Yes, I did crash into someone driving in a straight line because they had not been going with the flow of the traffic, which was my entire point.
Unfortunately, basic logic doesn’t always provide the kind of proof you’re looking for. Anyone who drives on highways should know that people who go significantly below the mean speed of the surrounding drivers are causing a problem. Just as obstructions in a pipe are going to interrupt the fluid flow, if you want to use your analogy.
People going significantly above the mean cause the same problems. You can not expect other drivers to go over the speed limit just because you feel the need for speed. If you drove the limit the problem would be gone. You would not get tickets and life would be more peaceful and calm.
Where are you getting this stuff? Know one is expecting you to speed. Just stay out of the passing lane if you are not passing. OK? Sheese.
I don’t drive in the left lane. I watch people flying by at 20 or more over the speed limit. You do not have to drive 85 or 90 mph. It is dangerous and stupid.
Well, 85mph is only slightly over the 130kph limits found in many countries. Does that difference really take the speed from sensible and practical (if not necessarily legal in the location you’re in) to ‘dangerous and stupid’? Aren’t you being a little hyperbolic?
So start a thread about it. That’s not what we are talking about here.
No. I drive on Eways with a 70 mph mostly. I think that is traveling pretty fast. I watch people blasting by me at 85 or 90 every trip I take. They are more dangerous and are risking a very expensive ticket.
Yes. Bitch at the people going 10-20 mph over the speed limit. That’s NOT what we are talking about here.
Going 85 in the middle of nowhere Montana isn’t. Going 85 when most traffic is going 65 is - just like going 45 in the left lane is, to keep this on track.
Well, if this thread is going to be about random gripes: I don’t like it when people litter.
The fast lane. 
Were you thinking “passing lane?” You can still be in the left lane and be driving fast (even above the speed limit) and still be a hazard to the prevailing traffic.
I might be misinterpreting, but Acsenray, you’re using two completely different driving scenarios in this argument with Cisco… Your first scenario involves you passing a lone car on an open stretch of highway and then you just stay in the left lane (with the assumption that both lanes are open after you’ve passed).
Cisco’s response was to wonder why you’d want to hang out there in the first place…
You argued back that you don’t want to change lanes every 30 seconds, which implies to me that you are in the process of passing a string of cars, and the guy coming up behind expects you to temporarily halt your pass to let him by, making you try to squeeze in between the cars you yourself are trying to pass. This is completely different than the first scenario. I don’t think any reasonable person has a problem with letting a slower car finish passing, so long as you cut back in when it’s safe and you are passing at a decent pace. This doesn’t mean that you get to ride in the left lane slowing everyone else down because you’ll eventually pass that semi that’s a mile and a half up the road.
And yes, it actually does make sense to shift back, even when there is little traffic. If you stay in the left lane you create a confusing driving situation for anyone that comes up behind you. Assuming there isn’t a lot of traffic, if I’m approaching in the right lane and I see you cruising along in the left lane, do I just pass you on the right, which I’m not supposed to do? Do I get over to the left and wait for you to cross back over to the right? It seems to me that this causes unnecessary lane changes for both of us. The purpose of the law is so that all drivers are on the same page. When you make your own rules you throw everyone else off. The fact that you say you’re “satisfied that he can slow down a little bit and wait for the guy to temporarily shift into the right lane to let him by” just sounds petty and like a attempt to control other drivers. Or, you’re just not paying close enough attention to get out of the way soon enough.
If someone is hanging out in the left lane, then of course you can pass them on the right. If it’s against the law to pass on the right it’s also against the law to stay in the left lane if the lane to the right of the left lane is clear. Presuming you don’t have to speed to pass them up, they are creating the situation that forces you to pass them on the right, so they are in the wrong. They should KNOW that if they drive in the left lane, they should expect to be passed on the right. And you as a driver should know that if someone is driving in the left lane (and not passing), you pass them on the right. If you just hang back behind them, then you are contributing to the hazard. You become a hazard yourself. So pass the jerk up! And do it on the right.
If you get pulled over you should be able to fight it in court because you were reacting to a situation created by someone else breaking the law. It’s the cop’s job to root out the initial cause of the situation and if he didn’t pull the guy over who is impeding traffic then he’s not doing his job right.
If it is a big problem with a lot of cops pulling people over for passing people on the right and they don’t pull people over for impeding traffic then every single one of the people absolutely MUST fill up the courts by getting a trial BY JURY to prove that the system isn’t being run properly. The more we fight for our rights, the more rights we win.
Do NOT be afraid to go to get pulled over and go to court. Real Americans fight for our rights and we don’t let the law trample on us.
Anyone who claims it is safer to drive in the middle lane just doesn’t know how to merge.
Merging is a skill, not a talent*; anyone can learn to merge. Few people care to; the rest of us suffer for it.
Then there is Cruise Control. People will take 20 miles on a 15 mile road to pass another car just to avoid moving a thumb to hit “Resume”. Cruise Control is evil.
As for passing on the right? If someone passes you on the right, you were in the wrong lane, or the wrong country.
**Unless your name is O’Leary, and you are OFB. NASCAR missed out on some stars when you went to college.
*
It used to be “66”, but I lost my email address.
Is it illegal to pass in the “slow” lane anywhere in the US ? It is in the UK (and I assume in the rest of Europe), I kind of assumed that was part of the problem with the US freeway system. That because people CAN get past you on the inside, people think its ok to sit in the fast lane.
If someone is hanging out in the left lane, then of course you can pass them on the right. If it’s against the law to pass on the right it’s also against the law to stay in the left lane if the lane to the right of the left lane is clear. Presuming you don’t have to speed to pass them up, they are creating the situation that forces you to pass them on the right, so they are in the wrong. They should KNOW that if they drive in the left lane, they should expect to be passed on the right. And you as a driver should know that if someone is driving in the left lane (and not passing), you pass them on the right. If you just hang back behind them, then you are contributing to the hazard. You become a hazard yourself. So pass the jerk up! And do it on the right.
If you get pulled over you should be able to fight it in court because you were reacting to a situation created by someone else breaking the law. It’s the cop’s job to root out the initial cause of the situation and if he didn’t pull the guy over who is impeding traffic then he’s not doing his job right. (This actually happened to me. A slow poke was driving on the left lane and I went to pass him. An unmarked cop appeared out of nowhere while I was passing, started to tailgate me 2 inches off of my bumper - not exaggerating. It was dark and I couldn’t tell if it was a cop. I didn’t want to speed and I didn’t know how to react if it was a cop. Just as I passed the guy the cop pulled ME over. Guess what? I went to trial. There was no WAY I was going to let some crooked cop screw me over.)
If it is a big problem with a lot of cops pulling people over for passing people on the right and they don’t pull people over for impeding traffic then every single one of the people absolutely MUST fill up the courts by getting a trial BY JURY to prove that the system isn’t being run properly. The more we fight for our rights, the more rights we win.
Do NOT be afraid to go to get pulled over and go to court. Real Americans fight for our rights and we don’t let the law trample on us.
Yes, in some places it is illegal to pass on the right. But it is also illegal to drive in the left lane if the lane to the right is clear.
I doubt those situations are simultaneous though. That of course would reduce the amount of tickets issued.
Oh boy, this IS a complex issue. I am being serious, really.
Yes, the far left lane IS the “fast” and/or “passing” lane. (“slower trafiic keep right” and all that). I have only ever used it TO pass and then gotten quickly back into a more right lane if I am driving at a more leisurely pace.
And yes, going slower than the prevailing traffic CAN result in a case of “driving so as to impeded the safe flow”, and as a rule, most exceed the speed limit so driving the speed limit becomes, de facto, causing unsafe conditions. (and traffic jams)
Sure, you have the perfect RIGHT to drive the speed limit or a little below in a passing lane. But you wil piss off everyone else on the road, impede the flow of traffic, and possibly cause an accident by doing so. If you want to drive the speed limit or less, get your ass to the right.