Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As someone who often travels across many states, I cannot be expected to know the 'local rules' - implied or real - everywhere. I find the best thing is to (accounting for weather, terrain/road and traffic conditions) stay close to the posted speed limit, even if many are passing me. So far, so good. Have never had a speeding ticket in over 50 years (and many, many miles) of driving.
I have seen in some states (Maryland comes to mind) whole groups of vehicles stopped by a line of police cars suddenly appearing in front of the leading offenders. Their tactic there seems to catch the 'over the limit, going with the flow' types quite easily. Must work for them (they seem to have found this an efficient way to deal with whatever they feel their speeding issues are - or to fill the coffers) however I have noticed that still doesn't seem to deter drivers who are determined to make it to their destination 3 minutes ahead of me.
I drive defensively at all times - and I am also a very courteous driver. While I won't necessarily 'go with the flow' if the flow is much over the speed limit, I also am very cautious in places where that seems to be the norm and will often creep up just a bit above to be sure I am safe and not 'in the way' of those who might be more reckless than I am.
Going much slower than the flow, particularly if one is going much below the speed limit, is also a safety issue (maybe even a greater one) in my estimation. I always look to see who is driving when I encounter someone going 45 mph in a 70 mph zone (in good weather) - and it is invariably an 'old man with hat' as I call them. I find that interesting because I am an older lady now .. without hat - and I thought guys always drove faster than most of us women. I was behind someone like that the other day on a 2 lane highway with few places that are safe to pass, on a beautiful day with no wind or other reasons to be going so slowly ... and there were at least 100 others behind him too. When someone holds up traffic that much, one can only cross one's fingers that no one in the line is in a hurry and will take risks that would put all of us in danger to get to the front of the line.
What bothers me most however is when an 18 wheeler will barrel up quickly behind me (when I am already doing the speed limit or slightly better) and hit the horn insistently to get me to move over when there is obviously so much traffic (this happens most often close to or in urban areas) that I cannot move over safely and quickly. I am never sure exactly what I should do in that case when boxed in but it seems a very dangerous practice the trucker is engaging in.
As long as they are staying in the middle or right lane I agree that following the flow of traffic is the safest while keeping a safe following distance.
You should always stay RIGHT unless passing or turning left. Even on highways with more than two lanes in each direction, I have yet to see any signs that say "slower traffic keep middle" or "keep middle except to pass."
I do see this one quite frequently on the six-lane sections of I-95 in southern Maine, however.
To make it obvious for people who can't fathom what that means, we really should have an overhead sign like this:
Not sure I get the reference, so maybe not. Do you mean, open their door while you are going by? If so, then no, I haven't had the pleasure.
On multi-lane highways though, I have often enough had numbskulls move into my lane when I was even with their door (never even looking) that I no longer will stay side by side with another vehicle for any length of time if I can avoid it. If I'm passing, I do it as quickly as possible.
What bothers me most however is when an 18 wheeler will barrel up quickly behind me (when I am already doing the speed limit or slightly better) and hit the horn insistently to get me to move over when there is obviously so much traffic (this happens most often close to or in urban areas) that I cannot move over safely and quickly. I am never sure exactly what I should do in that case when boxed in but it seems a very dangerous practice the trucker is engaging in.
That's called aggressive driving. Sure, I understand there is an expectation to move over if there is no one in front of you in the high speed lane, but a lot of aggressive drivers like to try to "push" a whole line of traffic out of their way. It's not because they want to go faster. It's because they enjoy being a*****s. This causes a lot of accidents, because any little event at high speeds in closely spaced traffic can lead to a major wreck in fractions of a second. With a tractor trailer, it's even more dangerous.
You should always stay RIGHT unless passing or turning left. Even on highways with more than two lanes in each direction, I have yet to see any signs that say "slower traffic keep middle" or "keep middle except to pass."
I do see this one quite frequently on the six-lane sections of I-95 in southern Maine, however.
To make it obvious for people who can't fathom what that means, we really should have an overhead sign like this:
That sign that says "use this lane for passing only then move right" might work out in an open rural area. Not sure you'd want that in an urban areas where all three lanes are frequently full of traffic. You would have people trying to squeeze to the right when you need the full volume of all three lanes.
Not sure I get the reference, so maybe not. Do you mean, open their door while you are going by? If so, then no, I haven't had the pleasure.
My bike was overheating in the summer stop-and-slow traffic, so I was scooting along the fog line with my feet dragging, trying to make it clear I wasn't trying to get over on anybody. One guy decided he didn't like that and popped his door open. Bad move. My wheel touched the door and I presented him with a surprise. My left glove has a pepper spray dispenser built into the back.
One thing I have always noticed with the "go with the flow of traffic" justification for speeding crowd is that if the flow of traffic, for whatever reason, is slower than they want or feel they NEED to drive that they suddenly aren't advocating that any longer, at least not for themselves. All of the traffic is supposed to ignore the speed limit and whatever hazard/condition might be causing them to be slower and speed up so that the flow of traffic is faster, always FASTER! Funny how that is.
That sign that says "use this lane for passing only then move right" might work out in an open rural area. Not sure you'd want that in an urban areas where all three lanes are frequently full of traffic. You would have people trying to squeeze to the right when you need the full volume of all three lanes.
Dunno how that would work here. Depending on the interstate you're on, and the stretch of that interstate, it could be 4 lanes across, 6 lanes across, 8 lanes across or up to 10 lanes across. Everyone staying in the right lane would be a disaster.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
