How fast is traffic moving? My answer to separation is very different if it is moving at 60 mph versus 10 mph.
Huh. Maybe it’s just Madison people that drive(ha!) me crazy. I’ll have to drive all over the state and report my findings! I drive through Chicago on my way home, and don’t find it maddening, but that might be because I expect traffic to be terrible.
There are countries where you would never, ever get a drivers license and then ask a question like this.
Sometimes I really wish I lived in one of them.
Well, if you’re talking about the beltline during rush hour all bets are off. There really is just too much traffic to expect much lane discipline. Glad I don’t deal with that!
Growing up in Sandy Eggo, I saw the I-15 grow from 4 lanes to 15 (8 northbound, 7 southbound).
When I got my first speeding ticket, I attended the get-it-off-your-record remedial driving school and the instructor opened the class with a teaser…
Instructor: Which lane is the slow lane on your freeways around here?
Everyone: The right lane.
Instructor: Right! And which one is the fast lane?
Everyone: The Left Lane
Instructor: Wrong! Since the speed limit is 55 miles per-hour, you shouldn’t be driving particularly fast. Which one is the passing lane?
Everyone: The Left Lane
Instructor: Wrong again! And that’s why most of you are here today. Unless you’re exceeding the speed-limit, there should be no need to pass. And if you are exceeding the speed-limit – Hey, welcome to the Saturday class for relearning the rules of the road!
Years later, when I took the get-it-off-your-record remedial driving school at a motorcycle training center (just ‘cause it was different) the CHP trainer noted that the speed cops will generally allow about Limit+5 miles for cars and Limit+10 miles for motorcycles. The difference, he explained, was because it’s actually safer for motorcyclists to run just slightly faster than the flow of traffic – slower than traffic creates hazards when cars shift around to avoid you and pacing traffic actually makes a motorcyclist ‘invisible’ in most car-drivers’ mirrors and forward views.
At the end of the course, he regaled us with some funny traffic-stop stories and then let us in on a little secret: Traffic cops don’t care what kind of car you drive and they certainly don’t care what color it is (even red or yellow). What catches a speedbuster’s attention is the vehicle that is moving the fastest through a scene. When there are other cars around, that’s going to be the guy changing lanes a lot in order to keep up a high speed – which makes him a danger to himself and the people he’s cutting between. When there are no other cars around, that’s going to be the lady who’s just cruising along with her thoughts on the kids’ upcoming competition schedule – instead of the speedometer and the road. He said that, as a motorcycle CHP officer, he would spend 25 minutes writing a detailed report over coffee and a doughnut, 5 minutes traveling to an on-ramp, and no more than 5 minutes waiting before he would see another driver moving faster than anyone else. He’d spend five minutes or less on chasing the speeder, 5 to 10 minutes arguing and explaining with the driver, and generally be buying another coffee and doughnut less than an hour after his previous report was filed. Quotas, he noted, died with the Nixon administration, partly because they got bad PR, but mostly because they just weren’t necessary. Speedbusters stopped needing to look for traffic violators; they could just go out on the road and pick one of the dozens of drivers doing any number of dumb things (in addition to not-watching-for-cops) and write more tickets than any quota system could handle.
Something we seem to all be reiterating in this thread is that slower vehicles should be sticking to the right-er lanes. A German guy I knew complained a lot about America’s lack of “Lane Structure” and the slower-to-the-right habit seemed to be what he was talking about. Still, it’s worth noting that, here in the States, the speed limit is still the upper limit. My high school Drivers’ Education teacher noted that vehicles with more than two axles are required to stay in the right-most two lanes. Professional drivers seem to follow this rule all the time, but I really wish the U-haul and rent-a-truck shops would remind their renters of that LAW when they hand over the keys to a hitched trailer or a cargo-hauler for a weekend move.
–G!
Move over!
I said MOVE OVER!
Hey…Hey! HEY!
Clear the way!
There’s no escape from my authority!
…–Freddie Mercury (Queen)
…Gimme the Prize!
…A Kind of Magic
Perfect. Ths would be the end of road rage, if only the people could/would see!
That’s not a law in most states.
No, cruising in the center lane for no damn reason is what’s obnoxious and crazy. Particularly if there’s little to no traffic in the right lane.
Which is what I see pretty much all the goddamn time in three-lane situations. A huge line of traffic crammed up in the center lane, doing the speed limit or a little under, and NOTHING in the right lane. Nothing cruising, nothing entering or exiting. A completely fucking empty lane. I tend to do about 5 over, and while you’re technically supposed to only pass on the left, I’d have to switch two lanes to get past these idiots camped in the center lane, so I just pass 'em on the right.
I’d intended to make it more clear that I was addressing the legal status of my state, Illinois, where that is indeed the law. (We also have the “move over” law for shifting over a lane or slowing way down for stopped emergency vehicles along the highway.)
Here in Vic.Aus, centre-most lanes are for passing, or busy road conditions, if there are 3 or more lanes on your side. 2 and 4 lane roads (total) have no lane rules.
But what I stopped by to say was this:
If there is heavy traffic on the way to work, the close-to-centre lane is full of cars going the same spead as all the other lanes, but doing it closer together. This is sort of good I guess: the ‘fast’ lane actually carries almost twice the traffic of any of the other lanes, so I’m making my contribution to society by using that lane and letting more people get to work faster. It’s also more interesting and less frustrating: if you are in a hurry, the close driving helps take your mind off of things.
That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! People frequently travel below the posted speed limit. On freeways, the signs generally have a posted minimum speed along with the maximum. Any speed between the two, usually a 15-20 MPH spread - is perfectly legal. Did the instructor really believe that all trafic always travels at exactly the posted maximum speed?
I’ve had exactly one speeding ticket in 44 years of driving (and that was over 40 years ago) by following this strategy. I never want to be the fastest car on the road.
Practically speaking the speed limit is not the top speed - that is the customary speed through an area, which is a lot different on I5 through the Central Valley than a freeway through the Bay Area.
I’m not sure I buy your instructor’s advice, but he was speaking to people who got caught, and so might be a bit conservative.
Here’s my question (and I run into it on I-45 between Houston and Dallas pretty frequently.
2 lanes in either direction, speed limit 75.
Now what tends to happen is that the right lane gets populated by ninnies and other assorted jackasses who insist on going somewhere between 50 and 70.
The left lane seems to be populated by jackasses who want to go upwards of 85 mph.
What do I do if I want to go 75-80? Clearly I don’t want to weave in and out of the right lane to avoid the slowpokes, and I really don’t like being tailgated by jerks in Chevy Tahoes who want me to exceed the speed limit more than I already am.
My usual solution is to get in the right lane where practicable, but to get over into the left lane when confronted with Farmer Bob in his turnip truck and in the process fuck over the speeders rather than slow to a crawl myself. Is this reasonable, or should I be forced to 1. Weave in and out? 2. Drive like a bat out of hell? or 3. Drive like somebodys octogenarian grandfather?
If you’re passing, you have reason to be in the left lane. Just move over when feasible to allow others to pass.
Driving from Chicago to Minneapolis in the summer is a nightmare. Driving back on Sundays is worse. Wisconsin is a “Slower Traffic Keep Right” state and 99% of the motorists their are “fast” (71 mph) drivers. The one bit of road ettiquete they do seem to follow is no passing on the right, so you end up with an unending badger parade. God help you if you want to get past; there’s no other option but the right lane leapfrog. Or wait for three lanes near Madison.
Get out of the way of people coming up behind you moving faster than you are, by shifting to a different lane, unless you’re in the rightmost lane. You have a mirror: use it! You should not still be occupying the lane by the time the driver gets within 3-4 car lengths of your rear bumper, unless of course there’s no unoccupied lane that you can transfer to on either side of you.
If I’m coming up behind you, I’ll slow down gradually so you won’t be anticipating the imminent arrival of my engine block in your car’s trunk, but I appreciate you moving over before I need to.
Reciprocally, though, don’t weave dangerously; once traffic is messy enough that folks can’t easily change lanes and there are no virtually-empty lanes up ahead to pine for, accept the speed of one of the lanes and don’t be darting into narrow openings and getting too fucking close to folks’ bumpers just to slink another 7 yards farther forward in traffic.
Dear OP,
You are being hopelessly led astray by these comedians, I a semi professional will give you the real skinny on multi lane interstate driving. Firstly let me state my qualifications. I learned to drive in Houston, Texas, the penultimate quality driving experience in North America second only to any highway starting with a 4 in Canada. I have driven almost every single mile of US interstate, a good bit of Canada and a couple of thousand kms in Germany and Austria.
Captain Kirk’s pro driving tips
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If they do it on the AutoBahn do not do it here. Look those guys led us into two World Wars, do not trust any of their “rules”.
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When entering the highway via the entrance ramp all you must do is accelerate wildly and not use your turn signal/indicator light, you have the right of way and other vehicles will automatically make space for you.
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When you wish to exit, the proper procedure is get in the farthest lane, accelerate to maximum to clear other traffic, slam on the brakes, cut across all lanes of the highway and then make your exit. Again turn signals are not to be used. It is recommended that you keep this maneuver under 10 Gs as to not bother your passengers or to keep you from missing that most important call or text.
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Speed limits are mere suggestions 30mph/50kph above or below is perfectly acceptable in any road conditions.
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Modern cars are marvels of technology and practically drive themselves, you can call, text, eat, read a book, watch a movie, practically any activity you can think of is perfectly safe, at any speed.
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It is absolutely unnecessary to tie down any load on the outside of your vehicle, although you might want to use some kite string to tie down a mattress or piece of plywood to protect your paint from damage.
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You can tow darned near anything with a tiny piece of rope although if the vehicle being towed is a small dump truck and you are using a dually a small length of chain may be useful. You must try the rope first no matter what as it is perfectly ok to attach the chain in the middle of the highway(610 loop west by the Galleria last friday at 3 pm). You use the highway for maximum speed and light avoidance when towing, I think this is the law.
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You may pass at anytime in any lane of your choosing or use the shoulder and/or breakdown lane. Lane dividers are just for the road crews and are completely irrelevant to actual driving. You are also free to exit anywhere there is grass, just make your own.
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When driving on the highway, you must treat it as if it was your own. Really, screw those other people they are just in your way.
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In Canada, you absolutely must stay within 1 to 2 meters of the vehicle you are following. This is either the law or the National Sport.
See it is that simple
Capt
You forgot
- Turn signals are giving aid and comfort to the enemy
The North Carolina variant for Rule #2 is that you shall come to a full and complete stop at the end of an on-ramp, then without regard for existing traffic on the highway, mash the gas. Cars already on the highway will cheerfully swerve and let you in.
Thank you, although I briefly touched on the point in relation to exiting and entering the freeway, I did fail to completely make the dear OP understand.
Sir(or Madam),
I bow to your Mad Driving Skillz and look forward to encountering you on a highway soon. I will be easy to find as I am the guy driving 85mph on the flat donut spare.
Capt