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I agree with those travel under the speed limit to keep right but if you are doing the speed limit or a hair over, you have just the same right to be in left as the high speed demon.
No, you don't. It's keep right except to pass. Not "cruise in the left-hand lane as long as you're doing the speed limit."
I have to show those of you that advocate for your "right" to sit in the left lane what a disservice you are doing to everyone else. The following video shows me navigating through somewhat thick traffic, which is standard for much of SoCal. I then found myself on a suddenly empty freeway while looking back at a massive fleet of cars. Holy crap. It was the light at the end of the tunnel. It just goes to show you how traffic would flow so much more smoothly if people stuck to the proper lanes and left the left lanes open for passing. People are stuck because they can't pass slower traffic. This leads to traffic backing up. This is actually the second time I've been able to achieve this, but the first time I had no dash cam. Mostly I just stick with the flow of traffic because it tends to be utterly pointless and dangerous to weave, but I will take any open lane which can lead to weaving like in this case.
Now that I have a rear camera, if I ever get an opportunity to do this again, I will be sure to post it. It was an utter mess behind me. Please stop blocking the flow of traffic. Especially in larger metro areas, there are usually more than two lanes to choose from. There is no excuse in places like this to camp in the left lane where the exits are on the right. If you manage to cork four lanes of traffic, you are doing something wrong.
Honestly, as much as I rant too, I'm learning to just deal with it. There are so many stupid, incompetent, selfish, inconsiderate drivers that are just too stuck on themselves to obey the law and common courtesy and simply pull out of the left lane. I try to not let it bother me any more-idiots aren't worth it. Find a hole in the next lane, pass them. Then brake check the dangerous idiot. Or call the cops and report them as weaving, and say that you suspect them of being drunk. I kind of prefer the second option. A nice conversation with the local state patrol keeps them off the road for a few minutes. They are either too drunk, too high, or too stupid-any of the above makes them a danger on the roads that should be investigated.
Last edited by Toyman at Jewel Lake; 01-15-2016 at 11:22 AM..
not being able to talk to those left lane campers i can only assume their reasons for their actions.
Some are just clueless morons and have no idea what lane they are in,others are control freaks who derive some measure of power in their little lives by camping in the passing lane and holding up every one playing the mind game of self righteously proclaiming they are doing the speed limit and they are going to make sure every one else complies with their wishes,ahole is a good descriptor for this type of road vigilante.
If you are the only person on the road i suppose it doesnt matter what lane you are traveling in but if you are in the passing lane and some one comes up behind you obviously going faster than you getting out of the way would be the courteous thing to do.
I think we should give award points to the best troll 1-liners. Here's mine:
"Thank god for the breakdown lane or I'd never get there!"
I'm a mostly reformed habitual speeder. The opportunity cost for speeding tickets just got too high as the police started using tickets as a revenue source. I put the adaptive cruise control at exactly the speed limit on secondary roads and at speed limit + 9 mph on interstate highways. As a former lead footed driver, I'm very aware of people rolling up on me at speed when I'm in the left lane. I pass what I'm passing and GTF over as soon as there is a hole big enough to change lanes. Sometimes, that could take a couple of minutes if I'm passing a long line of traffic.
If some d-bag rolls up to 5 feet off my bumper at speed and the enormous grill of a full-sized pickup truck or Chevy Subdivision SUV fills my rearview mirror, any sense of urgency to move to the right dies out. Mister Tailgater gets a few minutes to display his Vehicular Tourettes Syndrome.
They've started issuing tickets to people driving under the speed limit in the left lane of the interstates here in Atlanta. I suppose the simplicity of the "Keep Right Except to Pass" and "Slower Moving Traffic Keep Right"' signs confused people?
Some of the responses in this thread proves that people some people are Spoiled Babies
Rich ones, too! Must be nice to be able to afford a speeding ticket
whenever.
One problem I've encountered by keeping to the right lane until I need
to get into the left lane in order to make an upcoming left turn is that
often those already in the left lane will speed up in order to prevent
me from merging onto it. It's as though, God forbid someone gets in
front of them. It's precisely that kind of scenario, happening way too
many times, that has convinced me that it's best to claim a spot in the
left lane, albeit sooner than others might consider "necessary", in
order to ensure I can make the left-turn when it comes up. When it
becomes more common for fellow drivers not to (seemingly) get butt-
hurt over someone simply merging in front of them, then I'll
reconsider my strategy.
Read my post again. WA state is very clear about that.
Which is why I said Washington state has it, even though it's ambiguous on whether driving the speed limit applies. Whereas a state like Alabama does not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkf747
I think most states do say that. I'm pretty sure both
Pennsylvania and Virginia have such laws". Virginia recently changed the law, if I recall correctly..
Well, for PA, code 75-3313 (d), it's pretty much like Washington. Stay over in the right lane unless you're going faster than the flow of traffic is a major difference to note.
Virginia 46.2-804 seems to only talk about highways. Not multi-lane freeways. 46.2-842.1 mentions:
"It shall be unlawful to fail to give way to overtaking traffic when driving a motor vehicle to the left and abreast of another motor vehicle on a divided highway. On audible or light signal, the driver of the overtaken vehicle shall move to the right to allow the overtaking vehicle to pass as soon as the overtaken vehicle can safely do so. A violation of this section shall not be construed as negligence per se in any civil action."
But really this whole discussion (we'll call it that) boils down to one simple idea. Does a person driving the legal speed limit have to give way to someone that's speeding and breaking the law?
Morally, in my opinion, this makes no sense. In no other way would a person be legally required to assist and abate a criminal offense, especially under the threat of legal action against them. It would seem a complete fallacy to require a person to break the law to appease others that are breaking the law, or to have to effectively try to evade these people or face charges themselves.
Now, a lot of people claiming speeders have right of way are talking about people driving UNDER the speed limit. A strawman argument since we're talking about setting right at the speed limit.
Either way, I've yet to see a case where the law says you have to give way to speeders specifically, but likewise none say you do not have to. To me there's not room for grey area: you break the law and no one has to help you do it. But as shown in this thread, an awful lot of people think that if you're driving the speed limit in the left lane, you're wronging the only group that could be "harmed" by it: illegal speeders.
A few posts above your post, THL admitted moving over to the right after passing someone. That is progress!
Just for accuracy's sake, if you read carefully for comprehension, I have stated that I only drive in the left lane to pass or to exit left, and that I let speed addicts by to pick off the cops. This is NOT a change in behavior but the way I have always driven.
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