It’s pretty common in the mid-Atlantic in the Appalachian mountains: the lane that is heading uphill will split in two, so that trucks and other slow moving vehicles can stay to the right and cars that can handle the incline more quickly can pass.
PSA:
If you find yourself on a two-lane highway and encounter a passing lane as described in the OP in the direction of your travel, move to the right-hand lane regardless if there is someone behind you. Why, you may ask, should I move to the right lane if I am just going to have to merge back is another 200 yards? Because, if you stay in the left lane, then people in the other direction cannot pass slow-moving vehicles going in their direction. If you notice, the solid no-passing line is often only for the two-lane direction. Sometimes it is on both, but if it is only on your side, move over so the guys going the other way can pass if they get the chance. By definition, these passing lanes only exist on highways where the locations where one can pass safely are limited, so don’t prevent others from being able to pass just because you can’t be assed to move over.
Drive thru the mountains sometimes - Ky, Tennessee, etc - any 2 lane undivided highway will have these from time to time.
This - a 1000 times this.
Yep. Besides just a good habit to get into, on those roads, and most roads, Keep Right Except to Pass. (yes I know multi-lane intercity highways are a bit different)
Especially since somene coming down the mountain might take a turn too fast and swing into the oncoming lane a bit.
Here in Kansas, passing lanes are becoming quite common as highways are upgraded to the so-called Super Two highway. They are great for getting around 18-wheelers and farm trucks that are driving below the speed limit. There are generally signs well in advance (2 miles, 1/2 mile) that a passing lane is just down the road.
Yes, when encountering a passing lane, the first sign is Keep Right Except to Pass. I always do this unless I’m wanting to pass a slower-moving vehicle that’s right in front of me. Most folks do the same, except for the occasional asshole, of course.
Yeah, I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint exactly where I come across them, but they’re common enough that I know the situation in the OP. Those lanes are there explicitly so the slow traffic gets to the right to allow the faster traffic pass. The type of driver the OP describes is, at best, clueless as to driving etiquette and, more likely, just a self-absorbed and/or “junior policing” asshole.
If you’re simply someone in unfamiliar territory doing this, why in the hell would you want to lead the pack? When I drive in a situation where I don’t know the road very well, especially when it’s dark and even more so when it’s dark and the weather is a bit shitty, I don’t want to be the pack leader. I let somebody get about ten car lengths ahead, pace them, and then I have a much less stressful drive being able to clearly see the bends and curves of the road up ahead and the sorts of speeds that are doable.
I spent 12 years driving big rigs. I came to the conclusion that many drivers believe that if they allow a vehicle to drive in front of them without passing it, their penises will grow smaller.
People often seem to want to pass me because I leave one or two hundred feet to the car in front of me, as long as they are going a reasonable speed, so I am perceived as slow. I think it makes the driver up there a tad more comfortable, and it is a lot less stressful for me. I have had people pass me, climb up on the next car and ride their ass for the next hour or two because no passing opportunities arise. It should not bother me but that is my damn comfort zone they are messing with.
It is very common in Maine. Most major two-lane highways widen to three lanes on long and/or steep uphill climbs so everyone doesn’t get stuck going 15 miles per hour behind a big truck that can’t keep up momentum on the grade.
But it’s not just big rigs that are directed to keep right, many of them have signage posted that reads, “keep right except to pass,” so the guy at the head of the line is supposed to move over and give folks an opportunity to pass no matter what he’s driving or how fast he’s going. The shorter lanes, however, tend to use “slower traffic keep right” signs instead; probably because there’s not enough space to pass a full-speed vehicle before the lane ends.
Why can’t we have cops pull people over, stamp “Inconsiderate Driver” on their licenses, schedule them for 100 hours of highway cleanup, and warn them that the next time they ignore the wishes of everyone else on the road their car will be impounded.
If the police won’t do that, I’m willing to organize a citizen’s group to impersonate them and “Terrorize the Inconsiderate!” (our war cry). In that case, we also stencil “Caution! I Am An Asshole Driver!” on the cars.
ETA: HA! This just happened to get posted two minutes ago!
Thinking about it I can recall driving some generally flat 2 lane highways for long distances without seeing many, like US 2 from the UP of Michigan till you get to the Rockies in western Montana, that’s a looong fairly important 2 lane road without a lot of those three lane sections if any.
But they are very common in hilly areas all over the US as mentioned, extra lane on important 2 lane roads on the side going uphill, in some places you see them in flat areas even.
But of course I pull to the right when there’s room in those sections, in case whoever was following at a polite distance has actually been waiting to pass. I don’t recall a lot of frustration at people staying in the left lane and speeding up when I wanted to pass. Anyway I don’t mind passing when it’s only two lanes. I’m conservative about it but my car can get by somebody doing 50-55, or 70, pretty quickly. 
My pet peeve is more on multi lane each way roads where somebody passes you, pulls in front, then slows down to slower than you’re going, and I’m on cruise control, so it’s definitely them judging they had to get past me, but now it’s time to go slower than I am.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a study, or news article citing a study, that confirms this. The gist is that some people don’t necessarily drive to a speed, they drive at whatever speed they feel comfortable with. When the road gets wider, their perception of speed reduces and they tend faster to compensate. It’s basically just clueless driving. Another symptom is the driver who will chug along significantly below the limit in a rural area and then drive the exact same speed, significantly above the limit, as they go through a small town. They have no clue what the limit is, they’re just smooshing along mindlessly.
The comment above about staying right so that oncoming traffic can pass does not translate internationally. Where I live, using an oncoming passing lane is forbidden unless both oncoming lanes are clear.
P.S. The road layout with two lane rural highways punctuated by passing lanes is very common in New Zealand, they’re everywhere.
https://images.app.goo.gl/GeoDD86vyXNUSb9u7
P.P.S. An opinion piece offering a similar theory for why people speed up in passing lanes. Someone with more time might be able to google some actual cites / research.
This is correct. With no obstacles if you’re not paying attention, your brain wants to just go as fast as seems reasonable. Think about driving on a wide, straight highway - 30 or 40 mph feels like you’re hardly moving at all. But that’s fast enough to kill people a lot.
This is the reason why suburbs are starting to do things like removing yellow center lines and placing trees closer to the road to limit visibility. It sounds insane at first, but it causes people to drive much more slowly and carefully in residential neighborhoods because it reduces the comfort level of the driver.
In my part of the mountains, there
are two highways leading up out of the valley. One of them was apparently so dangerous that the reduced the speed to 35mph along a particular 20 mile stretch. I’m pretty sure it’s traffic volume related and if a lot of the traffic is like it was when I was young, a very large percentage of that traffic volume is teen drivers.
The other highway, the speed varies from 65 mph for most of it down to 35 or 45 mph as you pass through various localities.
This highway has signs a regular intervals stating that if there are three or more ‘vehicles’ behind you, you are a slow moving vehicle and that you MUST pull into the slow vehicle or passing lane (not the same thing on this road) and let ALL visible traffic pass. In a slow moving vehicle lane, if you have to come to a FULL STOP then you do so, to allow traffic to clear. Slow vehicle lanes have a solid white line where as passing lanes are just normal travel lanes with a dashed line.
Around Pittsburgh tunnels are a problem. For some reason, people slow down in tunnels, leading to traffic jams. We even have signs before tunnels: MAINTAIN SPEED THROUGH TUNNEL.
I’d like to rear-end a car in a tunnel and argue in court that I was just obeying posted signage.
For a lot of people on the road, driving a car is something that’s happening to them, not something that they are actively doing. I’ll notice that the car in the lane next to me will have to get over because their lane is ending soon so I give them some space to get over and then I wait and wait. Finally, when they can’t go forward any more in their lane, it starts to dawn on them that they need to do something about it. People are morons.
I’ve had occasions where the car I’m passing on a 2-lane road actually speeds up when I’m in the oncoming traffic lane. A lot of people can’t stand to be passed and they don’t mind putting the passer in a life-threatening situation. I always let off the gas when someone is passing me on a two-lane road. I figure it’s much safer for both of us that way.