# Driving in the left lane **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 16, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644 "2022-12-16T13:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/81 "2022-12-17T19:12:06Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > What people like him and Dr. Nestor don’t take into account with their self-righteous attitude is that the experts have determined that the most dangerous element in traffic is not absolute speed, but speed _differentials_. Right, but I don’t think that would persuade people like Dr. Nestor. He doesn’t claim that the way he drives is safer, just that it’s more convenient for him. And he’d probably argue that, if it’s less safe, it’s not his fault but the fault of the people who are exceeding the speed limit. We could try pointing out that emergency vehicles sometimes have to travel faster than the speed limit, and are legally entitled to do so, and by camping out in the left lane he’d be impeding them. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/82 "2022-12-17T19:16:19Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I know a guy who claims to do that today, mostly because he is offended by people risking everyone’s life by going faster than the speed limit. In other words, junior Highway Patrol, kind of like junior mods. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/83 "2022-12-17T19:20:29Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I have heard, and I believe our LEO Dopers have confirmed, that the police will rarely if ever pull over someone who is exceeding the limit by less than 10 mph. In some places, the de facto limit may even be higher. Perhaps we should direct our disapproval to the police (and whoever sets the speed limit) rather than those who are obeying the law. The sense of entitlement people have with regards to ignoring speed limits is interesting. Maybe because I’m rarely in a hurry any more, but I’m more bothered by people dangerously tailgating me because I’m not exceeding the speed limit as much as they would like (for example, when I’m going 30 in a 25 mph–which happens daily on my commute) than I am bothered by people going the speed limit in the right lane of the interstate. Although I do agree with the majority here who think the OPs driver was in the wrong. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/84 "2022-12-17T19:23:52Z")
Oh no, he was being self righteous, as a later comment makes clear. > Dr. Nestor justified his strategy in early November. “It became obvious that the police couldn’t or wouldn’t control speeders,” he says, and “I feel it’s up to the public to protect themselves.” Perhaps it was his final thought on the subject that kept the discussion alive. “The American public are like sheep.” From [this page](https://ghostsofdc.org/2019/04/23/what-is-nestoring/). Lest we unfairly defame dear Dr. Nestor for a single personality quirk, we should remember his more noteworthy achievements, which make up the majority of [his Wikipedia page:](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nestor) > During World War II, he served in the United States Air Force as a flight surgeon and was awarded a Bronze Star for valor. > > During his employment at the FDA, Nestor revealed to the public that FDA leaders pressured reviewers, demanding new drugs be approved without adequate testing. He testified to Congress about the influence of pharmaceutical companies at the FDA[4] and about FDA officials allowing drugs to stay on the market even after serious side effects had been identified. > Robert G. Vaughn wrote in his book “The Successes and Failures of Whistleblower Laws” that Nestor “became one of the best-known FDA whistleblowers of all time.” ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/85 "2022-12-17T19:37:03Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Lest we unfairly defame dear Dr. Nestor for a single personality quirk… Seems like the same personality quirk that so irriates people on the highways is what also made him such a good whistleblower - “something’s not right here and I’ve got to stand up and make it right.” Of course, he was in an official capacity at the FDA, which I suppose makes the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/86 "2022-12-17T19:40:08Z")
Whether or not you’re entitled to remain in the left lane at the speed limit, there’s another expectation or law that if there are five or more cars lined up behind you, you should pull over to let them pass. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/87 "2022-12-17T19:56:22Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Back in the 1980s, in Washington, DC, there was a guy who got his 15 minutes of fame by writing letters to the editor (translation for Millennials=a kind of papery Facebook) insisting that since the speed limit on the Washington Beltway was 55 mph, he had every right to drive that speed in the left lane, regardless of the traffic conditions. There was a similar guy in the 90s on Usenet who would post on rec.boulder.general (or whatever) about his exploits driving exactly the speed limit in the left lane to slow down speeders. Lots of ranting similar to comments here about speed differentials and such never changed his mind. > [@DesertDog](#): > > In other words, junior Highway Patrol, kind of like junior mods This was absolutely the sense from this guy. He’d been a police dispatcher for a few months years before, so considered himself an honorary LEO, and not a traffic vigilante. I think that was the first place I heard the term “left lane bandit.” > [@Procrustus](#): > > bothered by people dangerously tailgating me because I’m not exceeding the speed limit as much as they would like I suffer the same thing on my neighborhood streets. I’m perfectly happy going 20+ over on the freeway, as long as I’m going with the flow of traffic, but I’m going to be within 2–3 MPH of the speed limit on residential streets. Like in many places, some of the neighborhood streets here end up functioning as arterials, so people want to go 45 on streets posted 30. What do they care? They live in the _next_ neighborhood over. These are streets with pedestrians, kids playing, bicycles, dogs, parked cars, backing cars, double parked deliver trucks, and all of that. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/88 "2022-12-17T20:03:17Z")
I’ve mentioned this before but when I was living in San Jose, Palo Alto’s speed limits were 5 to 10 miles less than surrounding cities’ on similar streets. I used to drive at _precisely_ the speed limit for two reasons, to piss off all the Beemer speedsters and, being in a beat-up I obviously didn’t belong there and was cop-bait if I _did_ speed. ---
**Author:** ![deltogre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deltogre/32/5041_2.png) [@deltogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltogre)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/89 "2022-12-17T20:34:24Z")
I completely agree with Procrustus. I drive a LOT, and it blows my mind that people so cavalierly put theirs and others’ lives in danger, but that they often justify it with a flippant remark like “I just drive fast.” I have actually had three cars in a row (Probably people who knew each other…and who were big fans of “The Fast and the Furious…”) pass me on the left _in the median_ on 71 north of Cincy. My life flashed before my eyes. There is no excuse for speeding. Definitely not for excessive speeding. I agree that the left lane is for passing. I disagree that speeding is alright. Tailgating is less than alright. I have a young driver. If anything happens to him because of a disrespectful driver, that driver better hope the accident kills them… ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/90 "2022-12-17T20:42:26Z")
> [@deltogre](#): > > but that they often justify it with a flippant remark like “I just drive fast.” Not really. It’s more “justified” by pointing out that in the real world that we actually live in, other cars _are_ driving over the limit, and by driving at lower than the speed of traffic, especially in the left lane, you are putting yourself and others in danger. > [@deltogre](#): > > pass me on the left _in the median_ on 71 north of Cincy. My life flashed before my eyes. By median, do you really mean they drove in the grass? I know that I-71 north out of Cincinnati has bus only lanes on the leftmost side. I suspect what you actually meant to say was that they were driving in the bus lanes? Does your life pass before your eyes when you get passed or pass a bus in those lanes? But yeah, if they were passing you that way, that means that you were in the left lane while not passing, and travelling slower than the flow of traffic. Meaning that you were the one breaking the law and creating a dangerous situation. > [@deltogre](#): > > If anything happens to him because of a disrespectful driver, that driver better hope the accident kills them… Aside from your implication that you would mete out extrajudicial punishment here, the disrespectful driver would be the one that is impeding the flow of traffic. If an accident hurts your child that comes about because of someone camping in the left lane going the speed limit, will you remain steadfast in your desire for vigilante justice? ---
**Author:** ![deltogre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deltogre/32/5041_2.png) [@deltogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltogre)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/91 "2022-12-17T20:53:29Z")
They passed in the grass. “North of Cincy” is a long stretch of nothing until Columbus. I’m not clutching pearls, here. Furthermore, I WAS passing vehicles on the right. I just wasn’t going the 100+MPH they were going. It’s nice of you to jump to that conclusion, though. And if someone causes an accident that injures or kills my children because they were breaking _any_ law, and they managed to survive, they would soon wish they had not. If you are one of those people who believes it’s your god-given right to drive like an asshole, I sincerely hope you reconsider. It’s careless and selfish. It only takes a second to chonge your or someone else’s life, irrevocably, forever. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/92 "2022-12-17T20:55:58Z")
Let’s face it; everyone driving faster than me is a crazy asshole while everyone driving slower is a slowpoke asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/93 "2022-12-17T21:12:27Z")
John Nestor sounds like an early Karen. Serially, folks, a lot can be accomplished with a diplomatic attitude (catch more flies with honey than vinegar). Non-diplomatic method: “You sure are driving like an asshole! Why the fuck are you hogging the left lane? Doncha know you can get a ticket?” Diplomatic Method: “Would you mind moving over to the right lane? It would be nicer to others, and I think it is the law. It would also make me more comfortable.” ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/94 "2022-12-18T02:47:47Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Well, they would be going way out of their way if they are driving through Colorado. OTOH, out of all the states that they _would_ be driving through, passing on the right _is_ illegal. Wait. This confuses me. I always took “no passing on the right” to mean you couldn’t do things to pass on the right like drive on the shoulder or use a turn lane. Are you saying that on a multi-lane highway, if the person in the left lane is going some speed that is slower than most of the rest of the traffic wants to go, then everyone is obligated to stay behind him and not use a legal travel lane to just go around him? This seems insane to me. There is just no way that 2 or 3 lanes of traffic are going to travel at say… 60 in a 65 just because some person is in the left lane doing 60. Ain’t never going to happen. Why make a law that no one is going to obey? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/95 "2022-12-18T02:55:18Z")
I’d like to see a cite to a state law prohibiting passing on the right. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/96 "2022-12-18T03:24:41Z")
> [@deltogre](#): > > There is no excuse for speeding. Definitely not for excessive speeding. I agree that the left lane is for passing. I In Ca, on a good freeway in decent weather, 5 over is pretty standard, and no, the left lane is not for passing. Take your average 4 lane CA Freeway- that’s 4 lanes each direction. The far right lane is full of slower semis, going 50-55, or for people getting off soon. The next lane over has semis, trucks, and dudes pulling trailers- the speed limit for them is 55, but that lane goes 60. (Trucks& etc are limited to the right lanes).The next lane has a limit of 65, and goes that or 70. The far left is going 70+. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/97 "2022-12-18T03:46:18Z")
Same idea in Miami. Except the rightmost lane is ~50 mph in a posted 65 zone. As our freeways are typically 4 lanes wide, the other three lanes are 70, 90, and 110 mph. Plus maybe one or two innermost express lanes separated by plastic poles that operate under _Autobahn_ rules. Plus the cocaine-fueled weavers working through the rest of the crowd. And the crotch-rocket motorcyclists. I love this place. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/98 "2022-12-18T04:35:14Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Why make a law that no one is going to obey? Have you read anything in this thread about speed limits? We make laws that “no one is going to obey” all the time! ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/99 "2022-12-18T07:30:40Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Show me Ohio to Oklahoma while only being in 2 states total. Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri are 3 states in and of themselves. Were they in the Mach 5 and jumped over a state and the state they started in and finished in Don’t count? Assuming that by “crossing” they exclude the start and end states:- technically you could drive Ohio-\>Kentucky-\>Missouri-\>Oklahoma, thus “crossing” only two states. There are no bridges connecting Kentucky and Missouri but there is a ferry at Hickman. Of course the only reason to drive such a route would be the sheer geographical nerdery of it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644/100 "2022-12-18T14:43:59Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Are you saying that on a multi-lane highway, if the person in the left lane is going some speed that is slower than most of the rest of the traffic wants to go, then everyone is obligated to stay behind him and not use a legal travel lane to just go around him? I assume it varies by state? I know it’s common in my state, and the statue that says to stay to the right gives so many exceptions as to be nearly meaningless on a road with more than 2 lanes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-in-the-left-lane/976644.md?page=6)