I make a daily 25 mile drive out of queens, NY to westchester.
I drive fast. I keep it below 70mph (posted limit is 55) and haven’t gotten pulled over during the two years i’ve made the daily drive.
I know you’ll all be quick to disagree, but I’m a thoughtful and considerate driver, speeding only when safe and reasonable. I do NOT tailgate. I do NOT shift lanes dangerously.
So back to my question. I’ll frequently see motorist driving at 55-65 mph in the left lane, with no car in the right lane(s).
I’ll approach them and hit my high beam twice and see how they react. Roughly half the times they’ll flip on their right turn signal and move out of the way. I really wish there was a way to thank those individual drivers for their road awareness and courtesy. (I’ve heard in Japan that grateful drivers will hit their hazard blinkers to indicate gratitude towards the other driver.)
The remaining half is split between:
A) those oblivious to what FTP is. I approach to about three car lengths then zip.around them.
B) those upset and indignant at my audacity to critique their driving speed. Those are those ones that deliberately slow down and actively attempt to impede my commute.
So, are people aware of what FTP is? Are any of you insulted when someone flashes you?
Ok - if this is true - then I get the complaints. I don’t understand why the legislature would pass a law that basically requires someone to do something based off someone else’s illegal actions, but there is a somewhat logical purpose to it.
Seems like a weird law to me, but I’d want to follow it as well if it exists.
I agree with you, and it seems that I drive like you at times. Sometimes I’ll wave as I pass, being extra careful to show all five of my fingers with that wave.
I wish FTP was a more commonly-accepted practice here in the US. If someone is coming up behind me and FTP’s me, I move over. No big deal, and it’s all good.
Additionally, the on/off/on/off flash to passing truckers to let them know they’re past me and there’s sufficient room for them to merge right and in front of me, well, I do that too even if I’m in a small car. When I’m towing a trailer and passing a truck, if he flashes me that it’s safe to merge back over, I’ll flash the “thank you” to him.
Not insulted in the least; although I’m aware of you coming up behind me anyway, because I pay attention to such trivial details while navigating my own tonne of steel, glass, and plastic down the highway. I’m weird like that.
Echo and leaffan, I love drivers like you. I’m sure there are many drivers like you two; unfortunately, it’s the other drivers that stand out.
Also, I hope your divorce is going well leaf. Congratulations on your wonderful decision. Remember that no happy marriage ends in divorce. Literally none.
You get out of a moron’s (speeder’s) way to reduce the odds that the cops and EMTs have to clean up another mess.
Someone in such a huge NEED to drive stupidly are stupid enough to try to pass when passing is impossible. That leads to the aforementioned mess.
I will wave my right hand (flat, facing forward) and wave slowly as a way to say “thanks”.
I drove across the US in 1991. I prefer to drive at night - after the commuters have cleared out. As long as you avoid cities at closing hour, drunks are usually passed out somewhere.
That left me, cops, and long-haul truckers. I found the truckers would flash their running lights as both to mean “thanks” and to indicate that the truck passing them was clear of them to pull back into the truck lane.
One time, I came up on a car and started to pass (lane 2 of 2). Something on the trunk caught my eye, and I dropped back and paced it. A semi came up to pass both of us. His lights were high enough to shine down on the word “police” on the trunk.
I was nice and dropped back until I was clear of his trailer and “blinked” him in. He flashed the lights. Made my night.
Speed Limit has nothing to do with it. If you’ve ever taken a defensive driving course; Two of the things they will likely drill into you is 1) It is not your responsibility to make other people follow the rules (i.e. going exactly the speed limit in the left lane). 2) The safest driving technique is to go with the flow of traffic. If the speed limit is 55 and drivers in the left lane are doing 80; it’s safer to do 80 in that lane. If you don’t like that speed, then move over to the typically slower lanes.
The corollary to this is that if you see a car coming up behind you at a faster speed, then get get over a lane until they pass, then get back over in the lane that matches your desired speed.
So, based on what I just said above, I’d say that both drivers are using good driving techniques. IT sounds like the front car needs to scoot over and let the tailgater over. What I don’t get is that if it was light traffic, why didn’t the tailgater go around anyway?
I see this quite often. People tailgate when there’s plenty of room to go around.
It’s a behavioral phenomenon described by a couple of factors. First, people are social creatures and tend to find comfort when around another. That’s why on rural interstates you’ll see cars “platooning”, or being in groups. The statistical distribution of cars on the road is not uniform; they come in clumps or groups. In my statistics and mathematical modeling classes it was called platoons or platooning. (My undergrad degree is in applied mathematics, but that’s not what I do for work and it has been 20 years so my memory might be a little hazy.)
Second, and this is more of a SWAG but I suspect it is true because I see it so often and wonder WHY? - such tailgaters find comfort in following another - it’s almost like they “turn off their brain” so they’re no longer responsible for looking for road hazards. The car in front will do that for them. I’ve observed this more often when the driver is conversing with a passenger or is on the phone (handless or otherwise), so they can concentrate more on the conversation topic.
The left hand (high speed) lane is for passing first and foremost. It is not the travel lane. Lane discipline (faster traffic to the left, slower traffic to the right) is more important for safety than any particular speed.
Traveling in the left lane while not passing anyone is already illegal in most jurisdictions, whether anyone is behind you or not.
Police could site you for aggressive driving or improper driving, or some such which would be a judgement call by the police. However, I don’t think there is a tailgating offense. On the other (in Virginia and other states) “lane blocking” is a ticketable offense.
Just go around them on the right. Jesus. Do you really drive 5 feet behind another car, steaming with rage, when there are multiple clear lanes for you to pass in? No, you shouldn’t have to, because the person in the fast lane should get out of your way. But if they don’t, just… go around. You’ll save yourself an ulcer.
Passing on the right is more dangerous, and in some cases (and countries) illegal.
Interestingly enough I just googled for a cite and this SDMB came up right up top.
I hate it when people pass me on the right! No, I never hog the fast lane; I’m a generally fast-ish driver (and FTP is perfectly OK) but if I’m in lane two of a 4-lane freeway doing the speed limit or above, with two clear wide-open open lanes to the left of me, it makes me quite stabby when car after car passes on the right instead of the left.
I’ve never driven in Germany (would love to) but have driven quite a bit in other European countries as well as the Middle East. I really think drivers in Europe are overall better than in the US, and are generally better about proper lane usage.
What do you mean, it’s wrong? You just said exactly what I said, except that I added the common-sense suggestion that if you have multiple clear lanes to the right and someone refuses to move over, you should quit playing junior traffic cop and just go around them. And even if you choose not to do this, you should not follow them at 5 feet of distance in a haze of road rage.