The left lane is for PASSING you idiot!

reply to post by FortAnthem


Not a law in all states....though it is accepted that the left lane is for passing.

I once got pulled over in GA for doing it though, same as this lady, going the speed limit, but in the left lane.
However, I was doing so, because recent construction left the middle and right lane rough, and a mess.

I can't believe the cop pulled me over for that! Must have been my FL plate. At least I just got a warning... There weren't even any other cars on the damn road.....

hah, you sound like my father. "don't drive in the left lane, ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" well i do drive in the left lane sometimes--usually when there is no one around to impede. get over it, hehe, it's kind of funny to see someone get so pissed over something so trivial.

reply to post by AfterInfinity



She keeps saying she got a speeding ticket. She got a ticket for riding in the left lane. As an ex-semi driver, I can assure you she isn't the only one out there who seems oblivious to the fact that the left lane is for passing only. In some places, the left lane is less worn, and gives a smoother ride, and some folks have no consideration for the other vehicles because of the confusion they cause. Most people either pass on the right, or just ride their butt until they move over. Both situations are dangerous. They seem to look at it as if they're entitled to mope along in whichever lane they choose. Either that, or they just don't have a clue period !

Originally posted by Threadfall
hah, you sound like my father. "don't drive in the left lane, ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" well i do drive in the left lane sometimes--usually when there is no one around to impede. get over it, hehe, it's kind of funny to see someone get so pissed over something so trivial.

Your nonchalant attitude about it is what gets people killed. I guess it doesn't matter that it's illegal ? If you'd seen what I've seen through the years, it would be anything but "kind of funny". You should listen to your father.

reply to post by Okeyd57


Not all states have it as a law. Florida doesn't...it's just customary. But, with all of our construction, sometimes, you'll see it. That said, as a fairly reasonable speed driver, I do try and get back in the more normal lanes as soon as possible..

Not sure which is worse... People going too slow in the left lane (or not getting out of it when not passing anybody else) or those people that pass on the right even though the lane to the left is clear. (Passing on the right in this manner seems to be a good way to rear-end merging or exiting traffic.)

You think people would be able to figure this out...

As usually taught and lane usage in theory:
Left lane --> hauling a##.
Middle lane --> cruising (going with the flow when possible).
Right lane --> can't keep up for whatever reason (broken car or blind/distracted driver), or traffic entering or exiting highway traffic.

But in practice:
Left lane --> Don't give a ####, do whatever.
Middle lane --> Don't give a ####, do whatever.
Right lane --> Don't give a ####, do whatever.

Anyhow it's nice to see traffic impedement laws enforced. Supposedly they also exist in my state, but I've never really seen them enforced. (Likely rarely enforced as highways around here have the occasional split or left exit that could excuse slower traffic that would be considered out of place otherwise.)

Every year there is a new crowd of idiots with their driver's license. Or not; you only need a license when you want to drive a car legally. I do like a well placed road rage, because it means somebody is awake.

The left lane is for passing. Horns are for emergencies, not to drive the car ahead of you. Use your blinkers to tell other people where you plan to go. Don't get so close that you can't see the bottom of the tires of the car in front of you.

Cars are for driving in, not eating in or putting makeup in, or texting in. Or calls. Yeah I said it, the phone-to-ear calls is an idiot sign, get an extension.

The biggest idiot on the road will be driving a minivan. Room for 8 but only one person inside.
Somehow, they are also an idiot if they are driving a brand new car badly. It's a sign their previous one was totaled.

The most idiots you'll ever see is on the weekend when all the 9-to-5ers come out of their cubicle farms. The second most is at evening rush hour. They forget that they are on the road with thousands of other drivers and have to share space, that it's not a race to a finish line.

Once you have mastered a big city freeway knot work full of numbers, you can drive the entire country unless you are in a town that is full of idiots who have never been on a big city freeway.

Oh, and a phenomenon I've been seeing that is subconscious to the drivers, once they see an onramp merge sign, they automatically merge to the lane to their left, even when cars aren't on the onramp. It means they are ultimately not paying attention.

The left lane is for passing... in Texas maybe. In California it's for people with 2 or more passengers in the car, the HOV lane. All the other places it's for driving faster than everybody else, regardless of the numbers on the speed sign.

I get the don't drive in the left lane if you're not passing but I don't get the go faster. Speed limit is the speed limit. If she's going almost the limit then she really can't go much faster and no other cars can go faster neither. In fact if she's at the limit there's not way anyone can catch up to her and no one can pass her neither.

Where exactly is the problem?

reply to post by FortAnthem


I can certainly understand the frustration, if she was, in fact, ticketed for being in a clearly marked passing lane. However, she states that the ticket was for driving two miles per hour under the speed limit. If that is accurate, then the cop did something very stupid. Two miles per hour under the speed limit would NOT be "obstructing traffic, as there are minimum speeds, and two under isn't the minimum. Of course, unless the actual ticket is posted, we have no way to know what it was written for. Most likely, she was told she was driving slower than the right-lane traffic, in the passing lane, and was thus a hazard. So, ticked off, she decided to create a big public outcry, in an attempt to get out of paying a legitimate ticket. She would know that the police could not reveal information about her case, and thus know that she could lie to the press all she wanted. Her driving annoys me far less than her attitude over the ticket.

It is a traffic infraction in the state of Washington to camp in the left lane. Here's the statute.

46.61.100 Keep right except when passing, etc.

(2) Upon all roadways having two or more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction, all vehicles shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, except (a) when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, (b) when traveling at a speed greater than the traffic flow,

(4) It is a traffic infraction to drive continuously in the left lane of a multilane roadway when it impedes the flow of other traffic.

Legislative intent -- 1986 c 93: "It is the intent of the legislature, in this 1985 [1986] amendment of RCW 46.61.100, that the left-hand lane on any state highway with two or more lanes in the same direction be used primarily as a passing lane." [1986 c 93 § 1.]

Washington State Patrol media release

Slower moving vehicles traveling in the left lane create unsafe conditions which can include:

Causing other drivers to make dangerous passes on the right side.
Frustration with the left lane drivers leading to aggressive driving.
Slower response time for emergency vehicles responding to collisions or calls for service.

Troopers often stop drivers for continuously driving in the left lane and the motorists often state, “I didn’t realize it was against the law.”

Originally posted by Okeyd57

Originally posted by Threadfall
hah, you sound like my father. "don't drive in the left lane, ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" well i do drive in the left lane sometimes--usually when there is no one around to impede. get over it, hehe, it's kind of funny to see someone get so pissed over something so trivial.

Your nonchalant attitude about it is what gets people killed. I guess it doesn't matter that it's illegal ? If you'd seen what I've seen through the years, it would be anything but "kind of funny". You should listen to your father.

I'm a fine driver thank you. And my "nonchalant" attitude has never gotten anyone killed on the road. Have you ever done anything illegal? I don't see the danger in driving on the left if no one is around, especially if the right lane is lousy. And I certainly don't think it is something to get irate about.

That was my biggest pet peeve when I lived in Washington state. Those people are the worst. It's bad enough that you have to drive 55 on the Interstate, but it's even worse when people are going 45 or 50 in the fast lane. Recently here in my hometown of Miami, Ok they built a 4 lane section of HWY 10 east of town to compensate for all the casino traffic. It's outside of town, in a rural area. It went from a two-lane blacktop with no shoulder and a 55 mph speed limit to a 4-lane road and a 45 mph speed limit, and people still drive to slow!

Sorry for going off on a tangent, but it was kind of related.

Originally posted by AfterInfinity
reply to post by FortAnthem

 

So our economy is crashing, Korea is threatening a nuclear war, our troops are still in the Middle East, there are shootings happening all over the nation, and you choose to get hacked off over someone driving two miles under the limit in the left lane?

Tell me more about how that is so irritating in comparison to the hell this world is going through.

edit on 12-3-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

Maybe he's hacked off because he has to endure this stupidity on a daily basis, as I do on the 2-lane corridor of I-75 between Athens and Cleveland, Tennessee EVERY FRICKING DAY! I'm almost without exception stuck for at least part of my trip by some alpha-hole in the left lane going 66mph passing a series of trucks in the right lane going 65. And guess what? The speed limit is 70!!! Even for TRUCKS! I understand that the truckers are saving fuel, and they tend to clump together for that same reason, but the jerks I'm talking about could easily move over into the gap between trucks to let the line of cars behind them pass, but they don't give a damn about anyone else but themselves. On rare occasion, I am in a position of having to drive slow-ish. But when I need to pass a particularly slow car or truck in the right lane, I watch my rearview so as not to impede the progress of my fellow human beings, to whom I generally like to be considerate (you know, golden rule and all?).

Yeah, some of us have some place to be (like work???), and we would appreciate it if other drivers could grow the common courtesy to check their rearview once in a while and MOVE INTO THE RIGHT LANE when they aren't passing AT LEAST AT THE SPEED LIMIT! If you're not in enough of a hurry to drive the speed limit, you have NO BUSINESS passing multiple vehicles in the left lane while there is a line of cars behind you. Period!

Yeah, this kind of driving has become all too common since my generation started having children (I'm 42). I think it has to do with the school system ceasing the instruction in manners that used to be the norm.

I'm with you seamus....I have driven that route numerous times.....my mom lived in Cleveland for years....now she lives in Rossville and my sister in Wildwood. Seems like the closer one gets to a population center the worse it gets. I-75/24 through Chattanooga is bad too, but up near Sweetwater (my uncle lives in Ten Mile) it seems to be not too bad.

Again....arrogant, self-righteous, self anointed traffic monitors.

Originally posted by Threadfall

Originally posted by Okeyd57

Originally posted by Threadfall
hah, you sound like my father. "don't drive in the left lane, ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" well i do drive in the left lane sometimes--usually when there is no one around to impede. get over it, hehe, it's kind of funny to see someone get so pissed over something so trivial.

Your nonchalant attitude about it is what gets people killed. I guess it doesn't matter that it's illegal ? If you'd seen what I've seen through the years, it would be anything but "kind of funny". You should listen to your father.

I'm a fine driver thank you. And my "nonchalant" attitude has never gotten anyone killed on the road. Have you ever done anything illegal? I don't see the danger in driving on the left if no one is around, especially if the right lane is lousy. And I certainly don't think it is something to get irate about.

Totally agree. In this particular case, it's against the law. Same as in my state (as of fairly recently). NOT the case in all places, and totally irrelevant if you aren't driving more slowly than the right lane. Plus, in heavy traffic, there will be cars filling all the lanes, anyway. The focus should be on safety and courtesy, not arbitrary details.

Originally posted by dave_welch
That was my biggest pet peeve when I lived in Washington state. Those people are the worst. It's bad enough that you have to drive 55 on the Interstate, but it's even worse when people are going 45 or 50 in the fast lane. Recently here in my hometown of Miami, Ok they built a 4 lane section of HWY 10 east of town to compensate for all the casino traffic. It's outside of town, in a rural area. It went from a two-lane blacktop with no shoulder and a 55 mph speed limit to a 4-lane road and a 45 mph speed limit, and people still drive to slow!

Sorry for going off on a tangent, but it was kind of related.

Well, that's the key - impeding traffic in the lane, not simply driving in it! There are people that deliberately drive more slowly than the rest on the road, because they think they have a right to determine the speed of others. More that refuse to allow anyone to pass them, no matter how fast they are going (or how slowly!), and who will block passing vehicles just to be "in front". Highly annoying!

As a side note, LOVE your avatar!

Agree also, it doesnt matter where you drive or why when theres no one around, its how you behave when people are around.

"King of the road" isnt the way to think, when everyone thinks they are the king!

I drive and ride like i walk and talk. Polite, courteous and well mannered. Because i believe that setting a good example is just as important for general education as punishment for negative actions.

reply to post by FortAnthem


how dare that woman slow down the speeders.

Originally posted by votan
reply to post by FortAnthem

 

how dare that woman slow down the speeders.

There's a reason you don't do standup.

Originally posted by pauljs75
Not sure which is worse... People going too slow in the left lane (or not getting out of it when not passing anybody else) or those people that pass on the right even though the lane to the left is clear. (Passing on the right in this manner seems to be a good way to rear-end merging or exiting traffic.)

You think people would be able to figure this out...

As usually taught and lane usage in theory:
Left lane --> hauling a##.
Middle lane --> cruising (going with the flow when possible).
Right lane --> can't keep up for whatever reason (broken car or blind/distracted driver), or traffic entering or exiting highway traffic.

But in practice:
Left lane --> Don't give a ####, do whatever.
Middle lane --> Don't give a ####, do whatever.
Right lane --> Don't give a ####, do whatever.

Anyhow it's nice to see traffic impedement laws enforced. Supposedly they also exist in my state, but I've never really seen them enforced. (Likely rarely enforced as highways around here have the occasional split or left exit that could excuse slower traffic that would be considered out of place otherwise.)

Not all interstates have three lanes. I know where I am we have two lane until you get closer to Denver, but between Denver and Wyoming it is mostly 2 lane on my nearest interstate hiway. Inevitably once we get to the three lanes people will try to use it to pass the slower drivers and be stuck behind some idiot going slow in the left lane.

Originally posted by Sandalphon
Every year there is a new crowd of idiots with their driver's license. Or not; you only need a license when you want to drive a car legally. I do like a well placed road rage, because it means somebody is awake.

The left lane is for passing. Horns are for emergencies, not to drive the car ahead of you. Use your blinkers to tell other people where you plan to go. Don't get so close that you can't see the bottom of the tires of the car in front of you.

Cars are for driving in, not eating in or putting makeup in, or texting in. Or calls. Yeah I said it, the phone-to-ear calls is an idiot sign, get an extension.

The biggest idiot on the road will be driving a minivan. Room for 8 but only one person inside.
Somehow, they are also an idiot if they are driving a brand new car badly. It's a sign their previous one was totaled.

The most idiots you'll ever see is on the weekend when all the 9-to-5ers come out of their cubicle farms. The second most is at evening rush hour. They forget that they are on the road with thousands of other drivers and have to share space, that it's not a race to a finish line.

Once you have mastered a big city freeway knot work full of numbers, you can drive the entire country unless you are in a town that is full of idiots who have never been on a big city freeway.

Oh, and a phenomenon I've been seeing that is subconscious to the drivers, once they see an onramp merge sign, they automatically merge to the lane to their left, even when cars aren't on the onramp. It means they are ultimately not paying attention.

The left lane is for passing... in Texas maybe. In California it's for people with 2 or more passengers in the car, the HOV lane. All the other places it's for driving faster than everybody else, regardless of the numbers on the speed sign.

About the minivan thing.. unfortunately I have a minivan because I have four kids. I don't always have all of the kids with me, but it is my only vehicle so often times I travel alone.. in a minivan that seats 7.