“If there is someone behind you…” part seems to suggest that it is okay to stay there if you’re not bothering anybody.
mikecurtis, what you were missing in your analysis was that two wrongs do not make a right.
When a law says that a driver can be ticketed for exceeding the posted speed limit, it does not matter if the driver is or is not in the left lane passing someone. If the driver is exceeding the posted speed limit, the driver can be ticketed.
When a law says that a driver can be ticketed for not moving to the right hand lane when the driver is driving slower than the normal speed of traffic in the left lane, it does not matter if the driver is driving at the posted speed limit and the other traffic is exceeding the posted speed limit. If the driver is driving slower than the normal speed of traffic, then the driver can be ticketed if the driver does not move to the right lane.
Just because the other drivers are breaking the law by driving in excess of the posted speed limit does not make it lawful for a driver to fail to move to the right when driving slower than the normal speed of traffic. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Note that when a jurisdiction chooses to use the term “posted speed limit” it is a conscious decision, and when it chooses to use the term “normal speed of traffic” it is a conscious decision. Note that these two terms do not mean the same thing. Normal speed does not necessarily mean legal speed.
The normal speed of traffic may be illegally higher than the posted speed limit, but to keep left lane losers from playing their petty little passive aggressive power games, some jurisdictions have specifically chosen to use the term “normal speed of traffic” to be able to charge the nutters who are impeding traffic, despite that traffic speeding.
If you want to get into the reason behind this, dig about on highway traffic safety with regard to bottlenecks. I think you’ll find that there are fewer collisions when traffic moves smoothly. It might go a little faster than the posted limit, or it might go a little slower than the posted limit, but either way, it moves nicely until there is a bottleneck. Well, guess what. When someone drives in the passing lane at a speed lower than the normal speed of traffic, that person creates a bottleneck, and by doing so, that person is a safety hazard.
yes, i did believe that the speed limit trumped the keep right rule, but i see now that that is not always the case (see my post above). and i agree, 2 wrongs do not make a right. my argument is that the keep right regulation is not a universal law - it only applies to certain roads in certain jurisdictions, and even when it does apply, its the autobahn alfies that roar up on you at 80 flashing their lights that are the true hazards to safety, and thus the actual “arseholes” in these situations.
mc
Not if you heed the other sign.
Beautiful.
I use the left lane for passing only, and then shift back to the right lane, regardless of my speed. That’s the proper way to do it.
The problem is that there aren’t just two speeds that people drive, there are multiple speeds. I may be in the right lane passing a group of 2 or 3 vehicles, overtaking them at 5 MPH faster than they are traveling, when the asshole (described above) wishes to overtake me going 10 MPH faster than I’m driving. He’s riding my tail and flashing his lights. I get it bud, I see you, just wait until I pass this group of three cars and I will get right over. In these situations there is no need to tailgate and flash your lights.
Another phenomena that I believe drives this problem of left lane campers, is the deferred maintenance on many of our countries’ highway system. The right lane becomes worse over time than the left lane because it get’s driven in more, especially by heavier trucks. In many states, the left lane of the highway is filled with potholes and provides a more bumpy ride than the left lane. So some drivers prefer to drive in the left lane for a more comfortable ride.
I agree. If the guy in the left lane is actually going faster than the guy(s) in the right lane, just chill and let them pass. It’s the assholes who go the same speed as those in the right lane who need to get the fuck over themselves and get out of the goddam way. Flashing headlights are a polite reminder.
Yep, agree.
Are you passing on the right? If so, yes the guy behind is an asshole, but why would you then, after passing cars on your left, move left to let him pass? (ETA: this seems less safe than allowing him to move left and pass you once he’s passed the cars you just passed.)
But if you’re passing on the left, and making reasonable progress in your passing, then yes move right to let him pass. As discussed above, once he’s behind you as you’re passing, it helps to pit your signal on, to tell him you see him and do plan to move right.
Agree here too. I-5 between NorCal and the Grapevine is notorious for this (until recent repacimg) and it’s 2 lanes the whole way. I get that, and I don’t hold it against those in the left lane driving slower. The limit is 70 but traffic often flows at 80-85, in the left lane. Those driving faster pass on the right.
Oy, that drive can be a nightmare. You get a long string of trucks in the right lane, all going at the speed limit, and then one truck decides to pass, but he does so by going 1/2 mph faster than the speed limit, and it takes him 10 - 15 minutes to actually pass all the trucks. What’s worse, is the driver will do this even though he can plainly see you approaching at a much higher speed in the left lane. But can he wait 10 seconds to let you go by first? Oh, no!! He has to GO RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND!!!
Many years ago I remember a Canadian driver (I’m in the U.S.) coming up behind me and, instead of hitting his high beams (and without tailgating), put on his right turn signal. It was clear that he wanted to pass and I moved over. I thought to myself, “Now, that is a civilized approach” I think I’ve seen the behavior from other Canadian drivers but wouldn’t swear to it. So, is that customary in the great white north? BTW, I was passing people in the right lane. Just not as fast as he was.
I swear some of it is passive-aggressive pouting that the trucks aren’t allowed to go faster. The only time I’ve been to California I’ve had to hit the brakes several times in almost this exact situation, except that thankfully they were only passing one truck. If they had just started their passing a bit earlier then I would have been able to ease up on the gas, but as it was I could neither avoid hitting the brakes nor speed past them assuming they didn’t stop their move.
What moves it into passive aggressive territory for me is the fact that they didn’t then hog the left hand lane: they passed the other truck and moved back over quite quickly for a semi.
From post #28:
I am in the US.
As for semi trucks, yes it is annoying when they pass another truck at 1/2 MPH higher speed. But, to their credit, most truck drivers have pretty good lane discipline and don’t camp out in the left lane like many car/SUV drivers.
Not common but it got the job done because you were paying attention and read his intentions well.
Canadians are generally better at respecting the left lane (for passing/faster traffic). Even so, a quick flash or two is sometimes warranted. Canadian drivers generally move over without getting all road rage-y. Americans are more frequently insulted and entitled to stand their ground if asked to get out of the way.
Except in South Carolina. I never fail to get behind a rolling blockade for several miles, sometimes multiple times, when going through that state.
A lot of this “left lane only for passing” stuff breaks down in any kind of congested traffic. And I don’t mean bumper-to-bumper 10-mph traffic when I say “congested”. Even traffic moving at the speed limit (or more) can be congested given sufficient vehicle density.
I too think most truck drivers drive well – the percentage of good truck drivers is quite a bit higher than the percentage of good car drivers. Truckers are professional drivers, after all.
There are some truck drivers, though, who are all named Richard. They are Dicks. 
With truck drivers, I think it depends on the state and how the laws are enforced. In some states, you’ll find truckers routinely going over the speed limit and using other lanes. In others, they’re in the right lane unless passing and never going over the posted speed for trucks (true here in Oregon). In CA, I could use trucks to tell where the CHP was likely to be camped out by when the trucks slowed down to the speed limit. Not here.
To the OP, yes I was trained on both the signal to indicate I wanted to pass and then an escalation to brights, then the horn. I’ll rarely get to step 3, and it usually involves an older person (like my father - grrrr) who sees no reason he should get out of the left lane and can’t keep his speed at the limit, let alone match flow of traffic. Most folks on the longer interstates will get out of your way when they can. It’s the frickin’ city drivers who are crazy.
Are you certain it wasn’t the left turn signal, which makes more sense to me (i.e., I want to pass on your left, so I’m requesting that you move to the right)?
This is the universal signal all over Mexico. Driving in large cities in Mexico can kind of suck, but once you’re on the freeway, lane discipline and the use of the turn signal as described above it very, very reliable. Not Germany-reliable, but a hell of a lot better than Michigan.