Left-Lane Hoggers? (Reston, McLean, Fairfax: taxes, live, dangerous)

[SteelCityRising]

Does anyone have an effective solution as to how we can help to rid Northern Virginia of its "left-lane hogger" pandemic? I commute along Route 7 daily between Reston and Tyson's Corner, and I routinely find myself tail-gating people in the left-hand lane doing 5-10 miles under the speed limit as others zoom by in the right-hand lane and then get back in the left-hand lane in front of this "left-lane hogger" in front of me (in essence, passing on the right). I was always taught that you were to "stay right, except to pass." Is this no longer the case? Thankfully since it is August traffic has been relatively easy to endure, but once the congestion thickens I'm not going to be quite as "forgiving" with these left-lane hoggers. I realize some people might be turning left from Route 7 East onto Lewinsville Road, for example, but why get in the left-hand lane and STAY THERE, poking along, miles before the intersection? Why aren't the Fairfax County Police pulling people over for being in the left-hand lane for an extended period of time without passing? They certainly know how to harass people for speeding, though, when these left-lane hoggers are just as dangerous for encouraging aggressive driving. I myself don't want to be viewed as being a dangerous driver for tailgating, but what else CAN you do to alert the driver in front of you that they don't belong dawdling in the passing lane? Honk? Flash your high beams?

Good Lord the Metro can't come to Reston soon enough!

[stax]

Give it up. It bothers me to no end as well, but most drivers are completely oblivious to honking and flashing, and some will continue to stay in the left lane out of spite. My wife and I got into a big argument about that, because she insists on being in the left lane even when there's traffic that's going faster than her. I personally think that it's part of the competitive mentality of some of the drivers here, coupled with hyper-aggressive traffic enforcement, that makes people drive slow and at the same time not want someone to get in front of them.
Eventually, you'll just learn to pass on the right, and no, it's not good driving, but when in Rome....

[ChristineVA]

I agree with stax. You're just not going to be able to change them or do anything about it.

I feel fortunate that I rarely run into this (I commute on I-95 and I-395). Most people are speeding, period. However, occasionally, I will come across someone "loitering" in the left lane. Now, to be honest, that person is doing 55 mph. That is the posted speed limit in most cases. He/she is really not doing anything wrong but I was always taught not to drive in the left lane unless you're passing or moving at a high rate of speed. If you're just tooling along (obeying the law) you need to be in the other lanes.

I think some people get the mentality that "hey, I'm doing the speed limit, I can be in this lane all I want." Very frustrating. But, as I said, on the interstate it is not so much of a big deal as there are many lanes to work around them.

[athousandlogins]

My husband does this. I have no idea why, it drives me nuts. Thankfully, I do about 99% of the driving in our relationship, and he takes Metro to work.

If most of these folks are like my husband, they're just oblivious to what they're doing. They're not thinking big picture. It's just "I have to get down the road and here's a lane...dum dee dum..."

What annoys me even more, though, is that I often end up with people tailgating me in the RIGHT lane because they're trying to go around the slowpoke in the left lane. That really upsets me. I spend most of my time in the right lane these days because I'm usually driving with my kids and I don't like to go too fast with them in the back seat. I've never been a "slow" driver, but now I like to keep it within 10 miles of the speed limit. (Before, I'd pretty much drive as fast as road conditions allowed, within reason.) So Mr. BMW comes along, wants to drive 20 miles over the speed limit, sees that he can't pass on the left, then moves right and rides my ass. ARGH.

Sometimes when this happens, I do the guy a favor and speed up so that he can get ahead. It's not his fault someone else is blocking the left lane. Of course, we're guaranteed to be neck and neck at the next stoplight so he hasn't really done himself any good by acting like a jerk, but whatever. Other times, I get pissy and actually slow down a little. Because I feel really threatened when someone tailgates me. It tends to work - then they'll hate me, but they'll get in the other lane and harass the slowpoke over there instead. Most of the time, though, I just keep keeping on. I really hate tailgaters, even when they have a point.

[cdmurphy]

It is legal in Virginia for you to honk and/or flash your lights at left lane hoggers, but as stax mentioned, many people are obliviots and won't move.

Virginia Code § 46.2-842.1. Drivers to give way to certain overtaking vehicles on divided highways.

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.

If someone passes you on the right, you need to move over to the right. Maybe we need to borrow some "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs from New Jersey.

[SteelCityRising]

Thanks for the insight, everyone. Some may be sitting there thinking "Shame on ScranBarre, Mr. Aggressive Driver!" but all in all the stretch of Route 7 between Reston and Tyson's Corner is especially terrible for this sort of offense during peak hours, and I NEVER see the Fairfax County Police pulling anyone over for it. As I said perhaps some of the eastbound people are just "hanging out" in the passing lane because they wish to turn left onto Lewinsville Road into McLean, but they need not be "afraid" to merge into the left-hand lane more closely to their intersection instead of miles in advance. I can speak from experience that in heavy traffic if I notice someone in an adjacent lane flipping their blinker on I'll adjust my speed slightly to create a gap in front of me and then flash my high beams to permit him or her to get in front of me. After all, I live by the mantra of "What if I were in that lane and really needed to get over?" Contrary to popular belief about the "uber-aggressive drivers" down here, it has been my experience that most other drivers will do the same. It has been my general experience in this part of Fairfax County that drivers, if anything, are very non-aggressive, as I also encounter this same problem very frequently along many major arteries in Reston like Baron Cameron Avenue or Reston Parkway. I just tire of sitting and "poking" along day after day in the left-hand lane because:

1.) The person in front of me is a "vigilante," thinking they are helping the police out by going 54 in a 55 zone in the left-hand lane to keep everyone in-check when all they are really doing is encouraging a pile-up as people behind him or her become more irritated and aggressive by this obstacle.

2.) The person in front of me is completely oblivious to the fact that they are "clogging" the passing lane because they are applying make-up, texting, chatting on the cell phone, arguing with their spouses, fussing with their backseat children, reading, fiddling with the Sirius XM or GPS, unfamiliar with our nation's traffic laws, etc., etc. I'm by no means a saint when it comes to keeping myself from becoming distracted while driving on occasion either, but I've never been in the sort of situation where I'm just that oblivious for miles. You're taught in drivers' ed. to continuously SCAN as you drive, looking from the rearview mirror to the sideview mirror to occasionally over your shoulder, etc. to keep abreast of what vehicles are immediately around you. Apparently these left-lane dawdlers don't ever look in their rear-view mirrors to see a line of 10 cars along the Route 7 Conga Line weaving like NASCAR vehicles during caution laps!

3.) The person in front of me is lost, and instead of pulling into the right-hand lane to drive more slowly or even, better yet, pulling into a gas station to ask for directions, they'll crawl in the left-hand lane, braking randomly and suddenly as they squint to see the street names ahead before turning without a blinker, causing me to BLARE my horn!

I really don't want to flash my high beams or honk at one of these offenders (much less tailgate) because I worry that I may accost the wrong person on the wrong day who will vent his or her frustrations on me once I get around them (perhaps not so peacefully), but I'm running out of options. If you're a Route 7 commuter in Northern Fairfax County along the four-lane stretch (the six-lane stretch one you get past Reston headed towards Sterling is fine, and I still don't know why this isn't also six lanes between Reston and Tyson's Corner), then PLEASE, I beg of you, either pass or get out of the way!

[athousandlogins]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

3.) The person in front of me is lost, and instead of pulling into the right-hand lane to drive more slowly or even, better yet, pulling into a gas station to ask for directions, they'll crawl in the left-hand lane, braking randomly and suddenly as they squint to see the street names ahead before turning without a blinker, causing me to BLARE my horn!

While I feel bad for these people (nothing worse than being lost, especially dealing with traffic at the same time) I HAAAAAAAAAATE the random braking! There is nothing more dangerous than someone who slams on his brakes for no apparent reason.

[ChristineVA]

I really love those people who are in the right lane, don't know where they are, determine that the need to make a left hand turn NOW and endanger several people's lives in order to make that turn.

People, in this area, there is ALWAYS another intersection within a quarter of a mile. Just make a u-turn or some other recovery method a few minutes farther away.

[jbird82]

Yeah, there are alot of people in this area who do not understand the idea of using left lanes or simply don't care and do what they want. You will see this alot on the toll road also, especially due to the express ez pass lanes. But it's not such a big deal on that road b/c you have 4 lanes to navigate around them.

However, I take 66 alot as part of my commute and there is nothing that drives me more crazy than a guy who cuts in front of me from the right lane into the left only to drive the speed limit or lower.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

I call them "left lane dicks" - they will never change - I actually asked one why he did it and he said - "Hey - I pay taxes and will do what I want on my roads"
- they get an attitude and dont care about others at all.