Cite?
Hey YOU, with the number 666 in his username…
It’s too late for me to look it up, but I know that every instructor in every traffic safety class I’ve had in the past 20 years has quizzed us on the top 5 causes of traffic accidents. Everyone guesses alcohol, speeding, poor maintenance, cellphones, distractions from kids and such and they are always shocked when the teachers tell them that slow drivers is the number one cause of traffic accidents.
I know this is a ridiculous argument to get into, but I have an observation which may help the slowpokes understand.
First, I want to say that I think it’s pretty much completely bogus to claim that it’s dangerous for me to have to slow down for someone who’s going slower than me. When I’m operating a car, I have a responsibility to make sure I’m not driving willy-nilly up people’s asses, and that I leave enough space in front of me that even if I encounter a completely stopped car, I don’t plow into them. And besides that, the world is not divided into “fast” and “slow”; whichever you are, there will always be someone going faster than you and there’s always going to be someone going slower than you. You can’t avoid the speed differential, so there’s no point in being melodramatic and claiming slower cars are a hazard.
Second, I can understand the attitude that says that if you’re driving along in the slower lanes and you pull out into the left lane to pass someone, and the left lane is nice and clear, and maybe you see another car you’re going to pass coming up in a little while, there isn’t much harm in saving yourself the trouble of getting back in the slow lane for a while, so you avoid zig-zagging for no reason. After all, nobody’s coming up behind you, so what’s the big deal, right?
However, it’s still a good idea and considered good driving etiquette to gravitate towards the right lane, because if you’re in the habit of just hanging out in the left lane, then eventually someone will be coming up behind you while you’re daydreaming, which is suboptimal in two ways:
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It is mildly annoying. If you eventually wake up and move over, fine, but even better to just avoid the situation in the first place. Not a huge deal, but really, the world would be a better place if people made a habit of just being polite enough to care whether they’re in someone else’s way (this is true in other scenarios besides driving as well). If I’m in the supermarket, I don’t stop my cart right next to someone else’s cart so we’re blocking the aisle. Even if nobody else is coming down the aisle, I stay the hell out of the way, so if someone does come by, I don’t inconvenience them by making them wait for me to pull my head out of my ass. Same principle. Politeness.
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It is actually a little bit dangerous, because when I come up behind you, I slow down and wait a moment to figure out if I’m just waiting for you to notice me and politely move over, or if you’re one of those buttholes who’s not going to move, and I need to try to go around you to the right. This uncertainty about what the hell the other car is going to do is what adds the danger. If I give up and start to go around you on the right just at the same time you get a clue and move over, that’s a potential accident because I’m pulling right into the blind spot of where you might go, and you’ve already proven yourself to be a little clueless about what’s going on around you. We have conventions about where you drive and where you pass precisely because it makes the flow of traffic predictable, which is safer. Note, however, that in this instance, it’s not a car’s slowness that’s causing a danger, it’s the fact that I have to guess what the driver is going to do in order to figure out how to get around them safely.
that is a very interesting line of bs you have been fed there.
slow drivers certainly contribute and often massively contribute to collisions, but to say they are the main cause? what an absolute load of crap. those 12 cars you just passed pulled over on the shoulder, the ones who just had a nice chain reaction rear end fest? it wasnt a slow driver that caused the crash, it was a bunch of tardmuffins tailgating like mad in rush hour traffic, at least one was probably distracted badly enough not to notice a slow down in time.
and hands down most crashes involve a distraction of some kind, even if its the lane changing kind, checking your blind spot can be a distraction if something develops in front of you while your head is turned.
(edit) I should probably point out that I teach drivers ed for a living
Countering BS with BS speculation?
You nailed it. Good job. Especially point #2.
If you’re saying that instead the other driver should move out of the left lane to get out of your way, the danger would not reduce. And if you’re saying he should never have been in the left lane to begin with, then surely you recognize that sooner or later, you’re going to overtake somebody — or somebody will overtake you — no matter the speed.
He’d look back at you and take a moment to figure out if you’re going to change lanes to the right of him, or if you’re one of those buttholes who’s going to tailgate. There’s that moment of indecision when he doesn’t know what you’re going to do.
Logically, I don’t see how there is any less danger in this case, and if so, how you can blame it on a slow driver: seems to me, if you’re constantly overtaking people ahead of you in excess of the speed limit, you’re as much the problem as they are.
I completely agree. Not saying that you should zigzag back and forth, but if you are done passing for a bit, get back into the right lane.
:rolleyes: If the left laner had already moved into the right lane (as is the expected norm). There would not be any indecision for either party.
It is not slow drivers. it is the difference between slower and faster drivers. If everyone drove the speed limit roads would be much safer. If everyone drove 10 over they would be less safe but still safer than if some idiots actually drive the limit.Coming up on slower traffic, changing lanes abruptly, waiting til the last second to leave the racing lane to get in the turn lane. All these make driving more dangerous.
We all are a little unsafe because some of you children are not in proper adult control of your emotions behind the wheel.
So what you’re saying is that the left-laner is the only person in that lane, and that he’s going the same speed as everybody else in the left lane? Nobody in the left lane will ever be slower or faster than anybody else?
So, it seems that these are some of the issues:
What does the law say?
What is safe?
What is reasonable?
What is courteous?
Should everyone be consistent?
I think that **ntucker **said it best:
IOW, I’m not violating some kind of Prime Directive or anything if I linger in the left lane a bit (driving at least as fast as the general flow of traffic), but it’s good to be aware that the right lane exists and that it should be the driver’s first choice, not the last.
Huh? How did you get that?
I’m primarily talking about interstate highways. People should not just cruise along in the left lane (called the passing lane) unless they are passing someone.
And yet they do.
I’m trying to get to the bottom of this notion that “slower drivers who get in my way are the greatest cause of accidents.” Nobody has provided statistics.
The only lead so far is that a faster driver closing in on a slower driver in the left-hand lane creates a moment of hesitation which can be hazardous. Clearly this situation would never happen unless people cruised along in the left-hand lane, yes? I see them there all the time — passing, but not passing fast enough for the people behind them.
I don’t see how you’re missing this. Let me try a scenario.
I’m in the left lane, moving a bit faster than traffic. I see you way ahead of me signaling to pass. You move into the left lane, pass, and move back into the right lane. I then pass you. No problems. If I’m a moron I might object to you passing at a slower speed than I like, but assuming I’m not a dick things would be great.
Now, same scenario, but you pass and stay in the left lane, maybe because there is another car to pass well ahead. There are no cars to your right. Do I slow down, or do I pass you on the right? Decisions, decisions.
The third scenario is the same as the second except you passed so far back that I didn’t see it. Same problem.
BTW, I should get into the right lane after passing you in all these scenarios.
I’m not saying either one of those. I’m saying you should feel free to use the left lane, and soon after you’re finished passing, you should get back over instead of waiting until you notice you’re in someone’s way. If everyone does this (including the people going fast), things run a lot more smoothly and your little moments of indecision are a lot less frequent.
I didn’t say anything about the speed limit. The etiquette I’m talking about applies to a situation where someone going 60 is overtaking someone else going 55 in a 65 zone just as well as it does to situations where one or both parties are speeding.
See, what I understand from this scenario is that it’s okay for you to be in the left lane, moving slightly faster than traffic, as long as nobody ahead of you is doing the same thing slower than you … and somehow, that person gets all the blame for the traffic accidents.
I agree that the law says this. In a perfect world it would be so.
What I don’t comprehend is why the slower driver is to blame for all the accidents — surely the one speeding is the one creating the situation. I ask only for statistics on this unsupported allegation, which so many in this thread assure me is only common sense. Surely there is proof?
Of course it is the slow drivers fault. You force people who want to save 2 minutes to do dangerous things to maintain their speed of 10 or 15 over.They have to pass people who do the speed limit or 5 over. Those people are evil. Nobody should be allowed to drive the speed limit.
I won’t defend the contention that it is the slowest driver who is responsible. I think in general it is the driver who is most out of the norm. If some guy going 90 gets into an accident, it isn’t the fault of the guy going 63 instead of 65. Anyone doing something exceptional increases the chances of a problem - or congestion.
Where I drive, the leftmost non-carpool lane is usually the slowest. (I’m not a native Californian, so I don’t understand it.) Since the whole lane is going slowly, it doesn’t cause any big problems.