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Old 02-14-2008, 11:10 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
1,368 posts, read 6,490,829 times
Reputation: 542

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Quote:
Originally Posted by hindsight2020 View Post
Eh, I would have some sympathy for those complaining about the left lane hoggers, but the piece of the puzzle that's missing on this discussion is the presumption that everybody is abiding by the speed limit. That's just not true. If you are driving below the speed limit you should stay in the right lane, but if you're the one hauling the mail at 10-20+ above the speed limit and expect the "slow poke", driving right at the speed limit no less, to move over and roll the red carpet for ya and shower you with rose petals as you swing by, then you're just nuts. Now, in reality all traffic is nominally driving above the speed limit anyways, but I sense it's the 85MPH steady all the way crowd that's whining about the left lane thing, in which case, I'm more than happy to witness the tantrum as I sit idly in the right lane observing your circus act, free entertainment on long drives.

Theres a difference between the aggressive drivers who are either reckless, or on the verge of reckless, and those of us that want to go 5-10 over on freeways. Or maybe while you're perfectly comfortable sitting right next to that semi, we'd rather be ahead of it, and being behind it means going 10 miles an hour UNDER our speed limit (truck v. car limits)

And as long as you're in the right lane and stay there, we have absolutely no problems with what you do.


I will say, I also dislike the people that sit behind a semi in the right lane... se me approach and decide that RIGHT BEFORE I PASS THEM is the best time to pass the Semi. Yeah, what about the 10 minutes that I saw you sitting back there BEFORE I got to you?!
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Old 02-14-2008, 11:29 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,780,358 times
Reputation: 29967
Quote:
Originally Posted by hindsight2020 View Post
Eh, I would have some sympathy for those complaining about the left lane hoggers, but the piece of the puzzle that's missing on this discussion is the presumption that everybody is abiding by the speed limit. That's just not true. If you are driving below the speed limit you should stay in the right lane, but if you're the one hauling the mail at 10-20+ above the speed limit and expect the "slow poke", driving right at the speed limit no less, to move over and roll the red carpet for ya and shower you with rose petals as you swing by, then you're just nuts.
Really, all we expect is for people to STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE PASSING LANE if they're not passing. It's not too much to ask, and speed violators notwithstanding, it's a tremendous boon to safety to have predictable passing/yielding behavior. Even if you're doing 100MPH, you should still stay in the right lane unless you're passing so that anyone doing 115 behind you knows what to expect of you as they approach.

Around here, if you're not doing 10-20+ over the limit, you get mowed down. It's not anyone's business to try to clog up the left lane and play "traffic cop" to slow people down. It's petty, it's stupid, it's self-righteous, and worst of all, it's dangerous.
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Old 02-15-2008, 02:21 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,759,953 times
Reputation: 23658
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eastern Roamer View Post
Do they not teach in drivers' ed that the left lane is for passing and you should move over if you're not passing? What happened to the fast lane?

I see people get on the highway and move immediately to the far left lane and stay there. In some places there are signs "slower traffic keep right", but I had a conversation the other day and someone didn't even know about that rule! WTF?!
My roommate, who's not from San Francisco (where we live), was just commenting on this the other day... us Californians are most definitely guilty of that, myself included. But we tend to drive either really fast or really slow, so lanes are kinda irrelevant here.

I commute 100 miles round-trip, and about 70 miles of that is on the freeway - plus I work nights, and don't have to deal with much traffic. So yes, I admittedly get in that fast lane, and stick with it until the end! Why move when you're going faster than the other cars? Technically, I AM passing everyone, LOL. But if a slow person gets in the fast lane and stays put, that does tick me off to no end.
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Old 02-15-2008, 02:28 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,759,953 times
Reputation: 23658
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover View Post
Really, all we expect is for people to STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE PASSING LANE if they're not passing. It's not too much to ask, and speed violators notwithstanding, it's a tremendous boon to safety to have predictable passing/yielding behavior. Even if you're doing 100MPH, you should still stay in the right lane unless you're passing so that anyone doing 115 behind you knows what to expect of you as they approach.

Around here, if you're not doing 10-20+ over the limit, you get mowed down. It's not anyone's business to try to clog up the left lane and play "traffic cop" to slow people down. It's petty, it's stupid, it's self-righteous, and worst of all, it's dangerous.
Yep! I live in the Bay Area (CA), and most of our major freeways have "80" in them - 880, I-80, 280, 380, 580, 980, etc. We all joke that it's because of our speed, since MOST people drive 80 on these roads. If you actually went the speed limit around here, especially in the fast lane, you would literally get run over. But I also joke that drivers here think they have flying cars, since they'll see a person ahead driving slower, and still fly towards them at 85mph - then screech on the brakes, and look surprised their car didn't take flight. Gotta love city drivers....

P.S. I flew past a cop at 75-ish tonight, and didn't get pulled over... and recently I was stopped going 80, and the cop let me go without a ticket. Once I slowed down when a cop was behind me, and he actually tailgated until I sped up!
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Old 02-15-2008, 02:36 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,759,953 times
Reputation: 23658
Quote:
Originally Posted by Radek View Post
I will say, I also dislike the people that sit behind a semi in the right lane... se me approach and decide that RIGHT BEFORE I PASS THEM is the best time to pass the Semi. Yeah, what about the 10 minutes that I saw you sitting back there BEFORE I got to you?!
Oh, how about these people - they drive reaaaallly slowly while in front of you, and then when you go to pass them, they speed up & box you in. That's just plain jerky.
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Old 02-15-2008, 03:15 AM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
1,368 posts, read 6,490,829 times
Reputation: 542
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizmo980 View Post
Oh, how about these people - they drive reaaaallly slowly while in front of you, and then when you go to pass them, they speed up & box you in. That's just plain jerky.
no no no...
theres no speed increase here.
Granny in her mini-van taking her family to Yellowstone doesn't do a damn thing to her gas pedal. She just moves into the left lane... and SLOWLY passes the truck. I swear, I think some of the semis slow down just so that I don't pass them on the shoulder.


If I'm doing 85 (which is 10 over the limit in Montana)
and she's doing 65 (which is the truck limit in Montana)
I get upset.

And, in response to the "you're an aggressive driver and should slow down" comments I'm sure are coming...

that drive is 700 miles from Bozeman, MT to Seattle, WA.

If I AVERAGE 70mph, it takes me 10 hours.
The speedlimit in WA is 70, and I have 4 mountain passes to get over, maybe even a 5th depending on what you count as a 'pass'.
And they always do this on a flat, straight stretch in the middle of Montana or Washington. its just ridiculous.
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Old 02-15-2008, 08:20 AM
 
Location: Here
11,574 posts, read 13,896,824 times
Reputation: 6978
I bet if they did a study, they would find a direct correlation between road rage and the number of people driving slow in the fast lane.
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Old 02-15-2008, 08:29 AM
 
Location: NW Georgia
621 posts, read 3,198,500 times
Reputation: 393
Quote:
Originally Posted by Radek View Post
If I'm doing 85 (which is 10 over the limit in Montana)
Oh how I wished I lived in Montana . The speed limit here is 55!! 55 just seems ridiculous to me...especially on 495 or 95. If anyone has lived in NOVA they know what I mean. If you do that on either one of those freeways you will get mowed down if in the left lane. 55 is just plain stupid!
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Old 02-15-2008, 09:06 AM
 
3,150 posts, read 8,683,995 times
Reputation: 897
Quote:
Originally Posted by NCN View Post
Why don't you tell that to the lady that got killed making sure she left the light on time in order to make sure she did not slow down traffic. I would not have been killed because I wait until I know the people going in the other direction are stopping. Lots of people run red lights and I don't want to be a victim. Blow your horn all you want to, but I am going to wait until it is safe to leave the light.

I think this is a city, country thing that is never going to be solved. The people in the country will keep driving safely and the city people will keep crashing into each other trying to get there fast. The thing that really slows down traffic the most is a wreck, so don't follow too close anywhere.
Thanks Mr. Rogers. Why don't YOU read my post a little more clearly. I didn't say anything about breaking the law neither did I suggest anything that would compromise someones safety. If I am the first in line at a light I ALWAYS look all directions before going. The issue is all the idiots behind. The leader of the pack should be the only one that needs to look for any red light running stragglers... subsequent drivers after the leader should move right along through the intersection. This is road engineering!!!

Don't take your time looking, look fast but effectively... don't lolly gag. If everyone would start abiding to traffic law and drive accordingly to how the engineers designed the road systems there would be no need for this thread.

Heavy traffic areas are not a place for you to take your time and see the sights. People have places to go, commerce depends on effective transportation. You want to enjoy your road machine??? Go out to a light traffic area... see the sights... pull over to the side for people that need to get by... I do this!!! Its courteous and proper. You are NOT the only one on the road...
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Old 02-16-2008, 10:22 AM
 
6,351 posts, read 21,479,297 times
Reputation: 10007
Quote:
Originally Posted by NCN View Post
No I was not taught in drivers ed that the left lane is the passing lane because that is not the law where I live. We pass on the right also in North Carolina. Until my brother came home from MA I didn't even know there were states where you could not pass on the right. Don't expect the laws for the state that you move to to be the same as the laws in the state that you lived before. Some 4 lane roads have slower traffic keep right, but others do not. I hope I never live in a state where you cannot pass on the right, giving much too much power to the driver who drives in the left lane. When we were in California, they were passing in all 8 lanes. You just have to make sure the lane you are changing to is empty enough for you to move to it safely. Makes sense to me.
NCN, for your sake (and the safety of the rest of us...) I sincerely hope that you confine your driving to only the secondary roads in your immediate local area...
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