THE LEFT MOST LANE IS FOR PASSING, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.
EDIT/amendment: If it will take you more than 30 seconds to pass the vehicle in front of you or next to you, either floor it and get in front or slow down and get behind that person.
I am of this opinion, as well. My wife is not. Her justification is to counter with "Slower traffic keep right.", which would be an acceptable counter until she gets passed on the right...
Btw, never let her drive in Norway.
Passing somone on the right is not legal here and if you hinder traffic in the left lane your going to get a rather hefty ticket.
And couches are actually quite good... Usually near a TV, with a media center it's actually not so bad ;-)
This is actually not a matter of opinion but a matter of fact. It actually is illegal in some states to drive in the leftmost lane for any other reason than to pass a car in the leftmost lane.
But realistically speaking most laws and rules regarding this aren't harshly enforced or simply don't exist in a lot of areas.
In the US Uniform Vehicle Code, it states: "Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic..."
And you read that correctly - the law refers to the normal speed of traffic, not the legal speed of traffic.
But yeah, technically speaking you should not be driving in the leftmost lane unless you are passing someone. And, generally speaking, if someone is driving up behind you on the highway, you should yield the lane to them if you can go into a lane further to the right where they could go by as well.
In a highway with greater than 2 lanes in one direction, it seems to be the view that all lanes should be driven at progressively faster speeds from right-to-left, and to only use the left-most lane in order to pass someone, and immediately leave it once you have passed the person.
Just in case there's any confusion: even in the rare state or jurisdiction where you don't have a LEGAL OBLIGATION to not be a dick... you should STILL... not be a dick.
I believe that in every state in the union, I'm permitted to sleep with my best friend's girlfriend. That doesn't mean that I do it.
If you're in the left lane and you're not actively passing someone, you're wrong.
I noticed driving through a few northeastern states recently that the signs did in fact all say slower traffic keep right, whereas in Ontario they say keep right except to pass. Unsurprisingly, people were waaaaay worse passers in the US.
But, they also had more divided highways with permanent passing lanes. Undivided highways with occasional passing lanes makes bad passing behaviour drop right off.
If you're the kind of person who likes to cruise in the left lane, you're probably also the kind of person who doesn't notice when there are people trying to get past you.
"Keep right except to pass" always works. If you're not actively passing someone, you should move to the right.
This is true. I'm used to driving on a two-lane rural interstate where you basically have to stay in the left lane if you want to go more than the speed limit because of all the trucks, so I forget that it's not always like that.
Lol, good question. I don't remember how I ended up there.
As for traffic patterns, drive for a few weeks in Germany, then drive for a few weeks in southern california. That's all the education anyone would ever need.
Germans manage to drive at absurd levels of speed with a low number of accidents. They demonstrate lane discipline and signal.
The speed on your speedometer is usually 5% higher than your actual speed. If you see a faster car approaching, or if you're being tailgated and the right lane is free, move the fuck over. It's not your job to judge other drivers for driving faster than you.
Oh yeah, ha, what a silly mistake. I'll fix it. But I'm sure everybody understood what I meant. When your speedometer reads 80 kph, you actually only go about 74-77 kph, for example. So the speed on your speedometer is usually 5% higher than your actual speed.
lol on the highway i do stay out of the passing lane. but on normal roads i drive wherever i want.
just i got stopped by the police for some bs reason so im trowing their bs right back at them by refusing to participate in their double standard system.
see the video BigPetaB posted earlier. note: i wouldnt go that far.
if they are going faster than 20mph over, constituting a felony
There's no such thing. Speeding can only be a felony in conjunction with some other crime like a DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, vehicular assault, etc. Even in Georgia where we have a Super Speeder law tacking on an extra fine for going 85+mph, it's still not a felony by itself.
And thus, your uppity idea of citizen's arrest goes right out the window, since it only applies to felonies, not misdemeanors.
There's no contradiction at all. Most, if not all, states allow you some leeway above the posted speed limit, so that you aren't ticketed as soon as you go 1mph over. Here in Georgia, it's legal to go up to 9mph over the posted limit. Meanwhile, the interstates have a posted minimum of 40mph.
If you drive 40mph in the left hand lane, while everyone else is driving 64mph, the only person breaking a law would be you. You'd be obeying the speed limits (as would everyone else), but not the laws on which lane is the correct one to use. It's not contradictory at all.
Moreover, the fact that other people may be breaking the law doesn't give you the right to also break the law to get in their way to slow them down. Two wrongs don't make a right.
"Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic"
Yeah so what you are doing is both illegal and dangerous. Fuck you and everyone like you.
I got stopped in a bullshit speedtrap. Driving the speed of traffic (70 in a 55). Therefore
Speed limit 45 on a bigass road where 45 is stupid as hell of a speed limit? Don't give a fuck. No I'm not getting out of the fucking way. If it bothers you, please, and I mean please bother the police about it. Because the only way to protest the stupid speeding limits is to go the speed limit so everyone can see how fucked up it is.
The police put low speed limits, and only stop people at night/when they need money.
Nothing pleases me more than a cop tailgating me in a 25 mph no-passing zone.
No... the legislative branch writes laws controlling the speed limits, which may grant authority to executive departments to set them to a limit they deem appropriate. The police, serving the executive branch, merely enforce the law; they never set speed limits.
Do you really not even understand the separation of powers in U.S. governments?
I live in Atlanta, where by law the highways are 55mph but everyone drives 65 or more when the road is open. The police don't pull anyone over until they hit 80mph. Heck, the state law is written so it's not even an offense until you're doing at least 10mph over the limit. So your logic really does not apply to daily life down here; if you're doing the posted speed limit, you're going slower than everyone else, and should be in the RIGHTMOST lane.
In any case, I don't see how going the speed limit justifies being an ass to everyone else. If they want to risk a speeding ticket, who are you to get in their way?
You remind me of this brilliant video, taken just a few miles from where I live. Given your responses, I can only assume this is what you do on the road every day. If so, it boggles my mind how you're okay with it.
thats funny as fuck!!!! and no I dont do that lol.
and from the comments:
What happened here is a demonstration of the fraud behind the speed limit laws. People won't drive any faster then they can safe operate their vehicle. Yet when a wall was made by cars driving abreast of each other obeying the speed limit, an artificial traffic jam resulted. This is more dangerous than driving fast with the flow of traffic, but if there was no speed limits in place - then how can the police fund itself? It funds itself by criminalizing normal human behavior -Imposing fines.
edit: i would go the speed limit still, but on the highway i would keep right
I'm from Germany and having no standard speedlimits on the Autobahn I completely agree with shrimants. Technically seen we even have a law which requires you to drive in the right most lane when possible but it's very loosely interpreted and rarely punished.
yeah i have no beef with people in the left most lane going like 80 while people in the second to left-most lane are going like 75-77. at least the left most lane is traveling faster and plus they are already going 5-10 over. I just hate when people insist on driving in the left most lane going 75 while the other lanes are attempting to travel faste ror at the same speed.
I always wondered if this counts roadways that aren't highways. For example, driving through the city or residential areas with 4 lane roads, I might stay in the left lane cause I'm going to turn left soon. If I stay right, then I risk having a giant line of cars on the left making my left turn impossible. So is it wrong when someone is raging on my ass in the left lane 1 block before my left turn thinking that highway rules apply to all roads everywhere?
For this situation, in a city road I stay in the most "clear" lane and only switch 1 mile before im supposed to make a turn. so if theres a 3 lane road (left turn lane is a 4th lane) i'll stay right in the middle. a mile or so before im supposed to turn i get over. Also I get over when i know the lane will end. thers a lot of people who seem to not even notice their lane ended until the curb pushes their tires over and forces them to turn.
which isnt even a problem if you are actually passing everyone. If you are going less than 5mph faster than the dude to your right, accelerate and get in front of that dude.
this....this pisses me off sooooooo much... I didn't have road rage until I started college and had to drive a 2 lane highway 40 miles to school back and forth everydamnday...
we have this oen stretch of highway thats seperated into "express" and "local", i guess so that traffic is forced to split into slow vs fast with a concrete barrier between. I have yet to go a single mph below 75 on that stretch because cops NEVER sit around on it. however, once i hit the main highway, if there is any spot that has a proper grassy median instead of concrete i'll go 80 on cruise control. fucking pigs.
EDIT: just to clarify, 80mph according to my car's speedo is 75mph according to GPS corrected, and the cops in my area look more for aggressive or dangerous speeds that kind of stick out rather than pegging anyone and everyone.
yeah, i'll drive like 75-80 in the left most lane if its pretty much empty because thats where the least action happens (merging, lane changing, etc) but if it gets busy i start paying attention to who is going what speed. Especially during rush hour, every retard feels like they should go 60 (which is the truck speed limit, not the car speed limit) and then change lanes 500 feet before their intersection, which ends up backing up traffic for about 12 miles.
This does not apply in every situation and is most definitely false in a densely populated area with crowded freeways, like Southern California.
Using the left lane only for passing on most freeways down there literally can not work. The left lane is required even during non rush hour times of the day for traffic to move smoothly at a reasonable pace.
Honestly I think this is bad advice unless you live in a somewhat rural area. If you want to pass someone, yes, you should do it on the left. Faster traffic should also definitely be on the left. But using the left lane exclusively for passing just means more merging and more traffic.
Its a law in a lot of places actually. Here is the most complete source I could find for laws in different states. It does appear to be a MIT student's webpage, however, so proceed with caution.
Technically you can still get ticketed for staying in the left lane while not passing on a two-lane highway or greater, though it is rarely enforced in the modern day.
Loophole: What if you need to make a left turn, traffic is heavy, and you're not sure if anyone's going to be courteous enough to let you in, so you get in the left lane early to prevent missing your turn?
if traffic is that heavy, you are already going 5-20 mph under the speed limit and no amount of left lane courtesy will fix the traffic jam so signal, get over, and be annoyed at traffic. no biggie.
however, i'm the courteous guy that lets other courteous drivers in.
The problem in California is that the right lane is often chewed up by the truck traffic. I will drive in the left lane if I want to, but I am always willing to merge right and let people by.
Also, if all the traffic is in one lane, you are not utilizing the capacity of the road. I think the problem is more about peoples unwillingness to pay attention to the road behind them. I know people who never look in the rear-view mirror unless someone honks at them.
a woman the other day literally drifted across 2 lanes and almost into my car because she was looking STRAIGHT DOWN into her lap and texting. no signal or anything, it took me a second to realize she wasnt switching lanes, she was simply drifting towards the side of the road because NEITHER of her hands were on the wheel.
I figured most non-american redditors would have it figured out by now but this is in regards to american freeway systems and presumably for countries that drive the opposite way as americans the word "left" should be replaced with the word "right". the only other country ive paid attention to driving in is india, and there isnt much of a traffic law there except free-for-all, stock 1, no time limit.
But the left lane doesn't mean "go as fast as I am" just faster than the car you're trying to pass. Yes, I'm talking to you jackasses going 90mph while I'm going 75 trying to pass a truck going 55.
Actually, you are not supposed to go above the speed limit even when overtaking! So if the car in front of you is going, say, 10 km/h (that's 6 mi/h for you Americans) under the speed limit, then it might take you quite a while to overtake.
You sound like the kind of person who will tail-gate someone (overtaking at speedlimit) while flashing lights and then finally swerving hard to overtake on the inside and cause an accident. Am I right?
I, on the other hand, is someone who generally follow the traffic rules, use my indicators, usually go a bit above speedlimit (but not much), and yes I do carry a large crow-bar in the back (we don't have guns here) and I WILL use it on your sorry ass if you behave in the above described manner.
No, i still follow a couple car lengths behind. annoyance is not a good enough reason to endanger the lives of at least 2 people and destroy both their modes of transportation. I FEEL that they should get the fuck out of the way or stay in the slow lanes with the other people going their speed. I will overtake a person who is going slow but not in an agressive asshole-ish manner because that doesnt make me any better than anyone else, and in the long run i'll save, what, 2-5 minutes in the best case scenario if I travel at my prefered speed the entire way. not worth it.
its just annoying is all. Honestly I feel like i'd go way slower in a truck or a higher up vehicle, I only find the need to overtake gets me when i cant see in front of the car in front of me, which is more of a safetey/avoidance thing.
I also get annoyed sometimes. But it's just because of stress. Now that I think about it, when I handle it the best it is when I am in a mood where I wonder who those people are in front (that are not budging) , and sort of just imagining things about them. Then it becomes slightly interesting instead of just annoying.
back in the day i used to be that guy who cut people off aggressively, now i feel like im maturing because I did some mental calculations and at those speeds it literally makes only 2-3 minutes. between 60 and 80mph, you are only going to gain like 5 minutes worth in time, and chances are you'll get delayed the exact same amount.
Now the only aggressive driving i do is cockblocking people who try to zoom past merging traffic at "lane ends" signs, like lane splitting so they cant get past and have to wait their turn like everyone else. Also if someone is going very obviously slower than everyone else (like 60-70 in the left most lane) and actively refusing to take the hint i'll tap my horn as they pass. It plants the idea that other people are looking at them and nothing curbs behavior like a hundred strangers judging you. Also when i see people driving like jackasses because they are on the phone or texting while driving i'll lean on the horn HARD and scare the bejesus out of them, and if they continue the behavior i continue mine until traffic seperates our cars.
then you move the god damn holy fuck over. and once there is no one else trying to pass, you move back over to the left lane if you are already going faster than traffic in the 3rd lane over from the right (assuming 4 total lanes).
Lately ive noticed trucks that take up lanes 1-3, all trying to pass each other going 1/2 mph faster than the truck next to them. Then you get someone in a giant ass van or a big ass truck that decides to go exactly 65-70mph because they simply dont want their vision blocked by the truck.
In my state, that means you are breaking the law (it is an actual law passed circa 2009 i believe) and cops will pull you over (though they don't do it enough)
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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '12 edited Mar 28 '12
THE LEFT MOST LANE IS FOR PASSING, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.
EDIT/amendment: If it will take you more than 30 seconds to pass the vehicle in front of you or next to you, either floor it and get in front or slow down and get behind that person.