Why is the speed limit 55 on I-81? (transport, car)

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by go phillies

There is never a reason for a truck, or anyone, to be in the passing lane if they are going slow and not passing!!!! Sorry, but I've had it to hell with tractor trailers getting in the passing lane and then putzing along at 45 mph clogging everything up.

Agreed. I have seen this happen more than a few times on I-81. Not saying the drivers are always unsafe, because there are many in cars who are unsafe also. It just seems like there are certain stretches on I-81 where you can't even go 55 because they are so many trucks clogging up traffic.

[thecoalman]

Well you can always kick the trucks off the highways but then you'd have the problem of not being able to buy anything.

You could make it so they could only travel in right lane but that would slow down deliveries tremendously increasing the cost for goods. No really good answer except get them off the roads by using rail for long haul freight which is where the government should be focusing its efforts instead of many of these other transportation projects to move people around. Trucks do a lot of damage to roads and bridges so not only is rail less energy intensive for the fuel it's a lot less investment needed in maintaining roads.

[Trucker7]

Originally Posted by PODS guy

If you can't wait maybe you need to leave earlier.

Yeah, but the whole point of driving on the Interstate is to get from point A to point B quick. If I wanted to spend more time on the road, I'd take the back roads, which are a lot more interesting than the Interstate.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

BIGGEST pet peeve of all, as then I WILL tailgate you

If you're worried about saving time, you might want to be more cautious with tailgating. If someone is tailgating me, I'll drive slower than I normally would, and if the situation allows, I'll do it so that you can't change lanes to get around me, either. If you don't like that, don't tailgate me.

[Pretzelogik]

It is called Revenue Enhancement.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

It's called the passing lane for a reason.

It is a passing lane, yes, but not an unlimited speed passing lane. The speed limit in that lane is still the same. So if the speed limit is 65, and you're in the middle lane and a line of cars are going 62, while someone else is in the left hand lane going 65, that's not a license to tailgate them because they're going too slow for your tastes. They are passing the line of cars in the middle lane, and they're doing so at the speed limit. Of course, the folks who love to speed are not going to drive calmly and politely behind the person in the left lane going 65 in that situation.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by Trucker7

I learned that lesson a little over 10 years ago when I was trying to 'teach a lesson' to the idiot that was tailgating me and honking their horn. When they finally passed, I saw that they were carrying a child with blood all over his face. I felt like human excrement. That was the last time that I decided to 'teach someone a lesson'.

If they need to drive way over the speed limit, what they really needed to do was call 911. Sirens are handy for driving far over the speed limit. They're further endangering whoever they're transporting otherwise. Also, if someone is that badly injured and they're far away from help, it's better to wait for an ambulance, which can at least provide care on the way rather than moving the person and trying to make them sit up in a car.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

it's a death wish if you pass a truck on the right

People, including me, pass trucks on the right all the time. How so? By being in a lane to the right of a truck in a congested area where the truck's lane is moving more slowly. It would be a worse situation to slow down and try to squeeze in behind the truck then pass him on the left just because one is afraid of driving past on a truck on the right.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by loveinbloom

I think we would have less accidents if everyone did one simple thing; be a courteous driver. Remember those days.

I don't know, I started driving in the 70s and I do not remember those days, lol.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by R.J. MacReady

You know what? If people like you wouldn't be slow peddling in the left lane (aka the passing lane) then these situations would be moot. People wanting to go faster, for whatever reason, could do so if people had the respect to obey the passing lane laws. Honestly if you are doing 50 in a passing lane in a 55 mph zone get the heck over and drive slow in the right lane. It's very selfish and against the law.

I just love how people **** and moan about laws "being broken" that are a product of their own ignorance or refusal to obey certain laws (being in the left passing lane without passing or turning). People would do much less tailgating if people would use the passing lane for exactly what it was created for......passing/faster traffic. If you'd be in the right lane in the first place then the tailgating wouldn't be occurring in the left passing lane.

There are only four possibilities of what a left lane driver might be doing: (1) driving in the left lane while no one is in the right lane, (2) driving in the left lane while there is a driver in the right lane, but the driver in the right lane is actually driving faster than the driver in the left lane, (3) driving in the left lane at the same speed as a car in the right lane, and (4) driving in the left lane while passing someone in the right lane.

(3) is the only situation where it makes sense to get frustrated, if it's not the case that the road is very congested.

But many people tailgate when (4) is occurring--it's just the the cars are not moving fast enough for them in general, and many tailgaters are talking about (1) and (2). When I see (1) and (2) happening, I always think, "Hey moron, can't you figure out that you can just fly by the guy by passing on the right?" It's not as if they are trying to not break any laws, since they're usually (1) speeding a significant amount--or about to, and (2) tailgating. It's like they're too dumb to figure out that they can get around the car if they want to. It's more that the want to assert their dominance and make the other guy move out of the way.