# What do you do about people blocking the passing lane? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476 "2011-02-15T18:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/301 "2011-02-20T10:58:52Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > And you are wrong. > > From a previous post - [State "keep right" laws](http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html) > Oklahoma does have restrictions on driving in the left lane. “Keep right except to pass.” > > Texas requires you to move to the right if you are going slower than the normal speed of traffic (regardless of the speed limit). > > You might want to brush up on the rules of the road. Like I said, I haven’t been able to drive anywhere for the last four months (one of the perks of being stationed in Korea), so it’s been quite a while since the driving laws in either state was relevant. And my not-quite perfect memory is of course the reason I check said laws before I drive in those states. 😃 As for the cell phone, that one I do have to give you. That said, if I’m driving down an empty stretch of highway, I might answer the phone real quick if someone calls me, provided it’s not illegal where I am. As far as having the phone read my text message to me, it’s nice to know if the message is something that demands immediate response (pull over to deal with it) or if it can wait until my next planned stop in an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/302 "2011-02-20T16:18:33Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > There’s no faster or slower. It’s 85%, period. 😕 The wording often used is “a speed at or below which 85 percent of people drive at any given location under good weather and visibility conditions may be considered as the maximum safe speed for that location.” Using the upper 85% would be the same as the upper 1%, which is the same as the fastest driver they record. That wouldn’t make sense. I don’t see how you can say “There’s no faster or slower” when the very definition you quote says “a speed at **or below which** …” Regardless, my words “the 85th percentile is the speed at which 85 percent are driving that speed or slower,” are certainly correct, given the definition you quoted. I do not know why you are confused. The quote from you that I objected to was > [@Balthisar](#): > > In Michigan we adjust speed limits based on the 90% percentile. In most cases, it means 90% of the people (“normal”) exceed the existing, posted (“prima facie”) speed. If the 90th percentile means “a speed at or below which 90 percent of people drive”, then you should expect that 90 percent of the people will be driving at or below that speed. Only ten percent would exceed that speed, not 90 percent. I took this to mean that you believed that the 90th percentile meant “a speed at or _above_ which 90 percent of people drive” In that case, your second sentence would make sense. Using the correct definition, your second sentence does not follow from your first. It’s a non-sequitur. I have no idea what your second sentence is based on. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/303 "2011-02-20T17:39:40Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > Imagine you’re travelling down a rural interstate where traffic isn’t very dense. The left lane is by law for passing only although the cops rarely pull people over for it. You pass someone and end up behind someone else who’s just cruising along in the left lane more slowly than you want to go. You can’t tell for sure that there’s no one in the right lane, but after a few minutes it’s obvious they’re not in the left lane to pass anyone. You could pass them on the right, but since you can’t really see what’s in that lane until you’re completely in it, it’s slightly dangerous. You flash your headlights at the person in front of you to try to get their attention but they’re either oblivious or don’t care. > > At this point, what would you do? Would you just pass them on the right and forget about it or would you call in to the cops to try to get them pulled over? Would the cops likely even do anything? I’m usually a live-and-let-live kind of person but when someone willfully disrupts traffic and causes a dangerous situation, that really pisses me off. I’ve had this happen several times on my recent trips to Dallas and I’m getting tired of it. What do you guys think about it? Move to Michigan where the law explicitly allows one to pass in any lane of a multilane highway provided the action is undertaken in a safe manner. (Other states have similar laws, although I do not have a list of which states do or do not enforce “pass on left.”) Alternatively, petition your legislature to amend the law to something more sane as practiced in Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/304 "2011-02-20T18:27:24Z")
**snailboy** doesn’t want to pass on the right because he feels it is unsafe, not because he believes it to be against the law. Moving to Michigan would be irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/305 "2011-02-20T18:51:05Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > **snailboy** doesn’t want to pass on the right because he feels it is unsafe, not because he believes it to be against the law. If he feels it is unsafe for him to pass on the right, he should move to the right hand land, but not pass, and instead drop back a ways so that vehicles who wish to pass on the right will be able to do so, rather than be stuck behind a rolling road block caused by the left lane vehicle and snailboy in the right lane. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/306 "2011-02-21T00:26:09Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I took this to mean that you believed that the 90th percentile meant “a speed at or _above_ which 90 percent of people drive” In that case, your second sentence would make sense. Using the correct definition, your second sentence does not follow from your first. It’s a non-sequitur. I have no idea what your second sentence is based on. No, you’re right. Very badly worded. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/307 "2011-02-21T15:24:48Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If he feels it is unsafe for him to pass on the right, he should move to the right hand land, but not pass, and instead drop back a ways so that vehicles who wish to pass on the right will be able to do so, rather than be stuck behind a rolling road block caused by the left lane vehicle and snailboy in the right lane. I don’t feel that the passing part itself is unsafe, though it does still bother me. If I’m cruising in the right lane and come up on someone in the left lane, I just go by. What I feel is unsafe is when I’ve just passed someone so I’m in the left lane myself and get behind someone camping in the left lane driving more slowly than I want to. I feel it’s dangerous to switch lanes to the right with someone ahead of you even if you’re not tailgating because you can’t see debris in the right lane (and even slow-moving vehicles if it’s a large truck in front of you) until you’re all the way over. Some say drop back but you’d have to drop back quite a distance and there may be someone in the right lane within that distance. I’m not saying it’s a huge risk and I usually do end up switching lanes, but it would be much better if the person in front moved over since they have a better view of what’s in front of them. I’ll note that it’s less of a concern on my motorcycle since I can move over where I can see the entire right lane without half my vehicle being in it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/308 "2011-02-21T17:43:12Z")
I’m confused about the safety angle. If I move right, I’m most concerned about someone already in the right lane moving rapidly to intersect where I am going, and if there are three lanes in my direction, someone from the far right lane moving into the center lane. I don’t accelerate to pass until I’m in the right lane, which eliminates most of the problems. If there is a slow moving vehicle ahead in the right lane, it may turn out that I can’t pass after all, which is annoying but not dangerous. The debris problem can be solved by looking a few cars ahead and seeing if any react to debris - I’d be more worried about the car in front of me making a sudden maneuver because of it. If you are in the left lane, you will eventually have to move right to exit. Why is passing any more dangerous than this? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/309 "2011-02-21T17:48:30Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m confused about the safety angle. If I move right, I’m most concerned about someone already in the right lane moving rapidly to intersect where I am going, and if there are three lanes in my direction, someone from the far right lane moving into the center lane. You have a right-hand mirror for this. Why wouldn’t a glance at it allow you to tell whether the lane to your right is open to you? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/310 "2011-02-21T17:58:15Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > I feel it’s dangerous to switch lanes to the right with someone ahead of you even if you’re not tailgating because you can’t see debris in the right lane (and even slow-moving vehicles if it’s a large truck in front of you) until you’re all the way over. You don’t have to be all the way over. Unless you are truly close to the back of a truck-sized vehicle, you have some visibility of the right lane ahead, and this improves as you move even a little bit right. > [@](#): > > Some say drop back … Better would be to check the right lane well ahead as you are overtaking the left-lane-camper. > [@](#): > > … but you’d have to drop back quite a distance and there may be someone in the right lane within that distance. If there’s someone close behind you in the right lane, their actions will give good clues as to what’s ahead in their lane. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/311 "2011-02-21T18:59:00Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > You don’t have to be all the way over. Unless you are truly close to the back of a truck-sized vehicle, you have some visibility of the right lane ahead, and this improves as you move even a little bit right. Sure you could see what’s right beside the truck, but not so much at the front of the truck. If someone is up there and going much slower than the truck, it’d be hard to swerve back or brake in time. I’m mostly talking about smaller obstacles though like tire treads and pieces of lumber and such. > [@](#): > > If there’s someone close behind you in the right lane, their actions will give good clues as to what’s ahead in their lane. I wouldn’t expect them to swerve until the last second and by then, it may be too late. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/312 "2011-02-21T20:57:18Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > You have a right-hand mirror for this. Why wouldn’t a glance at it allow you to tell whether the lane to your right is open to you? I didn’t say it was unsafe, just a lot more of an issue than anything **sailboy** seemed to be worried about. I also drive a Prius now, which has terrible rear window visibility, and I check the right mirror and that I can see both headlights of the car on the right in my rear view mirror before I move right. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/313 "2011-02-21T21:03:39Z")
> [@snailboy](#): > > Sure you could see what’s right beside the truck, but not so much at the front of the truck. If someone is up there and going much slower than the truck, it’d be hard to swerve back or brake in time. I’m mostly talking about smaller obstacles though like tire treads and pieces of lumber and such. If the truck is in the left lane, and the slow car is in front of the truck, the truck will not be going much faster than the car, and you can pass both of them anyway. If the slow car is in the right lane, your view of it blocked by the truck, you should be able to see it at the very beginning of your move right. Better, you should back off enough to see the right lane before moving. In any case, unless it is pretty much stopped, you should be able to slow down enough to keep clear. If it is stopped, chances are traffic around it will be very slow. As for debris, how much do you get where you drive? Around here, debris in the road gets a mention on the traffic report, it is so rare. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/314 "2011-02-21T23:48:11Z")
Obvious solution for the OP – stay in the right lane. If you don’t leave the right lane, you don’t have to worry about getting back into it. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476/315 "2011-02-22T04:48:14Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > If the truck is in the left lane, and the slow car is in front of the truck, the truck will not be going much faster than the car, and you can pass both of them anyway. If the slow car is in the right lane, your view of it blocked by the truck, you should be able to see it at the very beginning of your move right. Better, you should back off enough to see the right lane before moving. In any case, unless it is pretty much stopped, you should be able to slow down enough to keep clear. If it is stopped, chances are traffic around it will be very slow. Right now, I don’t really feel like looking up the width of interstate lanes and large trucks, measuring the width of my car and where my head would be in it, and doing the trigonometry to calculate how far over you’d have to be to see someone a certain distance ahead, so I’m just going to say I disagree. As for debris, how much do you get where you drive? Around here, debris in the road gets a mention on the traffic report, it is so rare. [/QUOTE] Well it’s not like I see it every time I get on the interstate, but I have seen it. Once in Dallas I saw a freakin ladder laying in the road. It brought traffic to a crawl so it was easy to miss but if that was laying in the right lane of a rural interstate and the situation I described occurred, it would have made someone’s day take a turn for the worse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-do-about-people-blocking-the-passing-lane/571476.md?page=15)