Left Lane for Passing, Not Cruising! (Houston, San Antonio: mover, attorney, gated)

[miche111e]

PLEASE quit cruising in the passing lane! Move over and let people actually PASS you.

Isn't it a law? If so, I wish it could be enforced.

That will be all. Thank you.

[miche111e]

here:

Texas Transportation Code - Section 545.051. Driving On Right Side Of Roadway - Texas Attorney Resources - Texas Laws

[Bowie]

FWIW, this has been discussed and argued here before. Just to get it out of the way, I'll go ahead and share the issue that has been the biggest point of contention. Despite what it says in the law, a member here checked with DPS and was told by an official there that the "left lane for passing" law is only enforced (or was it enforceable?) on road sections where there are signs specifically stating that to be the case.

Hopefully the member who did that legwork will reply in this thread.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by miche111e

PLEASE quit cruising in the passing lane! Move over and let people actually PASS you.

Isn't it a law? If so, I wish it could be enforced.

That will be all. Thank you.

I thought I was the only one in San Antonio that knows to not cruise on the left lane.
I pass more cars on the right lane than on the left lane.

I will vote for anybody forever that places signs above the left lane saying all over San Antonio saying:
FAST LANE
If you are not going fast, then get the $@#^ out of the way.

I swear that just putting those signs up would GREATLY improve traffic flow in San Antonio.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I thought I was the only one in San Antonio that knows to not cruise on the left lane.
I pass more cars on the right lane than on the left lane.

I will vote for anybody forever that places signs above the left lane saying all over San Antonio saying:
FAST LANE
If you are not going fast, then get the $@#^ out of the way.

I swear that just putting those signs up would GREATLY improve traffic flow in San Antonio.

Moving all of that slow traffic into the right lane would probably lead to more accidents, given the also very high percentage of people in SA who don't know what a yield sign means when they merge onto a highway. The non-yielder will run over or into the right lane slow-mover... then no one will be able to use that stretch of road for the next two hours while the resulting accident is investigated and cleaned up.

No amount of rule enforcement can cancel out widespread willful ignorance of the rules of road.

[rd2007]

I almost sent one of them into the 151 median on Saturday. The fool must've been on the phone or texting, because he wasn't paying any attention and way over corrected when I came up on him to the right and gave a nice friendly blast with my Flowmaster...
and this has been covered a million times, but it's a LOT better than all the I'm moving to SA and I'm more important than everyone else that has moved here threads...

[miche111e]

Frankly, I think there should be a reminder once a week, until enough people see it.

I don't care what ONE DPS officer said about the law. Did he write the law?

[miche111e]

Here is a good article I found from the Houstion Chronicle. 2004, but still relevant.

Aug. 9, 2004, 10:36AM

MOVE IT!
Passing in left lane is a law-granted right
By LUCAS WALL
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Two weeks ago I wrote that my traffic pet peeve is slow drivers using the left lane of a freeway and refusing to move over to let others pass.

This comment generated a flurry of e-mails and phone calls, with about a third of respondents agreeing that police should focus on ticketing these lane hogs who disrupt the normal flow of traffic, not speeders. The majority was critical, however, contending I was encouraging dangerous driving.

David Woerner of Houston called me "arrogant" for asking slower motorists to clear my path.

"If I am in the left lane and going 5 or 10 mph over the limit already, what right do you have to demand the lane?" he asked. "You have no more right to get there faster than me, as long as I drive the speed limit."

Several inquired about what the law says in this area.

My right to pass you in the left lane, even if I'm exceeding the posted limit, comes from § 545.051 of the Texas Transportation Code. The law requires that all drivers "moving more slowly than the normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place under the existing conditions shall drive in the right-hand lane."

So if you're doing the speed limit in the left lane and a line of cars is behind you waiting to pass, you are not only being rude, you are breaking the law.

Remember the saying: "Two wrongs don't make a right?" It's not your job to enforce the speed limits, which are kept below the normal speed of traffic because of poorly conceived environmental rules and the government's greedy desire to collect revenue from fines. Also, freeways are designed for very fast speeds; the design speed is usually higher than the legal limit.

Someone trying to obstruct traffic is creating a greater danger than a driver going faster than the artificially set limit.

"Thank you for finally pointing out the dangerous situation created by left-hand hogs, and the resulting impact on freeway capacity and mobility," wrote Andy Slavin of The Woodlands. "This has truly become an epidemic situation in the city."

I endorse a libertarian approach to traffic enforcement: If you haven't hit something, what have you done wrong?

Handing someone an expensive citation for nothing more than driving the freeway's design speed represents government money-grabbing at its worst and has nothing to do with promoting safety.

Robert Flanary of Houston endorses my call for higher speed limits on freeways or the elimination thereof, such as on Germany's Autobahn system.

"Lowering the freeway speeds in some Texas cities a few years back is not what's going to help reduce pollution," he wrote, "since bottled-up traffic causes more smog than the people doing 70-plus."

Although some respondents spoke out in favor of issuing more tickets to those of us who decline to obey speed limits, they declined to obey the "slower traffic keep right" law.

"If I'm proceeding down the left-hand lane at the speed limit or maybe slightly over, I shouldn't be a problem except to those who refuse to obey the speed limits, " wrote James Exum of Houston.

Folks, let's show some courtesy out there. If a right-hand lane is free, I always drive in it. The left lane is for passing only, unless the freeway is gridlocked. Go the speed you are comfortable with and allow others moving faster to safely go by.

You may also fax thoughts to 713-354-3061 or mail them to Lucas Wall, Houston Chronicle, 801 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002.

Source: Houston Chronicle (Move it!: Passing in left lane is a law-granted right | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle)

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by miche111e

Frankly, I think there should be a reminder once a week, until enough people see it.

I don't care what ONE DPS officer said about the law. Did he write the law?

IIRC, it wasn't one DPS officer who commented, it was a spokesperson for the head of the DPS sharing a statewide policy. Again, I hope the member who made the contact will update the thread with the details... this is what I remember from the last major discussion of this issue here.

[sarahdsmom]

Originally Posted by miche111e

PLEASE quit cruising in the passing lane! Move over and let people actually PASS you.

Isn't it a law? If so, I wish it could be enforced.

That will be all. Thank you.

Yeah, it will be enforced the same time the a-holes flying down the road not obeying the speed limit start getting pulled over.