This is probably the thing people understand the least about the left lane, and I bet this guy is one of em.
It doesn't matter what speed you are passing, as long as you are passing (and of course if you are barely passing youre a dick).
But not because im passing 10km/h faster and you want to pass 30km/h faster, that I need to move out of the way. Flashing your lights and putting your blinker only makes me want to pass slower. The left lane is not reserved for the fastest driver on the road.
I agree as long as the slower driver was already in the process of passing. Cutting off the approaching faster driver is unsafe.
Yeah this makes sense. My comment only refers to already in the lane and passing, and some donkey wants to pass faster and won't wait 4 seconds until you're done passing (at a good speed)
One way to earn yourself a premium insurance rate, if you survive. 🤞🏽
If someone starts aggressively flashing their lights behind me I like to assume they are trying to alert me that I'm driving too fast and should slow down immediately lol
I usually just get out of the way no matter how fast I'm going. No need to create road rage based on my ego and the asshole flashing me
I take it to mean that they want me to match the speed of the car beside me.
Don't most highways have signs that say "Slower Traffic Keep Right" though? So that pretty much negates your argument. If you are slower than the traffic behind you, you should get into the right lane, until you're no longer slower, then get back into the left if you need to continue passing.
I woukd take that to mean if you are faster than the car in the other lane then you are good up until that's no longer the case (e.g. until you have passed them).
From the comment you replied to:
as long as you are passing
If you're not passing, get over. If you are passing, getting over means merging into another vehicle: don't do that.
I suppose I would personally also be on my horn in an emergency but this attitude is why America can't have nice things. stop policing your fellow slaves and get out of the fucking way.
of course I live in a civilized country so America might just look bad because that's all that gets posted and most people aren't attempting to murder motorcycle riders for winning the rat race or shooting up schools.
Kinda lost me there, NGL. 😅 Still, I learned to drive in Detroit & Chicago, and then again in Germany & Italy. The vast majority of US drivers are fucking selfish morons, and the majority of them should not have any license to drive at all. 🙇🏽♂️
I try to drive so I am as far away from other vehicles as possible. I also try to avoid ever inconveniencing other people. It doesn't matter if I'm going 140, if you come up behind me, I'm moving over to let you by - as quickly as I can while still being safe. I expect the same from others. Changing lanes isn't hard, I often move over to let someone by and then go back to continue passing.
Also, please stop passing on the right. You're just making everything worse.
140
You mean km/hr, right?
...
Km/hr, right?
Meters per second
I did 140mph once. I redlined my poor Civic trying to keep up with a Supra. We were both weaving through traffic (Vegas to L.A.) and I did manage to keep up for a while. Looking back now that I'm older, I'm just really thankful we didn't cause an accident.
I have no choice but to pass on the right because jackasses ride the left lane and drive under the speed limit. The police around here don’t enforce it. Drives me nuts.
In Arizona the norm seemed to be to pass fast on the right and go slow on the left. Even on a three lane road, with me going slightly above the speed limit in the middle, idiots would choose to pass on the right rather than use the open left lane. Definitely the worst part about the state in terms of daily experience
Also, please stop passing on the right. You’re just making everything worse.
Yeah, it's unsafe, but how is it making things worse? It seems to be making the best of a bad situation, not escalating anything.
The real solution here is to pass and enforce "stay right except to pass" laws. You should only pass on the left, full stop.
Because a good chunk of time your just making it harder for the person who is holding everyone up to move over. I’ve seen lots of people pull out from behind me in the fast lane and go past me and the car in front of me, and then the car in front will move over. Sometimes people do want to get out of the way but people are to impatient to let them.
What the fuck? How is doing something unsafe not making things worse?
I drive like a German: I only go on the left lane of a highway if I am passing someone.
Must be nice. I think semis are the worst when it comes to causing traffic. Swear to god, every single one gets on the highway and immediately moves to the middle lane, at least, even when they are going like 20 under and passing no one.
EDIT: It's my fault for not being more clear. This is on a 6 lane highway. I also think people missed my point about them not going fast enough yet so cars are passing them on the left and right. Why get over 3-4 lanes and force everyone in those lanes to slow down and/or go around while they are still trying to pick up speed?
90% of the time that's because everyone sits ten feet behind them so if they're next to an onramp no one can merge. And seeing as they're sixty feet long they can't exactly merge left to let someone on (because that person sitting halfway up their colon sure as fuck won't) because there's not going to be any room.
I don't particularly like it when people sit in the middle lane either... but until people realize they're not competing with everyone else on the road and actually leave enough space for people to merge (from an onramp, from another lane, wherever) then it's only responsible to ensure that people have at least a somewhat fighting chance to actually get on the highway in the first place.
I usually go mostly left lane if there is a lot of traffic because otherwise I'm going from lane to lane because I'm passing someone all the time (I tend to drive 10kmh over the speed limit) but if I see that someone is coming really fast behind I make a room for them to go past me
That's basically my MO too.
Left lane is for overtaking. End of story
If you finished overtaking you go back to middle or right depending on the circumstances.
Don't be a middle lane driver, always go to the most right lane possible.
The middle lane is also just for overtaking. The left lane is to overtake someone that is overtaking someone.
Left is for passing, if you’re just driving then you’re in the right lane until you come up on someone to pass
This is a good philosophy, not just for traffic flow but for safety. If a drunk or disoriented driver is going the wrong way they're usually going to be in what is to you the left lane, which to them is the right lane. So they'll just go past you instead of into you.
If you’re in the left lane, and there’s someone behind you but no one in front of you, move over and let them pass. Simple.
Or better yet, if there's room to your right and the lane to your right isn't the right-most lane, move right. It doesn't matter if someone is behind you or if you're one lane from the left, move right if you're not passing someone.
Far too many people camp in the left most lane when there's plenty of room to the right. This forces traffic that you're probably not actually noticing to pass on the right, which is unsafe and, in some areas, illegal.
So you move over and crash into the car to the right of you that you wanted to pass.
I once went to a conference as a vendor and they hired a temp to go with us to do a lot of the grunt work and had him drive the van there and back. He would drive under the speed limit in the left lane. When I couldn't take it anymore and finally said something, he said, "I like driving in the left lane!"
They had to practically hold me back from strangling him.
I'm much calmer these days.
I've heard that a society governed purely by logic would be one that never takes emotion into account, one that only sees the cold logic.
That sounds bad. That being said:
We live in a society where people actively enjoy becoming road hazards, subsequently becoming dangerous to others whilst staying relatively safe themselves.
Idk, maybe we meet somewhere in the middle? Cuz I feel like those feelings should not be respected.
Because your wish was granted, right?
He left my presence still breathing, but I assume someone else has strangled him by now.
“Failure to yield” is a law in some places. You don’t get to lane camp.
Also, most states have “Keep right except to pass” laws. So if you’re not actively passing, you need to move over.
So yeah, they are breaking laws.
This works the other way too, though. If they are passing slower traffic, it doesn't matter if you want to pass even faster, you gotta be patient and wait until they are no longer passing and pull back into the outside lane before you pass.
I have met some people online that are very allergic to the idea of breaking the law. Which is kinda exotic for me because where I live (middle-Eastern Europe) the uncommon is for someone to actually stick to the law lol. It’s very interesting that we are so different in this.
For us when there was communism here, everyone had to break the laws to get by and so we are probably used to it even when most of the laws actually make sense nowadays.
Oh you mean like Slovakia, not like Lebanese-Spain
I don't want to be in the left with you animals. Tell the guy in the right to at least to do the fucking limit.
See, this is the problem. You either risk getting a ticket by keeping up with the 15mph+ people in the left, or you deal with grandma and grandpa doing 10mph under on the right. So a lot of us end up having to leapfrog back and forth. I just want to maintain my socially and legally acceptable 4mph over.
From right to left, the lanes are for drivers who follow the laws as written, the laws as enforced, and the laws of physics.
This sounds like where I live. Everyone is either going 20 over the limit or 10 under it the whole way and both are constantly trying to change lanes for no legitimate reason lol
And most of the time they don’t use their turn signals
IT'S CALLED THE FUCKING PASSING LANE FOR CHRISTS SAKE! FUCK!
Just remember fool, ONLY ONE LAW AT A TIME.
While I understand you deserve to pass in the passing lane, I do to. The cars to my right are going 55, I'm going 60. I would love to get over but I'm passing the people going 55. If I were to get over, I would be doing 50.
As soon as it is safe, I will allow you to pass. Sorry about the delay.
I've learned to flip it the other way. If there isn't anyone coming, sure, pass going 60. If there is, i'm probably doing 65-70 just long enough to pass the 55. It minimizes the time I spend in someone's way and allows me to return to my comfort zone as quickly as possible. It also allows the 55 to not have anyone riding them and the 70+ to sail on past.
Is it legally correct? Nope. Is it effective? Yup. Does it allow me to set my cruise at the speed limit and ignore most people most of the time? Hell yes.
Cool man, definitely pass, but maybe before you do look in the rear view. If someone is coming to pass the 55 at 75, maybe you wait 8 seconds? If not, kinda YTA.
That's like when you see a chain of traffic and pull out in front of the last guy in the group: they have to brake because you couldn't wait a few more seconds to actually have enough time and space.
I am not sorry about the delay. I drive the speed limit, others should too. Then there would be no delay.
Road traffic isn't a game. Having to drive five miles per hour slower for thirty seconds isn't going to meaningfully add any time to your commute. The road is a stupid thing to get mad over.
If you aren't going 90mph on your way into Detroit you're causing a traffic jam. Full stop.
People driving slowly in the passing lane (left most lane) just make everyone else less safe: https://www.vox.com/2014/6/16/5804590/slow-left-lane-driving-rules-us-traffic-illegal
Here's a revolutionary option for making left lane safe: respect the speed limit.
It's not law-abiding drivers that are the issue, it's those who ignore rules and speed up. Shifting blame on "slow drivers" is dangerously wrong.
If you truly wanted to break the law for real, you'd be alone in the carpool lane going 115mph.
Wise man once said, only break 1 law at a time.
Why can't people drive
or better still: not drive.
I rarely see law enforcement go after the people driving like aggressive idiots. Always the poor Joe late for work going 5 mph over...
Drive a newer looking pickup truck. They won't mess with you because you're obviously "good people" if you can afford something like that. Avoid driving a clapped out Nissan, because you're a bad person if that's what you're driving. You have to think like an idiot with a highschool education.
Your statistics suggest you should drive like an aggressive idiot.
Sounds kinda like what happened to a friend of mine years ago. Cop pulls him over for speeding a bit, other people were going noticeably faster. He asks the cop why him and not some of the other people, cop says it's because he was easier to get to since he wasn't going as much over the limit as the others.
Basically, it was the "you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun your friend" of the automobile world.
I hate the truck that always rides your ass like Bruh I can't go any faster than the Goober in front of me.. CHILL
I had one of those a while back. We were stuck behind a line of like 6 cars so there's nothing to be done but he's behind me flashing his lights and all pissed. Eventually there was a gap in the right lane and he used that to pass me and then cut off the guy in front of me hanging out his window and flipping me off the whole time. He then cut off the next person in the right lane and immediately get stuck behind the person in front them and all of us in the left lane passed him again which was pretty funny.
ACAB includes civilian speed traps
ACAB is when civil engineers try to prevent traffic accidents
So many people seriously supporting breaking speed limits is insane.
Guys, these rules are there for a very good reason, and this reason is spilled in blood all over the roads.
No, you're not "competent enough" to break those limits. You're overstimating yourself, and this is a fallacy many people have. And every day some of those overconfident people get straight to the grave, taking normal people with them.
I always thought it was safer to drive at a similar speed to those around you. If everyone is going 73 in a 65, is it really safer to be going 65?
It's safest for all to go 65.
And if they all go 73 where the limit is 65, it's still their bad - we shouldn't move the blame on drivers doing what they should and driving by limits.
Adjusting to people going 73 is supporting unsafe driving practices for the sake of immediate gain.
If anything, I support any programs that encourage installs of speed cameras and enforcing stricter rules to force everyone to go 65 and not a mile more, unless overtaking. But until then, any accidents involving such speed differences are to blame on the speeders, and not the other way around.
Depends on where you are, traffic, and driving conditions. Generally though yeah, you stay out of the left lane unless passing when you're outside of urban and suburban areas.
I've seen so many wrecks because of assholes trying to go 85-150 MPH on a god damn road. The comments here enforce the idea that people are just selfish, self centered motherfuckers when it comes to driving on the highway. There is a posted fucking speed LIMIT for a god damn reason. Leave earlier if you want to get to your fucking destination on time.
Germany has proved it's not the speed that causes the accidents it's the excessive lane changing resulting in cutting people off.
Cell phone addiction doesn't help either.
Look, I'm not going to budge. I do not think people need to be going over 90/100 MPH on the road, with many other people driving, with animals also in the picture. I think it's reckless, stupid, and just not necessary in any capacity. Again, I have seen too many fools driving way too fucking fast, hurt other innocent people because of their stupidity.
"Selfish, self centered motherfuckers" would also describe those in the left lane while not passing with others behind them. No numbers needed. If someone is on your tail in the left lane and the right is open, move right. Everyone is safer, even people dumb enough to go 150, when passers aren't forced to weave between lanes.
Is your point the speed limit signs should be followed, but the "keep right except to pass" signs are ok to ignore?
I've never seen one of those in my state. I DO see plenty of SPEED LIMIT 70 MPH signs though. I think the keep right is fucking stupid, because it just causes drivers to swerve in and out of traffic, which is dangerous for multiple reasons, but will also cause congestion on the on ramps on to the interstate itself. It just goes to show you how each state having it's own laws for driving is fucking stupid also.
this only applies to not very congested roads. I'm la type areas where there's always traffic it doesn't work
I can't begin to describe how much I disagree with this. The speed limit is the limit to how fast you are legally allowed to drive. No lane legally enables you to go faster. The attitudes normalizing speeding are stupid. You're not entitled to go dangerous speeds.
Did you miss the part where they specifically stated they wanted to break the law?
It's very simple, the left lane is for passing and the right lane is for not passing. It's clearly defined as such.
40mph semi passing a heavier/slower 35mph semi, while annoying at times, is a completely correct use of the lane. As is someone going the speed limit passing someone else going 5 under. A 250mph Lambo passing a 220mph Porsche is also using the lane correctly.
Speeding is completely separate. If someone is speeding then they might get a speeding ticket, but it will not matter at all which lane they happen to be in. If they get a ticket related to the lane they are in, it would be in relation to incorrectly using the lane (such as passing on the right. The left lane is not for blocking speeders, its for passing. Call the cops if you would like them ticketed for driving dangerously, but blocking them just makes an already dangerous situation more dangerous.
My point is everyone is supposed to be in the right lane at all times unless actively passing, including the Lambo. Everyone.
If I'm on a totally empty highway I would drive for the entire journey without going in the left lane as there would be literally no reason to. Doesn't matter at all if I'm driving a slow semi or fast Lambo.
This is exactly why I think it should be called " the passing lane" because, reasonably, people can argue that if they are going the speed limit they have full right to "the fast lane."
The passing lane gives everyone reasonable access to it. You drive 10 under, but stuck behind someone who is 15 under? Yup you have access to it because you shouldnt have to go slow.
You want to go 5 over? Well, someone else might want to go 10 over. So you stay out of the lane so they can pass.
But in the end it's not up to you to decide whether they are going too fast or now. It's the passing lane and if you aren't currently passing, get out of it.
I am certainly aware that diving at dangerous speeds is stupid, which is why I am keeping my speed to a safe 10 over the limit.
It's the left lane actually, it really is the law here.
Counterpoint. This isn't the law everywhere, and also lots of the laws codifying a left lane as a passing / fast lane happened after I started driving, so from my perspective they're part of a new perspective on it, so my values on this are grounded from a different viewpoint.
It's also escalating. I swear the last meme about this was like "if you're not going over the speed limit in the left lane fuck off. That's the crime lane" next year it'll be "if you're not going 50 over all the time fuck you." And the comments will roar in approval.
Fuck cars.
A lot of misunderstanding here, as should be expected, considering the topic and the reality it relates to.
Let's put it simply: if you're "passing" in the left lane and there's space between the first vehicle you're overtaking & the next one, and those also passing behind you are going faster than you prefer/are capable of? No biggie. Just say these words along with me, ok?
Get. The fuck. Over. 🤗
You can continue your Sunday afternoon cruise after the adults have left you behind.
See those lights/blinkers in your mirrors? They're for you and because of you. Get. The fuck. Over.
And, if you feel the urge to whine about it, that's fine too. Out of the passing lane. 🤷🏼♂️
It's pretty simple: not the fastest vehicle in the passing lane? GTFO. You can harumph to yourself about life not being fair once you're no longer CAUSING FUCKING TRAFFIC, chucklehead. 🤣🖕🏽
Your whole comment is entitlement. If the vehicle in the passing lane is going the speed limit, or matching the speed of cars traveling in the other lane, then sure, you have an argument.
But if traffic in the center lane is moving at 70 mph, and the car in front of you is traveling at 75 mph in the passing lane, but you're doing 80+, guess what?!
You can flash your lights and use every blinker in your car that you want, you're reckless driving, traveling at speeds that are unsafe, and the cop that pulls you over isn't gonna give a flying fuck that you were in the passing lane.
And y'know how I can tell you view the passing lane as a personal camping lane? Because you never indicated that you, or the people flashing their lights/blinkers/horns/whatever, ever move back over. The left lane is not for camping, it's for passing and then merging back over.
No one needs to move more quickly because you feel the need for speed, or are late for who fucking cares. You wanna drive fast? Take your shitbox to a track and drive like an asshole to your hearts content.
So unless those lights you're flashing are red and blue with a siren, you can kiss my sweet, 5 mph-over-the-speed-limit driving ass.
There was a way you could have said that without being a smug dick about it. You have however perfectly illustrated exactly which type of person camps in the passing lane going 30 over the speed limit all day...
Well done 👏👏👏
It doesn't matter who's faster, what matters is if the car in front is actively passing. If there's a big enough gap that the car in front can merge over without having to slam on their brakes to match the slower flow, then yes, they should move over. But if there isn't, then I guess you need to wait until there is.
The rule should be codified and enforced as something like: stay right except to pass, and passing on the right is illegal. That's simple. If there's room to your right, regardless of traffic behind you, you should move right. It doesn't matter what speed you're going, if there's room, move right. The only exception here is on highways with more than two lanes, in which case it's totally fine to leave the right lane open for people exiting and entering the highway. Other than that, stay right. And if someone else isn't following that law, call traffic enforcement and don't pass on the right.
Wrong reality. It’s for passing not speeding down the freeway
Ah, children. So darling.
Let me guess..your car is a BMW, right ? You got to be the moron in a BMW ?
