Speeding up while being passed on 2-lane highways (Milwaukee: living in, law)

[Squeamish]

This is something that I've been been noticing for years now and figured it warranted a discussion.

I'm not looking to scold anyone or start a debate. I just want to see if any rural Wisconsinites might have information or experiences that could help us understand why this is a consistent phenomenon. Please keep this discussion civil and respectful.

I generally drive 7-8 over on the two-lane highways when conditions are good. Since someone is bound to chime in with "The law is the law why don't you just drive 55", I'm going to preface this by saying that this is not intended to be a discussion about speed limits and safe speeds and what's reasonable and prudent. I have driven extensively in many countries and both speed limits and driving styles correlate strongly with local culture and politics and hardly correlate consistently with safety. By a global baseline, 55 on most Wisconsin highways is slow and antiquated. I don't intend on replying to comments along the lines of "slow down". Neither you nor I are going to change our opinions on acceptable speeds, just like no one is going to change their political beliefs based on forum discussions. It's a pointless debate. If you really want to reduce the accident rate, raise the speed limit, generally quit patrolling for speed, use those resources to patrol for distracted driving instead, and force people to get off their damn phones! Drive faster but watch the road ahead at all times!

Anyway, I put a lot of miles on rural 2-lane highways throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. For time's sake, I usually pass drivers going less than 7-8 over at the next legal and clear passing zone so I can maintain my 7-8 over. In recent years, I have noticed a common phenomenon where many if not most of these drivers speed up drastically while I am passing them resulting in me going at speeds I won't even mention here in order to finish the pass and then they end up pretty much tailgating me while I slow down to my default speed and then at least for a mile thereafter. The top of the bell curve is roughly as follows: I approach them from behind with them going 55. They retain their 55 until I start passing. Then they speed up quickly and drastically in an attempt to prevent me from passing until I have no choice but to proceed at an unreasonable speed to finish the pass. Then I finish the pass and slow down relatively quickly to my usual speed while they pretty much tailgate me for a good while thereafter. If you want to drive that fast, just do so, don't wait to be passed before you speed up! I think they expect that I'll give up the pass and sit behind them doing 55 and they're surprised when I push it and finish the pass. They are trying to slow me down. It seems they want to either demonstrate their superiority or tell me that I should be going their speed. I do not have the ability to communicate to them that I don't care about either, I don't care about them, I just want to save time and go on my merry way.

Speeding up while being passed on a 2-lane highway is dangerous and I've also been told that it's illegal. A notable majority of these people are driving pickup trucks, usually large pickup trucks. It usually happens in the country, well outside of major cities. I always assumed it was an American country thing. But then I mentioned it to a friend and he already knows about this and calls it a Wisconsin thing. That led me to think about where I drive and where I observe this and realize that I drive on the 2-lane highways most frequently between various points in Wisconsin, I usually observe this in Wisconsin, and honestly don't recall observing it much in Minnesota or Iowa. It's clearly a Wisconsin thing, which is why I'm posting this here. Remarkably, the rural/country Wisconsinites that I have interacted with are generally among the nicest, most reasonable people I have ever met, at least to your face. Logically this seems to be the same demographic that drives like this, and I don't understand why. This dog-eat-dog driving style seems to be polar opposite of the polite, reasonable, and respectful culture that I have otherwise experienced in rural Wisconsin.

I have discussed this phenomenon with friends and we have various theories on why so many rural residents do it. Some believe it's subconscious and the drivers don't realize they're doing it. Others believe that it's some kind of bizarre superiority-showing contest where the other driver thinks that I'm challenging them in some capacity and want to demonstrate their dominance (for lack of a better word?) clearly having no idea that I don't care about them I just want to go on my way and use my time wisely. Drivers in Europe and Mexico will go out of their way to make it easier for faster traffic to pass. Rural Wisconsin drivers usually do the opposite. Like it or not, it's a consistent cultural phenomenon. It's just not a few yahoos here and there.

I was hoping to start a civil and respectful discussion with rural Wisconsin residents and drivers to help understand this phenomenon and the root causes behind it. Given highway geometry and design, 63 on most Wisconsin 2-lane highways would be considered reasonable by the cultural standards of most countries. Please keep things candid and on-topic and keep in mind that replies along the lines of "you should be driving slower" will not change my driving habits and are beside the point. Likewise, I do not have the ability to change the driving habits of the subject drivers. Raising awareness and understanding the situation is good though. If you understand and appreciate why I'm posting this and want to make a difference, talk to people you know about this. Spread the word.

Thank you for staying on-topic. I understand that I'm taking a risk posting this publicly, but I think it's worth it for the sake of awareness and discussion.

[blktoptrvl]

I have been told by many - including cops that if you exceed the speed limit while passing, you deserve a ticket.

But personally, because I see people doing this (speeding up when being passed) all the time, when I pass, I do it as fast as my car can. Nobody needs to be hung out in the wrong lane when traffic comes from the other direction - because of a jerk driver. If I get nailed for that, and the cop cannot understand - too bad.

[azgkrudi]

Having lived in 10 states (including rural Wisconsin for 26 years), I can tell you this is not just a Wisconsin thing, it happens all over the nation. Frustrating, I know.

[ranger17]

Yeah i would agree it isnt a rural WI thing to see aggressive driving/blocking issues. I too have seen it in the cities here and in other states as well. Heck the same issue can happen when one tries to get on or off a ramp up in the twin cities.
I wont argue the OP's point as it is valid; i'll just note my opinion that it isnt exclusive to certain areas.

[Milwaukee City]

Yeah it's just people being jerks. It's the same line of thinking from the guy who sits in the left lane doing 5 over and not moving over to prove a point.

Also people be mindful of NOT sitting or driving in someone's blind spot ie kitty-corner to their car. Either pass or slow down and get behind. Don't ride right next to people going the same speed, also rude.

[Squeamish]

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences! Definitely looks like this is common enough that many have taken notice. I'm heartened to see that others have observed it happening nationally. Still seems like it's far more common in rural WI but at least WI doesn't seem to be as worse than other states from this perspective as I had thought.

Yeah, whether or not it's wrong to exceed the speed limit while passing is a subjective cultural thing. It's too bad officers don't seem to be informed to differentiate this from people just speeding to speed. I'd be curious to get the law enforcement perspective on the matter if there are any officers reading this. In some states like IA and MN (don't think WI is on the list) less than 10 is not a moving violation for this exact reason. I think it's called the Dimler Law.

I have a friend who once rode with an acquaintance for several hours on a Wisconsin freeway going 72 and stayed in the left lane the entire time. "You need to move right when you're not passing. Why are you doing this?" "Because I want to. I don't care about the other drivers." We later learned that this acquaintance routinely did really nasty things to others, to the point where we had to block him from all contact. I guess it goes with the personality. No conscience. Although I still get the impression that most drivers sitting in the left lane don't have bad intentions, they simply aren't thinking about their actions or haven't been taught the logic behind drive right pass left. In Europe and Mexico, drive right pass left is a strict rule and everybody follows it and I hardly remember any instances of getting stuck behind a left lane sitter despite much more traffic per lane on most freeways. Here it happens constantly.

[Jim Mac]

Originally Posted by Squeamish

Yeah, whether or not it's wrong to exceed the speed limit while passing is a subjective cultural thing. It's too bad officers don't seem to be informed to differentiate this from people just speeding to speed. I'd be curious to get the law enforcement perspective on the matter if there are any officers reading this.

I live in Wisconsin, but am a retired Illinois cop. Of course it's illegal to speed while passing. There are no exceptions to this.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Yeah it's just people being jerks. It's the same line of thinking from the guy who sits in the left lane doing 5 over and not moving over to prove a point.

This, it is being a passive aggressive (a little more than passive) jerk. Nothing more, nothing less.

The world is full of jerks.

[RandyWilde]

I will say that I've noticed this more in southern Wisconsin (I always blame people from Illinois, myself ) than northern Wisconsin, but its not nearly as bad as I've seen in other states. I lived in NC for a few years and found myself driving up and down the east coast quite frequently, and encountered this behavior all the time. Now I'm living in Germany, and it is actually against the law to do this both on rural roads and the autobahn (yet it still will happen from time to time). I was never somebody to agree with laws that exist in place of what should be common sense, but am appreciative of it here in Germany.

But now I drive a Jeep that doesn't go very fast anyway, so I just cruise in the right-hand lane and let others do all the passing, until I get behind a semi or something.

[Ragnar]

I've observed this behavior in WI as well.

What I don't appreciate is when I'm going ~60 in a 55 on one of these rural 2-lane roads, somebody from behind speeds up to pass me, and when he gets in front of me, slows down to 55 or below. Now do I pass him or not? For me, this is the most dangerous person to try to pass because he's already proven his driving style is erratic.