Seattle Area Remedial Left Lane Slow Driver School. (Federal Way: credit, hotel)

[Angry-Koala]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

No that’s not what the law says.

It doesn’t say I have to move over to let someone else pass me...it says I can’t be in the left lane unless I am passing the cars to the right.

I told you above it has nothing to do with trying to enforce the law. I don’t care about that. It has to do with whether I have a responsibility to slow down my own progress and risk an unnecessary merge into slower traffic just to let you by. I don’t think I do. Not unless there’s no more cars on the right and I can do it in a way that I think is safe.

Mine is very libertarian approach.

Originally Posted by Botev1912

Sorry but entitled drivers like you cause road rage.

Sounds like Botev is the one with the entitlement issues.

[Botev1912]

I am not the one driving in the left lane and not letting others pass me. Try driving that way in Germany or most places in Europe and you won't last long.

[rjshae]

Originally Posted by pete98146

...said the man in the 1974 yellow colored Volvo..

Nope, a pale blue 2016 Hyundai Elantra.

[CrazyDonkey]

Of course, you can drive 70 mph in the "fast lane" and still get tailgated, at greater hazard, by those wanting to go 80.

[jakebarnes]

Doesn't anyone know that you use the right lane for passing in Washington? I thought that was the custom. Seriously. Yes, people do park in the left lane, but just because some aggro driver from Miami, Shanghai, umbai or New York wants to go 20 miles over the speed limit doesn't mean everyone has to yield. But the person in the left lane should not be going slower than the right.

Also, when in the hell is the freeway open enough for everyone to be in the right hand lane anyway? Sorry y'all can't speed like you like, but welcome to the Northwest! Everything isn't perfect.

[rjshae]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Of course, you can drive 70 mph in the "fast lane" and still get tailgated, at greater hazard, by those wanting to go 80.

If you're getting tail-gated for any reason, the defensive driving tactic is to increase the space in front of you to allow 2-3 seconds so you have plenty of space to slow down more gradually in the event of a traffic snarl. That could save both your life and the life of the unskilled driver behind you. Speeding up to satisfy their needs only encourages their risk-taking behavior.

[XoXSciFiGuy]

Time for a little sense and sensibility maybe. I got my first WA state drivers license in 1972, so I think I've seen it all when it comes to Seattle-area drivers.

Ask me how many times I have had people pass me over a double yellow line while yakking on their cell phones...(many times)

Virtually everyone goes over the speed limit here. Some places more than others.

It's been proven by a test done by KING TV and the State Patrol some years ago that cutting lanes, speeding, and taking any small advantage you can like a Le Mans driver...and going from Tacoma to Seattle on the I-5...actually saves you less than ten minutes. Two cars did the test, both accompanied by an unmarked State Patrol car. One followed the flow of traffic. The other did the usual cut in and out stuff, speed when possible, you've seen it many times. The aggressive guy only saved eight minutes.

Ask me how many times I have had to wake people up with my horn when they crossed the center line coming at me head on...while on the cell phone. (More than a few times)

This article at Quora might inject some reasonable thinking about driving in Seattle. Or anywhere. It's an answer to a question: 'What Do Expert Drivers Know That You Don't Know'.

WARNING: There is an extremely graphic picture at the end of the article.

[connotative]

What I want to know is, why do the Seattle drivers persist in aggressively tailgating me and then honking at me when I am driving down a single-lane neighborhood street at 20 miles per hour? It's the very fastest I can go, when there are parked cars one foot on either side of the lane.

[pnwguy2]

Because anyone going any slower than them is an idiot. That is the mentality. But of course, at the end of the day, these folks would never be rude in person, their cocooned auto environment provides anonymous rage, which tells you how weak these drivers are in reality. Kinda sad, really.

[Xanathos]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Right but if the whole freeway is heavy traffic, 50 mph may just be what you get.

I'm with CrazyDonkey I think... In Seattle, I'd be surprised if it's ever WIDE OPEN except for one lone guy slow camping in the left lane. We hardly ever see it that wide open even way down in our parts.

People just need to realize that when traffic is heavy, there's no right to keep driving fast in the left lane. It's dangerous.

Well, you would be wrong. These campers exist, day or night, traffic or not. One of the biggest adjustments I find myself having to make every. single. time. I have to go up to Seattle for a few days for work is changing the way I approach driving in the area, because everywhere else I live or work, slow left lane camping isn't a thing. Matter of fact, you'd get run over if you tried doing even just the speed limit in the left lane. Seattle, though? 5 minutes after I leave the rental car lot, I'm going "oh yeah, this place is overrun with really low-skill, passive aggressive, incompetent drivers and I've basically got to play Ultimate Lane Swapping Championship to get where I Need to go".