Austin/Leander/Cedar Park drivers are the SLOWEST DRIVERS PERIOD

[TexasHorseLady]

Nor Cal Wahine, I've never said it is and have, indeed, repeatedly stated that the only sane thing to do is to pull over and let the bat out of hell zoom on to his doom. In point of fact, I've repeatedly made it clear that it's not up to any driver to determine what is "fast enough". The State of Texas has already made that decision; it's called speed limits. The speed limit, being the top speed at which you may drive on that particular stretch of road, is "fast enough".

I do find it interesting that some people get so upset at the very idea that they should acknowledge that (a) the law does still apply to them and blaming others for obeying the law makes them look more than a little like they have an overweening sense of entitlement and (b) that they should admit that they are doing something wrong and that they are the actual source of their own problem because if they didn't speed, they wouldn't be frustrated by people actually driving the speed limit.

Yeah, I guess it is a moral issue, but it's also a matter of basic logic. Both of which seem to be in short supply in some people.

By the way, nowhere in the Texas statutes, including in the section posted above favored by the speed demons to justify their behavior and attitudes, does it state that the speed limit is revoked for "the proper flow of traffic". And in other parts of the Traffic Code it specifically states that driving above the speed limit is, de facto, reckless driving.

As for my posting in all of the threads on this topic, you might want to look at the other posters who do so, as well, the ones who support your "anyone who prevents me from driving however fast I want to is the cause of the problem" attitude. You might want to think about why you're not yelling at them for doing so.

[TexasHorseLady]

But don't you think that those who repeatedly and constantly complain that everyone else is in their way and are the cause of all their driving problems also need a break? If not, why not?

I'm not the one that's upset here, note. Just pointing out the facts, pesky things.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Hoffdano, there are other parts of the statute that address speeding and the fact that it's the law. Interestingly, folks of the "the left lane is for driving like a bat out of hell" persuasion always seem to think that the part you quoted is important but the other parts that say they have to go the speed limit no matter WHICH lane they're in, don't. They also ignore the "left lane is for passing only only when TxDOT so declares and puts up signs stating so" part.

Wonder why that might be?

Literally every day, I encounter people going below, sometimes significantly below, the speed limit in the left lane. Just today, there was someone on 620 going 45 in the left lane. The speed limit is 65. That is just rude. I am not one of those people who are a "bat out of hell." Why is it so hard to just be courteous to other drivers and stay in the right lane if you are going slower?

[ATX Wahine]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

But don't you think that those who repeatedly and constantly complain that everyone else is in their way and are the cause of all their driving problems also need a break? If not, why not?

If I was aware of anyone else at this board who has devoted the sheer number of posts to the subject as you have I'd probably suggest that they need a break, too. As it stands, it is irrefutable that you devote more time and words to this topic than anyone else here and yet every post of yours is exactly the same: you as always are correct and everyone else is either wrong, a raving lunatic, or *gasp* a lowly out-of-stater (which I always find so hypocritical of you considering you are a real estate agent who gets paid to find newcomers homes yet you complain abut them at every turn).

There is a simple technical explanation for the 'slower traffic keep right' law. It is easier and safer for a car to move one lane to the right to allow faster traffic to pass and then tuck back into the left lane than it is for a car in the left lane to pull out into slower traffic, try to pass all cars moving in various speeds on the right, and then get back into the left lane again. It is not safe to pass on the right due to those varying traffic patterns and this is why the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" law exists. Ask any police officer this.

Now take that technical explanation and put it into play and see what happens when someone like you is in the left lane, sees a car on your rear bumper, looks down and says "but gosh, I'm already going 3 mph over the speed limit. Tough cookies for this guy because the law is on my side". When you decide to stay in that left lane and drive the speed limit because the "law is on your side" you yourself 1) create a traffic flow problem 2) in doing so are also breaking the law 3) contribute to the irritation of the drivers stacking up behind you 4) create the ultimate breeding ground for a road rage incident and 5) look as much like an a$$ as the driver behind you who now has to dart over a lane or two and pass a handful of cars going varying speed limits to get back to where he is trying to get: in the left lane in front of you, the slower driver.

It's not up to you to decide that he's already going fast enough. It's not up to you to control the traffic flow by refusing to get over and it's not up to you to make a value judgement of someone driving fast in the first place. You have no earthly idea if that driver has a sick kid in the car, just got a call that his wife is in the ER dying, is struggling to catch a flight on time, etc etc etc. I'm not condoning true reckless driving and I don't think anyone else here is, too. There are plenty of valid reasons why someone may need to exceed the speed limit however and it sure as heck isn't up to the buffoon going out of their way to slow then down to determine what that reason may be.

If everything you have spent thousands of posts chest-thumping about was actually TRUE, the actual TEXAS MOTOR LAW would be "Slower traffic keep right unless the lead car is already going the speed limit". The only argument left to discuss is if one law supercedes the other and frankly, I'll leave it to a police officer to determine that, not you.

[TexasHorseLady]

No, the statute would not read that way. (Used to be a legal assistant, learned the hard way that the law isn't usually all neatly tied up with a bow that way.) The Texas Transportation Code, taken as a whole, makes it clear that slower traffic should move right, and that the speed limit exists in all lanes, and that the left lane for passing only restriction only applies in those areas where TxDOT, with the legislature's permission, has so designated and that when a stretch is so designated, it is marked with a sign so stating.

It's really rather entertaining to watch people trying desperately (and with a fair amount of emotion, too) to prove that the person who is speeding is not the initial cause of the problem. (And, yes, anyone with someone coming up behind them at a higher rate of speed should pull over to the right if it's safe to do so; I've stated this many times, but apparently it's no fun to notice that.) This in spite of the fact that if everyone on the roads was driving the speed limit, including them, they wouldn't be held up at all; it's only when they insist on driving faster than the speed limit that the problem exists.

As for people driving lower than the speed limit, failing a full roadway and all the traffic driving at approximately the same speed due to traffic conditions (yes, traffic conditions can also be traffic as a whole driving slower than the speed limit, go figure) and room to do so safely, they should most definitely pull to the right.

Funny thing is (and I've said this numerous times, too), I speed. I just don't try to pretend that I'm not in the wrong when doing so; I'm an adult about it and admit that if there are consequences, they are because of my actions and I don't try to blame them on someone who's simply obeying the law, or on a police officer catching me breaking the law and giving me a ticket as if he "trapped" me into doing something I wouldn't do if he weren't there, like some here do.

That's really not rocket science, which is why it tickles me when some tie themselves in knots trying to pretend they don't get it.

[love roses]

I don't know if people watch the same news reports I do, but all the ones I ever see reporting traffic fatalities never say they were caused by driving too slow for the road conditions if it was a speed related accident.

[JohnHenrySDM]

There are an especially large number of drivers who stay in the left lane even though they are going no faster than drivers to the right. I commute 10 miles North then South on Mopac every day, during non-rush hour. At least once a week I find myself in the Left Lane Train. What's that? It's when one driver in the left lane, going the exact same speed as the drivers next to him/her in the right, has five, ten- twenty or more cars all lined up behind him/her. And absolutely nothing and nobody in front. I've seen these trains continue for miles.

Honestly, I understand respecting the law. And I do not feel entitled to any special exemptions. And yes, it's very possible that myself and others in that 'train' would be going 68, 70, 72 MPH if we weren't held up by that one person. Nevertheless it is rude. It's an inefficiency on the whole system. And frankly it is very often dangerous, as impatient drivers resort to foolish things trying to get by them. I am not excusing these impatient drivers... but I'm sure as heck not going to say that the one slow driver doesn't also bear some responsibility.

It's called society. And we as members of it have a responsibility to not just follow the laws which we've agreed upon, but to also be aware of the people around us, and occasionally adjust our behavior for the greater good, even if the law does not specifically compel it.

[TexasHorseLady]

And I've said repeatedly that I do move over whenever someone comes up behind me (assuming I'm in the left lane in the first place, of course, which I rarely am). Also, that I speed.

I have no problem with your premise. My entire point (and it's really fascinating how hard it is for some to grasp) is not that people driving slow should park in the left lane and not move over if someone comes up behind them (I've said the opposite, that they should as soon as it's safe to do so) numerous times in this discussion on various threads), but that the people who are blaming anyone who doesn't speed as being the cause of the problem, rather than taking responsibility for the fact that they, themselves, are the initiating cause of the problem by choosing (and, yes, it is a choice) to speed.

Don't you think that those folks have an equal responsibility to adjust their behavior for the greater good? Doesn't your argument apply equally to them? Isn't that exactly what speed limits are about, people modulating their behavior for the greater good?

[Bo]

I don't see much of a topic in the original post and some deleted posts are making me question whether this subject can be discussed in a civil fashion in this forum.

There are opinions posted on both sides of the issue and everyone seems to be dug in on their position. Let's leave it at that. Thread closed.