Slow drivers get out of the HOV Lane!!!!!!! (Phoenix, Sun Lakes: theatre, legal)

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by PHX Newbie

My eyes may be playing tricks on me. Did I just see two posts where folks recommended using cruise control on the city freeways in traffic (i.e. where the traffic is heavy enough to have HOV lanes)? Surely no-one uses cruise control when surrounded by other unpredictable drivers.

I use cruise control during the day....but it is impractical during commute times. This actually brings the idea of automatic roadways/freeways back around. If they were developed, you could turn the auto system on at the freeway metering lights, let the roadway safely bring you to speed and move other vehicles around to merge traffic, move the vehicles to the left depending on the final programed destination (the further you have to go the further left you are moved) and let a computer control the speed/interval between vehicles. If it was tested and secure, it would be a much more efficient way of moving traffic on a freeway then letting half awake, caffeine addled, distracted adults heading into/back from work drive depending on their varying abilities. Heck, the furthest left lane could be moving at 80 in this case and get everyone to their destinations safely and with less stress. There are obvious security and safety concerns that would need to be addressed and, while I love to take a drive and go on road trips, commuting is one of the most brain numbing practices of the work day. It never ceases to amaze me how many accidents occur every morning when people are supposedly driving in a straight lane.

[elcajones]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

But it is only an HOV lane at certain times, otherwise it is a normal lane of traffic. I am pretty sure that there isn't a law that says you can't sit in the left lane...it is just common courtesy to let those that want to travel faster than you to pass safely. I kind of equate left lane hogs to those people that all of a sudden speed up on 2 lane highways when it opens up for a passing lane. 55 with 20 people backed up behind them...but when a passing lane opens up all of a sudden they are Kyle Petty until it closes back to 1 lane and then back to 55 with 19 people behind them (1 person got around by doing 95 and passing on the right).

My SoCal commute up highway 67 was like that!!! It was a 2 lane road with passing lanes. It was a guarantee that once you got a passing lane after being stuck behind some moron for miles going 35-40 (It's a 55 zone), You would have to than floor it to like 75 to have any hope of getting around them, since they are NOW speeding. Drove me nuts!
and same moron tending to stay left and not go to the right when the lane opened.

[FloppyRunner]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Sorry, but this is wrong on so many levels. First of all, speed limits are not absolute. In Arizona and most other states, the speed limit law is prima facie, which basically means reasonable & prudent. You know as well as I do that cops will not pull you over just for going a few MPH over the posted speed limit, or for driving fast in the left lane. Hell, I've been in the left lane driving at least 10 MPH over (with the flow of traffic I might add), and whizzed right by a cop car who didn't pull me over. Cops are mainly looking for drunk drivers, aggressive maniacs, and those who drive excessively over the limit (such as 90 MPH in a 65 zone).

Also, your comment about a person driving the speed limit in the left lane "has every right to do so" is incorrect. Driving is a privilege, not a right ... therefore, driving the speed limit in the left lane is NOT a right. Nothing about operating a vehicle is a right. More than likely, the person driving the speed limit in the left lane is going slower than the general flow, and therefore is impeding the flow, which is ILLEGAL. Do you not understand the state law about slower traffic keeping right?

Arizona Revised Statutes §28-721**Driving on right side of roadway; exceptions :: Title 28 - Transportation :: 2005 Arizona Revised Statutes :: Arizona Revised Statutes :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia

This is what the law states about keeping to the right:

On all roadways, a person driving a vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall drive the vehicle in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

I just want to point out that this gentleman/lady posted a statute, with citation, and everyone...promptly ignored it.

[KurtAZ]

True...but that was way back on page 5 . There can be a law for it but if it is not enforced, no one is going to be able to stop left lane hogs.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by jaredC

A few years ago I was coming back from Tucson. I hit 81, in a 75 and was pulled over and ticketed for speeding. Went to driving school and paid like $200 for the class. So now I'm very cautious about going above the 5+ mph over the limit. Just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Is that right after they bumped out of town speeds to 75MPH? I remember that they were cautioning everyone that there was going to be STRICT enforcement of the limit. I got pulled over outside Quartzsite doing 78 in a 75. Not so much now...

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by FloppyRunner

I just want to point out that this gentleman/lady posted a statute, with citation, and everyone...promptly ignored it.

Or... perhaps "everyone" is just ignoring VN?

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by new2colo

Again, you're wrong. HOV lanes are there to reward drivers who carpool, ride motorcycles, take transit, and drive fuel efficient vehicles or vehicles that operate on alternative fuels. It is not an express lane for self important jackholes who want everyone to get out of their way so they can shave 2 minutes off their drive time. There is no law about yielding to faster traffic in the HOV lane. You cannot produce any evidence that slower HOV traffic must move to the right for faster traffic in Arizona because it does not exist. If this was an express lane, it would be converted to an express lane and used as such. What's funny is that the speeders will continue to argue about this until they're blue in the face and still no one is going to move out of the way to accommodate your recklessness. I'm thinking that Arizona needs to either shut its HOV lanes down during non rush hours or convert them to access restricted lanes (double white lines) to solve this issue once and for all.

Of course HOV lanes are express. If they were meant to be strictly slower lanes, they would be on the right sides of the freeways, but they are situated on the left side. What does a left lane mean to you? Anything??? The AZ statute clearly states that a person driving a vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic shall drive the vehicle in the right lane. This means that traffic in the left lane needs to be moving faster than the traffic in the lane(s) to the right ... even if the traffic in the other lanes are moving at the speed limit or above.

Yes, I am aware that HOV lanes are reserved for carpools, buses, and motorcycles, but this is only during peak driving times. During the rest of the time, anybody can use them. If you'll kindly read the signs that your beloved ADOT installed, they clearly state what times of the day the HOV is reserved for the "special" vehicles. Even then, it shouldn't be used as a slowpoke lane, nor should it be used as a NASCAR lane. The way I see it, the speed demons who race in & out of lanes, AND the slowpokes who hold up the left lane & won't move over are the "self important jackholes" (as you worded it).

Now, explain how the HOV lanes could be shut down during non rush hour times, or be converted to access restricted lanes. You realize that either method would require a significant amount of effort & money ... and you have repeatedly said that there is no money in ADOT's budget, so how do you think this could possibly be accomplished?

[suzy_q2010]

"On all roadways, a person driving a vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall drive the vehicle in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway."

This means that if you are in the far left lane and people are passing you on the right, you need to move out of the left lane. However, it also means that if you are in the far left lane and you are passing vehicles on your right, you are using the left lane properly, even if there is someone behind you wants to go faster than you are. If moving to the right would mean that you have to slow down, merge right, then get back into the left lane to resume your preferred speed - which is probably at or above the speed limit - it is unreasonable for someone to come up behind you flashing headlights and tailgating. If I am in the left lane and going faster than the flow to my right, I am not "impeding traffic." I will move over when the lane to my right opens up and I do not have to slow down to use it.

[MOD CUT/off topic]

[asufan]

Originally Posted by suzy_q2010

"On all roadways, a person driving a vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall drive the vehicle in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway."

This means that if you are in the far left lane and people are passing you on the right, you need to move out of the left lane. However, it also means that if you are in the far left lane and you are passing vehicles on your right, you are using the left lane properly, even if there is someone behind you wants to go faster than you are. If moving to the right would mean that you have to slow down, merge right, then get back into the left lane to resume your preferred speed - which is probably at or above the speed limit - it is unreasonable for someone to come up behind you flashing headlights and tailgating. If I am in the left lane and going faster than the flow to my right, I am not "impeding traffic." I will move over when the lane to my right opens up and I do not have to slow down to use it.

[MOD CUT/off topic]

This is what I do. I do not drive at rush hour so there is generally light traffic when I am out, and I like to go about 85, sometimes more. I get in the HOV lane, and there is always someone that wants to go faster, so I move over a lane, let them pass and then move back over into the fast lane. I just don't get the weirdo's that go 65 in that lane and refuse to be courteous, it's definitely a mental issue, like they don't have any control at home or at the office so they are going to control the fast lane for others.

[Wally Sconce]

Originally Posted by asufan

This is what I do. I do not drive at rush hour so there is generally light traffic when I am out, and I like to go about 85, sometimes more. I get in the HOV lane, and there is always someone that wants to go faster, so I move over a lane, let them pass and then move back over into the fast lane. I just don't get the weirdo's that go 65 in that lane and refuse to be courteous, it's definitely a mental issue, like they don't have any control at home or at the office so they are going to control the fast lane for others.

You like to go 85?or more? On a Phoenix freeway? That's a mental issue.