers who cause problems.
Biggest issue for me while driving on crowded Interstate 5 are trucks passes each other (or attempting to). Truck One is doing 54 mph. Truck Two merges into the left lane to pass at 56 mph cutting in front of cars doing 70-80 in the process. By the time his passing maneuver is finished five minutes have gone by (or many more if he's passing multiple trucks) and there's a huge string of cars piled up behind him. I like to drive, but trucks spoil it on many days.
This situation is the bane of many two-lane rural freeways. A solution I've seen work is to widen the freeway to 3 lanes in each direction and restrict trucks to the right 2 lanes, in effect creating an additional passing lane, and allowing trucks to pass other trucks without impeding faster car traffic. Unfortunately, most jurisdictions are more apt to stick it to the motorists than to commit the funds required for such a project.
As for speeders forcing other people to move at their speed, all that moving over to the right means is that you continue your slower speed in the right lane and cease blocking other people from moving at their preferred speed. The general idea is that (for example) one driver can go 65 mph in the right lane and the other driver can go 75 mph in the left lane, with each able to proceed at their own pace. The only situation of speeders forcing people to speed up would be in the case of a speeder tailgating someone in the left lane who is unable to move over to the right (congested traffic is one scenario). If I'm ever in that situation, I never tailgate and I take it easy at a normal following distance. Tailgating is one of the most dangerous driving practices, so if someone is able to move right and flash-to-pass and a honk do not persuade them, I pass on the right; passing on the right is preferable to tailgating or staying behind the slowpoke, but I only use it as a last resort.
People will go different speeds on the highway, be it above, at or below the speed limit, both traffic flow and safety increases tremendously is there is an ordered fashion as to how people pass and drive.
Which is why in the state to TX for instance, it's illegal to drive in the left lane if you are not going faster than the general traffic (right lane(s)). The left lane is the passing lane and is not meant to be utilized as an additional lane where you go the speed of everyone around you.
What that means is that even if you are going over the legal speed limit, if you're holding up other people, you are breaking the law. And the law is there for very good reason; it improves safety for everyone on the road.
Now, I will be the first to admit that I sometimes speed (like most Texans, I probably do it most of the time), but I have never in my life claimed that I deserve to speed, nor that I'm enforcing "my own law". What I am doing is making a conscious decision to operate my vehicle at at speed higher than the legal limit on the road I am traveling on at the time. I do that when I'm confident I can do so safely, if I can't, I slow down.
I do not think I am above the law, I make the decision to break it. If I'm pulled over, I accept the consequences of my speeding.
Now if someone makes the conscious decision to break the law by holding up traffic in the left lane, they can obviously do so, and they do quite often, but it's unsafe and I cannot for the life of me understand the purpose and lives could be saved is the laws on the book were better taught and enforced.
You left out part of the Texas law (don't feel bad, most people who quote the part that you are referencing above somehow manage to ignore the other part even when the statute is posted for them). The other part states that it is illegal to drive faster than the posted speed limit.
The point being, if you're going to cite one part of the law as being a good reason for people to do what you want them to do, you can't, without being a hypocrite, ignore the part of the law that says that you can't do what you want to do.
And your ego is still telling you that you are that exceptional driver that is capable of making the decision that the speed limit law doesn't apply to you because YOU know you're such an excellent driver that you can handle it. Never mind who else you're sharing the road with and their varying capabilities and vehicles.
If you think it's okay for you to ignore the speed limit law because it shouldn't apply to you (which is, let's be honest now, what you're really saying), how do you rationalize any objection on your part to someone else deciding that the law regarding slower traffic moving right shouldn't apply to them?
With many semis being governed, they often don't have much choice about how quickly they pass another semi (or anyone else for that matter). And when when there's a constant traffic stream, they have to take their opportunity to pass whenever they can get it, so I can cut them some slack. People on the coasts tend to disagree with me, but at least here in the broad, flat Midwest, truck drivers tend to be very aware of the traffic situation around them and behave appropriately according to conditions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregm
There are signs every 2 miles down here in the swamps of South Fla on I-95 telling trucks to use the middle lane, and right lane if going slower or exiting. But I could see the general problem in the hill country where a truck gets stuck out there in the passing lane. In my 55 years of driving,(accident free BTW) I've seen most truck drivers avoid that by one of them slowing down to allow the other to get back in line. Long haul truck drivers on the most part are very courteous. It's the local haulers who cause problems.
I will say, that long-haul drivers seem to be a lot more courteous now for the most past than what I can remember in the past from personal experience. I seem to forget that they are governed, so since that is the case then I will admit that they do try to get over ASAP when permitted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady
You left out part of the Texas law (don't feel bad, most people who quote the part that you are referencing above somehow manage to ignore the other part even when the statute is posted for them). The other part states that it is illegal to drive faster than the posted speed limit.
The point being, if you're going to cite one part of the law as being a good reason for people to do what you want them to do, you can't, without being a hypocrite, ignore the part of the law that says that you can't do what you want to do.
And your ego is still telling you that you are that exceptional driver that is capable of making the decision that the speed limit law doesn't apply to you because YOU know you're such an excellent driver that you can handle it. Never mind who else you're sharing the road with and their varying capabilities and vehicles.
If you think it's okay for you to ignore the speed limit law because it shouldn't apply to you (which is, let's be honest now, what you're really saying), how do you rationalize any objection on your part to someone else deciding that the law regarding slower traffic moving right shouldn't apply to them?
So just a question, not to be condescending in any manner, but in your opinion.. do you feel that the left lane law should be taken off the books and both lanes should be a free-for-all (which it seems to be already) for anyone to be able to drive there? Even if it does mess up the whole flow of the freeway and creates extra congestion?
I will say, that long-haul drivers seem to be a lot more courteous now for the most past than what I can remember in the past from personal experience. I seem to forget that they are governed, so since that is the case then I will admit that they do try to get over ASAP when permitted.
So just a question, not to be condescending in any manner, but in your opinion.. do you feel that the left lane law should be taken off the books and both lanes should be a free-for-all (which it seems to be already) for anyone to be able to drive there? Even if it does mess up the whole flow of the freeway and creates extra congestion?
No, I don't. (By the way, in Texas, there's also the statute that makes it clear that the left lane is for passing only ONLY in those areas specifically designated as such and with the very specific signing mandated by the legislature. That's another statute that gets regularly ignored even if it's posted.)
I think that the law is fine as it is. What I find hypocritical is those people who throw hissy fits because someone is driving the speed limit in the left lane, which is perfectly legal, AND who flat refuse to admit that if they are being inconvenienced at all by someone driving the speed limit in the left lane, it is because they, themselves, are violating another part of the law and are mad that someone, in their perception, isn't obeying the part of the law that by their lights makes it possible for them to do so.
I really don't have a problem with speeding. It's the intellectual and ethical dishonesty of the whole argument that pushes my buttons. "There's a LAW that says slower traffic move right, and people should obey it and get out of the way!" While ignoring "There's a LAW that says traffic should not drive faster than the speed limit, and people should obey it and so anyone driving the speed limit in the left lane should not be a problem to them."
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