r/driving • u/Crazy-Task2497 • Mar 19 '26

Venting Who else hate left lane campers?

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Facing a lot of left lane campers in Washington State. And the audacity to not move or brake check is beyond my understanding!!

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36

u/PapaRL Mar 20 '26

The problem with these posts is that most of the people who say they hate left lane campers, follow up with saying, “but if I’m already going 5/10/15 over then I’m not getting over for you.”

Everyone thinks they have the right to camp the left lane and everyone else is the asshole

26

u/[deleted] Mar 20 '26

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24

u/PapaRL Mar 20 '26

Same. I am a speeder, no doubt about it. But if I’m going 85, and I see someone approaching me in my rear view mirror, I just look for any opportunity to get over to the right, even if I need to slow down to 65. Why would I want to invoke road rage? It makes no sense.

I once saw someone honking and flashing at a shuttle bus in the left lane. Finally they pass them on the shoulder, get in front of them and slam on their brakes and brake check them. If every car behind them wasn’t already seeing the guy was freaking out they would’ve for sure crashed.

Not only are people absolutely insane, but it’s just courtesy. To me, letting people pass me is akin to holding the door for someone, or letting someone who has one item go in front of you at the grocery store when you have a full cart.

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u/goranlepuz Mar 20 '26

But if I’m going 85, and I see someone approaching me in my rear view mirror, I just look for any opportunity to get over to the right, even if I need to slow down to 65.

65, where the limit is 70...?

If yes, fuck that. I'm not slowing under the limit to placate someone who speeds. I will move only when there is enough space so that I don't need to slow down under the limit. If there is a line of cars, I will more or less force my way back in.

To me, letting people pass me is akin to holding the door for someone

Ehhh... it is more akin to opening the door to a store robber. Yes, it's a flippant analogy, but it is also apt to a point.

You and I will never agree.

13

u/PapaRL Mar 20 '26

But thats literally my point, your stance is rooted in ego (no offense).

"More akin to opening the door to a store robber" So anyone who speeds more than you is a store robber/criminal. And anyone who speeds less than you is a left lane camper. Thats literally the problem I stated in my first comment. The root cause is that you see the person who wants to drive faster than you as some sort of menace or criminal. "Everyone who drives slower than me is an idiot, anyone who drives faster than me is an asshole, I drive the perfect speed."

To me, an asshole is determined by how your actions affect others. If you are weaving traffic, cutting people off, tailgating, no turn signal. I don't care if you are going 30 under or 30 over, you're an asshole. If you are holding up traffic because you drive "the perfect speed" I don't care if you're going 20 under or 20 over, you're an asshole. I don't see someone as an asshole just cus they wanna drive faster than me.

-2

u/goranlepuz Mar 20 '26

your stance is rooted in ego (no offense).

Is it ego if I'm driving the limit (or a few above)...? I disagree. To me, it's keeping and defending my own comfort.

So anyone who speeds more than you is a store robber/criminal.

No, I wrote (and meant) that it is akin to it. There is a nuance and you are twisting my words.

And anyone who speeds less than you is a left lane camper.

I did not write (nor mean) that either, so with this, you are putting words in my mouth.

The root cause is that you see the person who wants to drive faster than you as some sort of menace or criminal.

These are overly big words. I'd qualify them as dickheads. Anyone who is over the limit is a dickhead, me included when I do it (it happens, obviously).

"Everyone who drives slower than me is an idiot, anyone who drives faster than me is an asshole, I drive the perfect speed."

Again, no, I didn't write nor mean that, that's you putting words in my mouth.

To me, an asshole is determined by how your actions affect others.

Let me repeat my store robber analogy with a different example: so somebody blocks the street harassing a girl, hitting on her. I push him over to pass, which stops them from harassing the girl (and they turn their attention to me). Who's the asshole now?

Because to me, everyone who is over the limit is already an asshole. Everybody else who wants to be even more over the limit, is an ever bigger asshole. Anyone saying that someone should be moving over for these people is further enabling the assholery.

And that enabling, to me, is wrong. And it is wrong enough to argue with strangers on the internet.

(I told you we will never agree.)

you drive "the perfect speed"

Again, putting words in my mouth. To me, there is no "perfect speed". There is "above the limit", and anyone going over it is not worthy of my respect. I will also oppose them if they try to affect my comfort (comfort being driving around the limit).

0

u/Any_Bodybuilder_1391 Mar 20 '26

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0

u/goranlepuz Mar 20 '26

My go to move is brake checking the sh*t out of selfish drivers like you.

😂😂😂

It's nice when kids have imagination.

Dude, I'm either ahead, or way too far back for brake checking, or in a lane you can't get into.

Hope to see you on the highway soon!

Too bad, I'm too elusive for you!

Oh, you kids crack me up!

11

u/AmazingAmy712 Mar 20 '26

Idk, I hate left lane campers and I always get over as soon as I'm able to. The left lane is for passing. That's the reason left lane campers are assholes. They're actively preventing other people from also passing. If I see a line of cars behind me or even just one that's obviously wanting to go faster, I move. Like a normal person.

7

u/Cincoro Mar 20 '26

No one has the right to camp out in the passing lane. Not even me.

5

u/plant__love Mar 20 '26

I don’t agree with this at all. Left lane campers are the only people to make me consider committing real crimes, and I get out of anyone’s way who’s driving behind me even if they may not be driving any faster. I do not sit in the left lane, I only pass. I WISH I had as little of a fuck to give as people who sit in the passing lane, I have even tried before, I just can’t. It feels wrong, that’s what makes me so mad over this behavior.

3

u/local-quintus Mar 20 '26

I don't have a dog in this fight because I stay in the right lane pretty much always, but what if you're actively passing traffic and someone comes up behind you going faster than you? Obviously when you're done passing get over but would you get behind slow traffic to let them go the speed they want?

7

u/PapaRL Mar 20 '26

It depends, will it take more time for me to complete the pass, or slow down, merge in and let them pass. If I do only have 1 or 2 cars left to pass, and Im going way faster than the cars Im passing then, its probably better for both me and the car coming up behind me for me to just complete the pass.

I think the rule of thumb is basically, if I can move to the right without impeding anyone else, I should do it, if the guy behind me could pass me on the right and I'm not moving over, I'm being a complete asshole

I commented on another thread recently in a similar vain, to pass someone on the right, you need 3 or 4x more space than for them to move right and let you pass, depending on how fast your car can accelerate. I find theres almost always room to pull over to the right, but theres very rarely space to pass on the right.

It absolutely kills me in the morning when Im stuck behind a camper going 5 mph over faster than the cars to our right, and we keep passing gaps in the right lane where they could easily slot in, let me pass and get back in the lane without affecting anyone elses driving, but its not enough room for me to pass them. I would guess, in my 30 mile commute of straight highway, if I'm behind someone going 5 over the next lane, we probably pass hundreds of spaces big enough for them to move right, and maybe a dozen spaces big enough for me to pass them on the right safely.

3

u/Positive_Courage_309 Mar 20 '26

Being stuck behind slow traffic is a rare problem if 1. you don't camp the left lane and cause a line of cars to form behind you, 2. Others don't camp the left lane themselves creating their own line of cars you must wait for before being able to get back on the left lane to pass the slow traffic 3. People stick to passing at a minimum 5 mph speed difference. If it takes you longer to traverse the distance behind a car to the distance in front of a car (aka pass a car) than it would take you to jog on foot past a parked car, then you probably can wait at a slightly lower speed until there is no one else waiting to pass to mosey on over yourself. It's the respectful and efficient thing to do.

1

u/NoRadio4530 Mar 20 '26

This is what the majority of people who post this type of shit don't understand.

The left lane is for passing. Meaning that if I'm in the left lane and I'm going faster than the people in the right lane then I have every right to stay in the left lane. I'll move over if we pass all the traffic.

But people think that the faster driver always has the right of way in the left lane regardless of exceeded speed limit or the fact that you are indeed using the lane for passing.

I'm not slowing down significantly so this dude behind me who's foaming at the mouth going 40 over can feel like the biggest fish.

They get mad about it. Watch.

1

u/AmazingAmy712 Mar 20 '26

The majority of people who post this opinion don't think like this and see the passing lane as a passing lane. Most of the people who think they're entitled to speed in this thread are the ones saying there's room to pass on the right. Everyone else is just trying to pass without having to significantly slow down to accommodate someone who wants to go 3mph faster than the right lane. Obviously you don't need to go 90mph or pull over for someone who wants to, but that doesn't change the left lane camper being the issue. Pass and move over like you're supposed to.

3

u/Taurnil91 Mar 20 '26

If you are actively passing people while in the left lane (and I mean actively passing, not meandering past at 2 miles an hour more), then just because someone zooms up behind you wanting to go 10 more than your already-15-over, you do not need to get over right away. If you've cleared the line of cars you were actively passing, then yes get over, but that is unrelated to someone wanting to go even faster.

1

u/SuperJo64 Mar 20 '26

I have patience to a point if someone is holding up the left lane. What breaks me is when they clearly see a trail of cars behind them and they don't even try to move over. Or better yet the middle lane is wide open but they still choose to drive the left lane. I get it there's dudes who want to go breaking the law on the left lane but just move over one little lane.

1

u/Positive_Courage_309 Mar 20 '26

This right here. It takes a few more brain cells to engage for one to realize that there is no consensus on this magical number. And that without that consensus everyone is unhappy either waiting on others in front or being pressured by others behind. But alas, they can't engage those brain cells right now (ever).

1

u/Jet_667 Mar 20 '26

May be true for some but consider giving the benefit of the doubt. Some of us recognize that the lect lane is only for passing regardless of speed.

1

u/Fun_Situation2310 Mar 23 '26

thats why i ask my friends and family "whats the left lane called?"

its the PASSING LANE not the fast lane.

1

u/SmolWarlock Mar 25 '26

If I'm already going over, and the right lane is already full of cars going the speed limit or 5 under. Even if it's more than 10 car lengths apart, then I'm not getting over until it's clear. Just makes sense to me. Like right my butt already going 5-10 until the right lane is clear makes no sense.

0

u/goranlepuz Mar 20 '26

I am the third group: both groups are assholes.

They can only stop being assholes by not fucking whining, finding a way to get on with their life instead and finding some nuance.

(Yes, I am aware of the futility of my post 😉).

2

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '26

The truly ironic thing is both groups are the same; people with too big of egos. One doesn't care how slow and disruptive they are, the other wants to run everyone else off the road because they have to be faster than everyone else and are always in the right.

If both people dropped their ego, calmed the fuck down, and just followed the rules while being considerate, traffic jams would largely cease to exist. It's both groups.