Lady cited for driving two mph below speed limit (Laurel: car, drivers)

[DaveinMtAiry]

If a car is going 2 MPH below the speed limit in the passing lane on Int 95 there is not going to be an open lane to the right for an easy pass unless it's 3 in the morning. And this is the problem, the blocked lane creates a situation that is not easily resolved for the drivers behind the offender. If there was an open lane to the right why would the driver have to make a dangerous maneuver to get by the problem?

It all starts with the guy in the passing lane.

[selhars]

f a car is going 2 MPH below the speed limit in the passing lane on Int 95 there is not going to be an open lane to the right for an easy pass unless it's 3 in the morning. And this is the problem, the blocked lane creates a situation that is not easily resolved for the drivers behind the offender. If there was an open lane to the right why would the driver have to make a dangerous maneuver to get by the problem?

It all starts with the guy in the passing lane.

I HATE drivers who hog the passing lane. But let's not overstate how hard it is to pass to the right.

If traffic is heavy, might you have wait MAYBE a minute? Sure (which can seem like a long time when you're waaaiiittting, but it really isn't THAT long). But when I drive -- even in MORNING RUSH -- trust me there's always someone in the middle too who's not quite at speed so you CAN get around. It's not like you have to go five miles behind the dawdler.....two-to three miles, MAYBE. I've never gone that long behind someone slow on the left.

Even if I'm NOT the car behind the dawdler -- when I'm six or seven cars back -- when the left/passing lane has been slow for too long you can almost presume something is holding it up. I'll pass before I even get that close -- OR as each car a head one-by-one passes the lane hog I get close enough to see exactly what the hold up is...I'll pass to the right...before other cars will.

PLENTY of times I see people BEHIND the dawdler just stay there when they COULD have passed. I drive by them shaking my head.

[Steelers10]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

If you have to put your safety at risk no you shouldn't. But I don't see what the big deal is about having to pass on the right. If we had roads that weren't generally above capacity maybe I would but generally I find all lanes running near bumper to bumper sometimes have the middle or right lane flowing faster than the left lane. I don't see the left lane as only to be used for passing. it is 1/2 or 1/3 of the capacity of the road.

I actually wish we had more speed enforcement on the interstates. I'm tired of people pushing other vehicles at 15-30 mph above the limit

If you do not see the big deal about passing on the right then you are certainly part of the problem. Much of the capacity in the far right lane is used by 18-wheelers. As interstate drivers, long haul truckers tend to follow the same principles of only passing in the left lane and almost always drive in the far right. It would make far more sense for slower drivers to drive in the far right with trucks who tend to drive at pretty consistent speeds not too far below the speed limit but in the flow of traffic. No trucker coming from the West Coast or Florida is driving 40 mph. Time is money for them.

There is no need to drive below the speed limit in the far left lane. Those highways with "slower traffic keep right" signs need to move those signs to the side of the far left lane. The people in the far right don't need them. What is perplexing are those individuals with full pick-up truck beds (or full mini-vans ) driving 50 on the interstate. If you want to drive slow(er) and cautious, take one of the US routes (40, 29, 1) or MD 355. The roads are well-regulated, all run parallel to the interstates, and you can do comparable speeds to interstate minimum speeds on these roads in less-developed areas. If you are so worried about these reckless drivers going 30 miles over the limit, why drive on the road with them? Exercise caution and take a US route. As many of the posters said, I'm more worried about the slow left-lane driver causing multiple people stacked up behind them to play chicken with a tractor trailer.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by selhars

I HATE drivers who hog the passing lane. But let's not overstate how hard it is to pass to the right.

If traffic is heavy, might you have wait MAYBE a minute? Sure (which can seem like a long time when you're waaaiiittting, but it really isn't THAT long). But when I drive -- even in MORNING RUSH -- trust me there's always someone in the middle too who's not quite at speed so you CAN get around. It's not like you have to go five miles behind the dawdler.....two-to three miles, MAYBE. I've never gone that long behind someone slow on the left.

Even if I'm NOT the car behind the dawdler -- when I'm six or seven cars back -- when the left/passing lane has been slow for too long you can almost presume something is holding it up. I'll pass before I even get that close -- OR as each car a head one-by-one passes the lane hog I get close enough to see exactly what the hold up is...I'll pass to the right...before other cars will.

PLENTY of times I see people BEHIND the dawdler just stay there when they COULD have passed. I drive by them shaking my head.

Fair enough. I guess I should have restated my position. You don't have to be the car directly behind the offender to get frustrated and end up making a stupid move. I've seen cars 5-6 back cut into the right lane suddenly when they see a crack, then shoot back to the left and do this back and forth until they finally get by the idiot.

But my point remains the passing lane parker creates dangerous situations by being an unaware idiot.

[dkf747]

Your point is correct. The left lane hog is an aggressive driver too.

[Calvin C]

Saw this today - Holding a poodle while flying down the highway at 80mph.

[Calvin C]

Great idea struck me this morning while following a lady chatting away on her cellphone on the left lane, oblivious to the half mile of backed up traffic behind her: Ban minivans and SUVs from the left lane. It will take care of 90% of the problem.

[selhars]

a lady chatting away on her cellphone on the left lane, oblivious to the half mile of backed up traffic behind her:

Are these people THAT oblivious? that non-thinking? selfish? inconsiderate?
I just don't understand how they can do that. It really does boggle my mind.
I love psychology....and I'd LOVE to know what their thinking is about that they're doing.
How can they NOT now they shouldn't be in the left lane creeping like that.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by Calvin C

Great idea struck me this morning while following a lady chatting away on her cellphone on the left lane, oblivious to the half mile of backed up traffic behind her: Ban minivans and SUVs from the left lane. It will take care of 90% of the problem.

I disagree. I drive a minivan and it's quite often that it's a car doing the blocking.

[Calvin C]

Originally Posted by selhars

Are these people THAT oblivious? that non-thinking? selfish? inconsiderate?
I just don't understand how they can do that. It really does boggle my mind.
I love psychology....and I'd LOVE to know what their thinking is about that they're doing.
How can they NOT now they shouldn't be in the left lane creeping like that.

I have noticed that probably due to the distractions within the car as well as its size and blind spots, most van and SUV drivers are totally unaware of what is happening behind them.