Why is the left lane always the slowest? (brake, fast lane, trucks)

[rekab23]

Every day I notice this. I always thought that the left lane on an interstate was for either faster moving traffic, or for passing. Lately it seems that people are just cruising along beside the slower moving traffic and the semi trucks, forcing people to pass in two right lane to get around them.

Is this something not taught in driver's education anymore?

[notnamed]

Not that bad here but the state patrol out here in WA and OR do actually enforce the left lane being for passing only and slow traffic needing to move to the right. Especially in the mountains.

[jinmcx]

cali no one cares and the car pool lane usually get backed up during traffic hour

[dkf747]

That's nothing new. Everyone makes a bee line for the left and leaves the right lane open sometimes. It's been that way for many years.

[plmbpmp]

It's considered the 'fast lane' therefore all the lemmings head there. All the while I pass them in the middle lane. Laughing.

[Vision67]

Most are just oblivious or ignorant.

When my 16 year old daughter finished driver's ed, I went driving with her on the Interstate. She went into the left lane and held the 65 mph speed limit. A guy in a huge F-250 tail gated her and it scared her. I made her move over.

I told her that if she wanted to do just the speed limit, always stay in the right lane. People in the left lane rarely stay at just the speed limit and the cops don't enforce it.

Usually, theory and the real world are different.

[SidewaysLS4]

Originally Posted by plmbpmp

It's considered the 'fast lane' therefore all the lemmings head there. All the while I pass them in the middle lane. Laughing.

Haha, yup. And then tailgate each other so the moment one lemming flicks the brake lights, a cascading panic braking effect runs down the line slowing it down even more.

[GoodSchoolols]

What I find interesting is that it takes people longer to make a left hand turn than a right hand turn. But then again I live in NJ where they count riding a bus as driving experience.

[move4ward]

Back when mobile phones were expensive and required a laptop size carrying case, the left lane was faster than today.

Now you got people riding in the left lane to talk on their smartphones. They don't have to worry about people passing them from their left or merging traffic on their right. I just go straight down the middle lane, as plmppmp said.

[Sayantsi]

The type of people that drive in the left lane are the ones that move over to avoid right-lane merging traffic and then fall asleep. They see the left lane as safe because they don't have to worry about cars coming into their lanes.