Do not do this! It’s against the settled order of things - the universe could tilt right off its axis, and then where would we be? :eek:
Yes, I agree with this, and with the concept that “legal” and “safe” are two different things.
Regardless of what some laws may say, there are large numbers of drivers like myself who were taught in no uncertain terms that passing on the right is wrong. There are many perfectly logical arguments for this…among them the fact that drivers look in their driver’s side rear-view mirrors far more frequently than they do their passenger-side ones. After all, less head movement is involved in doing this. One doesn’t regularly or intuitively check the passenger-side rear-view mirrors, so a car passing you on the right could come as an abrupt surprise.
I would argue that is it rarely “safe to do so” as section (b) of the law states. Furthermore, if people had a ounce of sense, it would be unnecessary to do so.
My pet peeve is and remains tailgating. I’ve seen instances this month of people literally parked 5 feet from someone else’s bumper, on the interstate, going 70. Coming back to that below…
The problem with that is that the police go for the easy marks, those who aren’t necessarily driving in an unsafe manner. 99% of all tickets that the FHP hands out here are for speeding, and nothing else-my morning commute always has them out in droves, bikes, regular cruisers, unmarked ones, radar/laser guns at the ready, with suckers pulled over every minute. That is a revenue grab, pure and simple, and has very little to do with “safety”.
I’d guess that a radar gun reading would stand up in court much more than a tailgating/unsafe lane change/left lane hogging one would, but those a-holes are much more responsible for the wrecks that I see than someone going 10-15 over but otherwise driving with their head screwed on forwards-a great majority of the wrecks I do see, natch, seem to be from unsafe following distances-chain reactions, IOW.
I myself limit my speed to no more than 5 over, just to avoid getting caught in their little dragnet, but make sure to make my following distance at least 2 seconds-more in the rain, which of course has no effect on how people drive in this state, and seems to result in all the kindly police officers hauling off to the nearest Dunkin Donuts.
I’m not questioning your perception here, John DiFool, but do you have a cite backing the assertion that the vast majority of FHP tickets are for speeding? As for RADAR/LIDAR readings - yes, those make good evidence in court, but so do dash cam videos of other unsafe practices, and most highway patrol cars are equipped with those, too. And how do you, when driving past a motorist stopped by the FHP, know what the driver is being ticketed for?
I know this is the pit, and we gripe here, but, you know - Straight Dope! 
Did find this tho [PDF warning] for NY City-which of course has a very high proportion of non-highway streets to highways as compared to Jacksonville, say, so I’d expect a higher % of other violations to happen which can’t be issued on an unrestricted highway (such as stop sign violations). While speeding was 2nd (to Disobey Sign), surprisingly enough, they only gave out a paltry 890 Following Too Closely citations, out of 750,000 total. So that point remains, at least for this data set.
For my state, did find some stats from 2006-1,361,852 speeding tickets out of “more than 5 million” total citations-much higher, as I suspected, than for NYC. I do wonder how many were issued only after an accident, tho-once I hit someone lightly on their left rear panel while turning out, got one for turning too wide (which I did). People turn too wide like that all the time here, but I doubt anyone ever actually gets one without an accident being involved.
Your own cite says that fewer than 50% of all traffic citations by all agencies in Florida in 2006 are speeding violations - which still doesn’t really address your perception of FHP enforcing speeding laws to the exclusion of most everything else.
The best information I can find is available here. Sorted by agency, I find that, in 2013 the FHP issued a total of 872,139 citations. Of those, 322,282 (36.95%) were for speeding or driving too fast for conditions. The FHP wrote a total of 513,180 citations for non-criminal moving violations, speeding being the majority (62.8%.) Still not 99%, but a little closer to your assertion.
(For the record, over 100,000 of those non-criminal moving violations were for things that you complain about in your original post - following too closely, reckless driving, failure to yield right of way, etc.)
One issue with enforcing something like tailgating, though: Unlike many other moving violations, it’s only visible within a limited distance. If a trooper is driving 100 yards behind two vehicles, he can’t necessarily see that a driver is following too closely. That’s only visible as he approaches, and most tailgaters will have backed off as soon as they see a marked patrol car in the rear view mirror.
Thanks for the cutting-edge sarcasm…and for making it clear that you’re on the side of the morons. Congratulations.
The thing that makes me mad as hell is when I’m in the right lane, driving a little slower for rain or fog or whatever, and some asshole comes charging up behind me. Then, for reasons unknown to any rational human being, he starts tailgating me. Sitting so close to the back of my car that I can’t even see his headlights. No cars ahead of me, nobody in the left lane, no other cars even visible on my side of the road, and this dumb fucker is practically in my backseat. It happens all the time. I have to move to the left lane to get away and he/she charges past, looking at me like I’m the idiot. The rule is slower traffic keep right. So when I’m going slower, I do. So what’s your problem, jerk ass?
I don’t even know why they have zebra crossings, drivers ignore it until the last moment then hit the brakes and act like you’re an asshole for trying to cross. Totally useless.
I hate the ones that can’t think more than one step ahead. For example, there’s a popular store on the SE corner of an intersection near where I live. There’s an entrance/exit on each side. So, let’s look at the directions of travel.
N: No problem, turn right.
W: No problem, get in the shared left turn lane and turn left.
E: No problem, go through the light and turn right.
S: Make the protected left and then turn right.
These are the simplest, safest ways to get into the parking lot. So what do idiots do instead? When heading east, they will turn south and then try to make a left barely past the intersection. When heading south, they go through the light and do the same. So now these idiots are making a more difficult and more dangerous turn as they try to stick their nose through traffic heading north and causing backups to the south-bound traffic that just wants to keep on going. In their attempts to not spend a little more time at the light they do absolutely stupid maneuvers instead.
There’s also no raised median at the intersection to stop this sort of behavior, which is a different rant.
It’s already been explained to you that (at least on a multi-lane highway) there’s no problem with passing on the right if there’s room, instead of asserting your God-given privilege of always using the left lane, even if there happens to be someone in that lane already who’s driving lawfully and the only result of your stupidity is tailgating, flashing lights and road rage.
For optimal moron-detection, try looking in the mirror.
I’m with DChord568 on the right passing issue. It’s not illegal here in Illinois, either, but we do have the left lane is for passing law, as well. I really hate passing someone in the left lane on the right, and I hate when people pass on the right–it adds to the unpredictability. For example, I’m in the left lane passing cars. I see someone coming up on my ass, so I decide, okay, I’ll move over to the right to let him pass because that’s what I’m supposed to do. I signal, start moving to the right, and vehicle behind me starts moving to the right at the same time, trying to overtake on the right without breaking his stride. Now I either have to swerve back to the left lane or continue my lane change, hoping he sees what I’m doing. If there was an agreed-upon convention like there is in civilized countries, it’s an orderly I-move-to-the-right, the guy behind me waits and then proceeds ahead of me. No ambiguity about who is supposed to do what, more predictability.
I know this only too well–whether I’m on foot, behind the wheel, or riding a bike ( and I’ve had plenty of experience with all three). I have no love for the idiot driver who thinks that somehow I’m going to dematerialize so he can go by, even if I have the right-of-way. If I’m on foot or on a bike I look the driver straight in the eyes; if driving I have my fingers poised over the horn button, ready to let him know NOT to try it!
Examples where it is not feasible or logical to immediately get over as far right as possible to please His/Her Majesty:
- a not unusual situation where you’re in the passing lane going by a line of slower vehicles, doing maybe 5 mph over the speed limit, and a jackass comes roaring up behind you at 80+, tailgating/flashing/honking because you haven’t speeded up dangerously to accommodate him,
and 2) rarer and more bizarrely stupid - the recent case where I was in the middle of three lanes of a city interstate traveling slightly above the speed limit, and another jackass decided to tailgate me, apparently because there traffic in the left lane wasn’t fast enough for him, and he couldn’t be bothered to pass me on the right. Since there were upcoming exits for which the right lane was designated as exit only, I wasn’t about to move over there and get stuck having to exit. Too bad for Tailgating Moron, he had to wait until the left lane cleared to zoom on by.
It’s not just get as far right as possible, it’s just get out of the left lane if it’s safe to do so and you’re not passing. That is all. For #1, if there was a break in traffic for me to move over to the right, that’s exactly what I’d do. If I know he’ll just stay in his lane and not try to pass me on the right at that very same break, that makes it a lot safer for all involved. I hate it when people pass me on the right in situations like that, because I will get over as soon as I get a chance, and if everybody follows that simple rule, life is a lot easier on the highway for all involved.
For #2, the issue is tailgating (which irritates the piss out of me, too), not passing on the right, as far as I see.
First, people who don’t put their lights on when it’s raining, foggy, snowy, sleeting, you know, pretty much anything other than sun or clouds, the way you’re supposed to. Bonus points if they occupy a grey car. Double bonus points if it’s an unlit road at night and their lights still aren’t on.
Second, people who cannot think ahead and also think their turn is so important that they CANNOT take the next one and MUST turn right here at THIS road…which means they swerve across 3 lanes of traffic from the left lane to get to the righthand turn lane, or vice versa. Bonus points if they do that and then reveal that they didn’t actually need to turn at this street but the next street and had time to make their move rather than cut everybody off.
Third, people who, when turning left, decide to basically cut into oncoming traffic lanes rather than properly describe an arc for their turn. Bonus points if they do this even when there are dashed guidelines on the road. Double bonus points if it’s a double turn lane and they switch lanes mid turn.
Fourth, people who double-park. Bonus points if they’ve done it one space away from an actual parking space that they’re obviously too lazy to maneuver into. Double bonus points if they’re keeping someone else from leaving on top of that.
Fifth, people who can’t figure out basic goddamn right-of-way at a 3 or 4 way stop. It’s not that freaking difficult. Bonus points if they’re confused even when one car clearly arrived before anybody else.
Sixth, people who have a quarter mile of straight on-ramp and still putter along trying to merge at 40 MPH onto a highway. Bonus points if they proceed to stop at the very tippy end of the ramp because they’re too scared to merge.
Seventh, people who park in the emergency fire lanes at grocery stores. Bonus points if they’re still there when you’re done shopping.
Compared to those things, people who hog the left hand lane are barely a blip on my radar.
And it has already been explained to you that there are decades of precedent for the notion that slower traffic keeps to the right, and the left lane is meant for passing — regardless of what a fine parsing various states’ differing traffic laws may reveal. (How many drivers do you know who make a habit of reading these laws? I’ll wait for the answer that you won’t give.)
It has also been explained to you why passing on the right is a bad idea…the fact that it is generally unexpected behavior, and that drivers routinely check their right side-view mirrors far less frequently, as this can’t be done without head movement.
The convention of slower traffic in the right lane and passing traffic in the left has worked quite well ever since the invention of four-lane highways. Now you can fashion yourself as some sort of rebel who imagines he’s bucking the system and falls back on a fine reading of a (less than universal) law as justification — or you can get the same sense into your head that assholes who putter along obliviously in the left lane lack.
Like I said, head movement. I’m looking straight at the screen and seeing things very clearly.
A scenario that bears no relationship whatsoever to the one I presented in my original post, which was this one:
A driver who is not a member of the moron club you’re so proud to affiliate yourself with moves over into the right lane in such an instance. He/she shouldn’t have been in the left lane in the first place, but moving over under the circumstances at least demonstrates sentience.
Macca, I know someone who is at least as bad as that, a woman I’ll call Shirley. I dread riding in her car because of the chances she takes and the excuses she makes. Just one example: We were on Hawthorne Blvd. , a wide arterial street, and a fire engine appeared from behind, its red lights on and siren screaming. She tried to overtake and pass it! The captain, in the right front seat, gave her a warning hand signal, and I think she gave him the finger! I’m surprised she wasn’t arrested!
…so it doesn’t exist? Whatever.
The whole point of driving should be to get from one place to another, safely and in a reasonably timely manner. If drivers find themselves in a near-constant state of aggravation at other drivers, it’s probably time to reexamine what they’re doing to continually get into in these situations (like speeding way above the limit, weaving between lanes, tailgating etc.).
Or just take the bus.