Texans and the Left Lane

[L210]

So many Texans are packing. I don't think it's a good idea to throw stuff at cars. I don't think anything was thrown in these incidents and look what happened.
Apparent road rage shooting leads to double rollover accident, suspect's death | News - Home
Man's truck shot after road rage incident in northwest San Antonio | News - Home

[Dr.Mcninja]

[John26]

Slow drivers should keep right.

If you are sitting in the left lane for no good reason and holding up traffic then you are the problem.

IMO there are two kinds of people who sit in the left lane, ignorant people who somehow have no clue about what they are doing and people who enjoy having any kind of control over others.

[shyguylh]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Yeah, the idea that it's even remotely okay to throw things at another vehicle is a sign of extreme emotional immaturity. And should get the license yanked of anyone who does it, for any reason whatsoever, because they're clearly not competent to be operating a motor vehicle.

What else is a person supposed to do in response to someone blocking the left lane & refusing to move? They're just supposed to tolerate it, count to 10, count their blessings that at least they don't have AIDS or cancer? We're just supposed to take this lying down? Left-lane blocking is so repulsive of a thing to do, anyone who does it deserves just about anything that happens to them. Throwing a piece of ice, say, something I did once many years ago to someone who pulled out in front of me & then drove 10-15 mph below the speed limit, only to do the very same thing AGAIN in the same spot the following day (it was dark & cell phones existed but were a new thing, this was in the "bag phone" days), is a mild reaction compared to what they really deserve.

Frankly, I've at times wished I had "tickle my nose" powers like Samantha from "Bewitched," because if I did, I would immediately increase the speed of such a car to 100 mph and steer their car into the woods or an 18-wheeler hauling flammable gas. That, or I'd assume "fly on the wall" powers to eavesdrop on them & on an occasion when they received shocking news that made them want to drive fast (such as "this is the hospital your mother has had a heart attack we need you to come right away"), I'd get in their way the same way they had done so previously, and even announce over a PA system "remember me? You did this to me once, now you can see how it feels." They absolutely deserve as much for blocking traffic & stubbornly refusing to move over knowing full well how much such irritates a good many people.

It wouldn't come to acts of aggression, as it sometimes does, if people would stop doing it, and in the case of those who refuse to, if the police would enforce this with the same vigor as they do speeders. They don't, even when "slower traffic keep right" is the law, so it too often ends up being handled as a "wild wild west" type of thing.

LRH

[UTHORNS96]

Something tells me that a lot of the people saying that the left lane is for passing only don't want to admit to hanging out in the left from time to time.

[love roses]

It sounds to me like there are some people here saying that the left lane is only for them, and as long as they are going 20 miles over the speed limit, that they don't also have to get over into the right lane after they pass slower people. I lived in Colorado, where you have to stay in the right lane, no matter how fast you are driving, even after you pass on the left.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by UTHORNS96

Something tells me that a lot of the people saying that the left lane is for passing only don't want to admit to hanging out in the left from time to time.

Never hang out in the left lane. It feels weird.

Originally Posted by love roses

It sounds to me like there are some people here saying that the left lane is only for them, and as long as they are going 20 miles over the speed limit, that they don't also have to get over into the right lane after they pass slower people. I lived in Colorado, where you have to stay in the right lane, no matter how fast you are driving, even after you pass on the left.

Don't know who is saying that.

[FatBob96]

I don't like people who won't move over...but I don't like people who ride my ass, expecting me to move over immediately when I'm already doing 10 mph over the limit either.

Look at the map above:
Note what it says in the Yellow bar area..... "must move over if driving slower than normal traffic"

This does not negate speed limits.....they are still the law.
So "slower than normal traffic" means anyone who is not maintaining the speed limit.

So the sad fact is that you do not in fact own the road.....you do not have a God given right to drive as fast as you want and therefore you have no expectation that someone else that is driving at least the speed limit must immediately yield to your lust for speed..... because it just is not so.


And anyone who thinks that another car impeding your inalienable right to drive like a maniac and might actually cause you to arrive at your destination 30 seconds late is justification for endangering others lives on the road by throwing things has serious mental issues.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Dooleys1300

So the sad fact is that you do not in fact own the road.....you do not have a God given right to drive as fast as you want and therefore you have no expectation that someone else that is driving at least the speed limit must immediately yield to your lust for speed..... because it just is not so.

Yeah, I don't like road hogs either...whether they're bullying people out of lanes and weaving around or driving 45mph when the rest of the highway is going 60+ mph. Both are driving dangerously.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

I think it's time we settle this once and for all.

Great poll, Nairobi. I voted "passing only" as well. I realize there are extenuating circumstances and that "case law" is the ultimate -- unless it gets changed over time -- is the final arbiter. However, IMHO, there is something in Texas driving -- to coin a phrase -- called the "Three C's".

That is, "Custom, Courtesy, and Consideration." Anyway, something that embraces pulling over on the shoulder of the road on a two-lane highway to let another faster vehicle pass you...even if it means crossing the thin white line separating the shoulder. Yes, the law might state it is not to be crossed, but it doing so for a temporary purpose might actually save lives; and definitely let the natural traffic flow at a safer pace.

John26 wrote: Slow drivers should keep right. If you are sitting in the left lane for no good reason and holding up traffic then you are the problem. IMO there are two kinds of people who sit in the left lane, ignorant people who somehow have no clue about what they are doing and people who enjoy having any kind of control over others.

I pretty much agree with all of this. There might -- and logically are -- some gray areas between the two extremes, but by and large my own experience confirms this totally. That is, those who -- consciously or unconsciously -- drive in the left-hand lane for extended periods of time? They are generally those who intentionally stick their arrogant butts in everyone else's face. The other type -- more benign -- are those who are seemingly oblivious to the whole thing.

Hard to say which is worse...