Driving in the carpool lane does not give you carte blanche to drive 100 mph. Nor does it entitle you to tailgate at people not driving at a sufficiently death-provoking speed to get them to move to let you around.
And you are supposed to enter and exit the lane at the parts where the lane is a series of dashed white lines. It’s got restricted entry and exit. That’s one reason why the traffic moves faster. Do you move across double yellow lines when you’re driving on the street. NO, because it’s illegal and dangerous.
Indeed. I was thinking this just last week as I was driving from Huntington Beach back to Bakersfield. I was in the carpool lane, going a speeding ticket worthy 85 and every so often, I’d end up with a line of 2 or 3 jerks behind me, flashing their lights. I’d pull out of lane when it broke and they all would speed by at what had to be at least 100. It’s ok, though- I got my sweet justice.
“What is sweet justice,” you surely are wondering? I saw many, many of those jerks on the side of the road, a few miles up, with State Troopers right behind them, writing them up.
On the other hand, drivers are taking cars rather than say, 3 speed bicycles, for a reason. Namely, they want to get where they are going rather quickly. Highways, especially car pool lanes, are not the place to go 40 mph. 25 mph below the limit is just as dangerous as 25 mph over.
I’m not suggesting you are this sort of asshole, Bobt. I am just offering a counterpit of asshole Californians on the roads.
Do not get me started on their stupid fear of drizzle, either.
I’m far from the fastest person on the road, but there’s nothing that gets everybody’s ire more than the self-righteous motherfucker driving 60mph in the carpool lane or the fast lane, pretending not to notice the line of angry, impatient, caffeine-shy morning commuters why just want to make it to their worthless fucking jobs so they can turn around and do it all over again 8 hours later.
As high as you ‘think’ you should go, BobT, you should simply move out of their way. If you’re driving faster than the next lane over(when not carpooling), then it’s safe to stay in the fast lane and wait for the impatient ass to go around you as you slowly but surely overtake slower traffic. In the morning, however, don’t piss off your fellow commuters. Just move the fuck over.
Speeding ticket worthy in California? I think not. 85 is generally the flow of traffic. Hell, I’ve had cops pass me when I was on the 5 at a speed of 85 going down to San Diego. Not like stupid Maryland where they’ll give you a ticket for going 67 on the highway.
I don’t know if similar laws apply to all carpool lanes in California, but here’s what the Orange County Transportation Authority has to say about carpooling on 91:
*9. What is the speed limit on the 91 Express Lanes?
65 miles per hour, the same as the speed limit posted for the adjacent freeway. As a part of the California State Highway system, the 91 Express Lanes are subject to the same laws that apply to other California State Highways, and are enforced by the California Highway Patrol.
Who enforces traffic laws on the 91 Express Lanes?
As a part of our agreement with the state of California, we contract with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for their enforcement services. The 91 Express Lanes are officially designated as part of the California State Highway system, therefore, traffic laws that apply to all other California state highways also apply to the 91 Express Lanes, including speed, carpool, and toll evasion violations.*
Nothing there about being obliged to go 100 mph or whatever speed the would-be autobahners want to go.
Where what is illegal? Being intelligent and courteous? Driving the speed limit on a throughway in which the flow of traffic is well above the speed limit is unwise and unsafe. I know that’s counter-intuitive.
Look, people drive like assholes out there. It’s wisest to simply get out of their way and let them pass you.
Just my philosophy…feel free to have a difference of opinion on this.
I have heard this all my life, and I not once seen a single gram of evidence to support it. I think that the “conventional wisdom” in this case is badly out of touch with reality. You think it’s rude to drive the speed limit in a carpool lane when everyone else is traveling at 85 mph or more? Fine. But don’t make it into a safety issue. The drivers causing any endangerment are the ones driving too fast.
Umm, maybe you need to commute with me for a few weeks. I think you’ll see what I mean. I’ll stand by my statement as well-when the flow of traffic is higher than the speed limit, and people are prone to driving like engorged cocks, it is unwise to drive 60 or 65 mph when the flow of traffic is 20 or 25 mph greater.
The best thing to do is to minimize your contact with the engorged ones by allowing them past. Then you can resume your sunday-driver pace on the way to work.
I was fairly recently the guest of one of our fine traffic schools (Pizza 4U Great Comedians, and if you must know, I blew through the left turn light turning form Northbound Magnolia onto Westbound Orangethorpe in Fullerton…and they’ve installed a camera), and our very experienced teacher informed us that as far as enforcement is concerned, the rule is, if there is someone behind you trying to go faster and there is a lane to your right, you are supposed to move over even if you are currently travelling the legal limit.
Did you even read the thread? Some carpool lanes have double white lines to their right, meaning it is illegal to move over to the right, even if there is an asshole on your tail.
It’s worse than speeding, since everyone speeds, but not everyone drives on the other side of the road habitually :rolleyes:. So yes, if you want to be polite, move over for them when you come to the next merge point in the carpool lane. But when someone tailgates you you have to make the decision about whether you would rather have an increased danger and chance of a ticket due to moving to the right unexpectedly (and illegally), or driving at a speed you consider unsafe in order to get the car off your tail, or whether you’d rather have an increase in danger due to a road rager riding your bumper. Each situation is unique so I can’t judge which would be safest and most legal.
During the commute I make every day b/w Baltimore and Silver Spring, I’ve never been pulled over, and I’ve been in front of, and gone by, cops at 80+ many times.
Typically, I’m at 80 in the passing lane, see a cop come up behind me, slow to 75 and move over, let him pass, then move back in at 80.
I think that during non-peak hours, they tend to be more strict. A cop pulling a guy over during rush hour can be a real mess.
The only people I’ve ever really seen them pull over are people who are driving fast, and aggressive. An example would be moving out of the passing lane, crossing across two lanes, darting back in front of someone with 3 inches to spare, and moving back into the passing lane gaining 2 spots on where they used to be.
And, most people that do that, I tend to trust more than a lot of drivers who drive the speed limit. At least they have an awareness of their vehicle, other vehicles, and the relationship between the two.
I think you’re missing a very important point – one that was mentioned in the OP – namely, the double yellow line problem. People in the carpool lane can’t just “get out of the way” willy nilly. They are obliged to wait for the opening in the lines before they can safely merge back into the flow of traffic in the non-carpool lanes. In the meantime, back off. Driving 100mph up someone’s ass when they aren’t legally allowed to move out of your way is unwise and unsafe.
I agree with BobT, as long as the most important rule of the car pool lane is followed: “If you are not willing to go faster than the traffic in the fast lane, then do not use the carpool lane.” The fact that you’ve got 3 people in the car does not mean that you are required to use the car pool lane. If the speeds in the regular lanes suit you, then stay in them!
I believe the drivers causing endangerment are the ones ignoring the current conditions on the road and dirving at great speed DIFFERENTIALS from prevailing traffic.
See what happens when a guy drives 65 in the passing lane. It invariably spawns cars that starting changing lanes to get around him.
Who is legally right here? The guy going 65.
Who is ignoring the reality of traffic and causing an unsafe condition? The guy going 65.