kEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS

Holy sh*t please tell me your joking?! Even in Florida I've seen them turn away non-English speakers.

 

And dont forget....the so called "marvel of engineering", the automatic transmission!!! Some say it it for lazy a**es!!!!!

 

They're not cop wannabes, they're "egalitarianists": everyone is created "equal", and must be kept that way, regardless of effort, learning, or ability. AKA: cattle hiding out in the middle of the herd.

It's the notion of bringing everyone down to the lowest common denominator. People no longer question the "drag down the competent" ideology. It's reached the point where people instinctively move in front of any motion. I'd heard of "bird brains" all my life, but now I see it on the roads.

Every day, in DC metro, I'll have someone duck out in front of me to keep me from going past in the empty lane: then they'll hold formation on the lane that isn't moving, despite the empty road in front of them.


Changing times. Many decades ago, I was actually pulled over for being in the left lane without passing, in New Jersey. I wasn't ticketed, but I was pulled over for it. (I was passing, but slowed to the limit when the cop came up behind us.)

But then, it was also illegal to pass on the right, back then. (Picture it: an SUV in the middle lane, people go around on both sides, then try to return to the center lane at the same time -- crunch. Nowdays that's "normal". )

What I find really stupid is that people insist on driving around in formation, with their heads up each other's butts, holding up half the road's traffic ----- and then they wonder why they have trouble changing lanes when they need to, with all the cars on either side of them.

Even the traffic lights sit red long enough to collect traffic into congested clumps. People tell themselves that they're slow because the road's "really busy", but it's just that one clump. There's a long empty stretch behind and ahead of the flocks.

But hey, at least that way they can stay in their lanes -- by bouncing off the adjacent cars. :grr:
(Gotta go mount LGMs on the hard points.)

 

I've driven quite a bit in Italy, France, and Germany. What a pleasure! Drivers really understand that the right lane is for slower traffic, the middle for cruising, and the left for passing.

 

Agreed, it should be a requirement that you have to be able to drive a manual to pass your driving test. If you can't handle one, you really shouldn't be allowed on the road.

 

you should drive down 270 where they have huge signs that say "slower traffic keep right". People drive right by them and pay no heed.

 

People never will get it.

Some just think it's their G*d given right to be in that left lane, others babble on the phone completely oblivious to the fact that someone wants to get past them.

Everyone should be made to go drive on the Autobahn, and see the proper way to drive.

North America's highways are the most infuriating places to drive, that is if you've ever gotten to experience a highway in Europe.

 

I grew up in LA and learned to accelerate up to speed on the onramp so I would merge close to the speed of the traffic. In Florida, they try to merge at 40 MPH when the traffic is going 75. That is really dangerous and on top of that, the people don't move over or let you in. I-95 is only 2 lanes on each side in many places so it makes it worse when people are trying to pass on the right. Generally, I have found the drivers more courteous in LA than Florida. Maybe it is because there are more lanes so you can move over or they can get around you easier. I think most people know it is going to take them a long time to get to their designation and don't get as frustrated.

In Florida, they tailgate like it is a NASCAR race at Daytona in their big trucks. The speed limit is 70 but you have to be doing 80-85 in the left lane or else you will get run down.

Everyone needs to go with the flow of the traffic, whether it is above or below the speed limit. If there are big differences in speed between people, that is dangerous, especially when no one uses their blinkers for lane changes.

 

Not just Florida. A buddy of mine who lived in Seattle used get really p*ssed at people for being inches off his bumper in the rain. He came up with a passive/aggressive way to make them back off. He'd pull his foot off the go-faster pedal and just start to coast. No brake checking them or anything really dangerous. I can tell you from personal experience, it works. And it REALLY works if the lane next to you is full and they can't pass.

 

what you all our describing is the logical evolution of the american driver.
in the usa we have been bestowed the god-given right of car and highway
ownership.the legal introduction is passing a driver's test that literally anyone
can ace. from there, it's a truly "do your own thing on the highway."
is it any wonder we see the behavior exhibited on our roads when our own
police forces fail to recognize that lane discipline is vitrually nonexistant or
not a sgnificant safety issue, or not worthy of enforcement.

if we were in,let's say, germany, this type of driving would not only not be
tolerated, but would be punishable by very steep fines or possibly jail. Why?
because they take their highways very seriously and will not give the roads
over to the masses who are less than competent behind the wheel! and that
goes for the trucking industry and their perceived claims to left lane also, who
are responsible for many serious accidents due to poor lane discipline.

suppose little suzy had to fork over a couple of grand to be "offered" a chance
to sit for a driver's exam, not to mention waiting until she's 21. but think about
this for a minute. would you want to share the road at 130mph+ with a 16yr.old
with less than 10hrs. stick time?

"we have met the enemy and he is us."

 

"We have met the enemy, and he is us..."
Pogo Walt Kelley RIP




I collect First Edition Pogo...he's great!

"Don't take life so seriously, Son.........it ain't a permanent condition, anyhow......"
Albert the Alligator, with cigar

 

You mean you all still actually HAVE drivers ed? Down here, you just show up and tell 'em you've been practicing real hard, and they give you a license. What a joke! I liked Colorado's way a few years ago where the HP would actually ticket people driving the speed limit(75mph) in the left lane if traffic was backing up behind them--they were "obstructing traffic"--those of us who thought R & P meant about 85 to 90!!!

 

I'll disagree there. Having a bunch of drivers who aren't paying attention sitting in formation in a "clump" of traffic, moving 50 or 70 mph together is far more dangerous than letting the left lane pass.

Passing on the right is dangerous, because you can have people trying to merge into the same lane with a truck or SUV (same difference) blocking their view of each other.

But you can't ban passing on the right without getting people out of the left passing lane.

Scale the traffic speeds from left to right (like the Autobahn), and it's considerably safer than having everybody in the same herd. And cuts way down on tailgating.

When I'm being tailgated, I usually check to see if I can let the guy go around. The first person to the next traffic light wins *nothing*. These are roads, not racetracks. On the road, you *do* let faster traffic pass.

(Unless you're the highway administration of all the towns across america -- who are painting out all the passing zones.)

We're becoming a "dumb-ocracy" -- all the government bureaucrats keep telling themselves that the public are even dumber than the bureaucrats are. But trying to make the world safe for the stupidest portion of the population is making things dangerous for everybody.

Think about this one: People who make decisions about the town's (and counties' and federal) roads aren't even required to have a driver's license. I'd think they should be required to drive to work on the roads they manage.

 

The basic problem with this "drive right, pass left" crap is that our highways AREN'T built that way. If you sit down with a traffic (civil) Engineer, you'll find that the number of lanes required assumes equal traffic in both, not 90% in one, 10% in the other.

So some guys can whine all they want but it ain't goin to change.

 

I have always tried to stay to the right unless I'm passing.
I consider it a major failure on my part if I ever get passed on the right.
It means I wasn't checking my mirrors well enough or I was too lazy to move over to the right for a short distance.

I'm always amazed at slower people staying in the left lane forever on long road trips, like on an 8 hour plus drive on Interstate 95.
Do you think they even know that staying in the left lane all day is wrong?

I also use my turn signal for every lane change. This has saved my butt a handful of times in my life when I didn't see someone in my blind spot or didn't notice the car coming up behind me going much faster than me. A quick honk or flashing of headlights from the other guy can save the day, but only if they know what you are about to do.

 

What I love is when someone is sitting in the #1 (fast) lane going 50, then, when you pass them up, they will speed up to try to pass you, no matter how fast you go! Truly disturbed people.

A highway patrol officer told me that you are to drive in the #3 lane ONLY when entering or exiting the freeway, and you are to drive in the #1 lane ONLY when passing people who aren't going fast enough in the #2 lane. If everyone followed this rule, this issue would disappear.

And...... CELL PHONES are the worst thing to happen to highway driving.

 

i've always advocated a performance-oriented, competency method of driver testing.in this scenerio all
prospective licensees would be required to demonstrate their abilities to drive at a speed where vehicle
dynamics is within their skill level.

for instance, if a driver can prove to an instructor that they can handle a car at 100mph in all reasonable
situations on a limited access highway, then their license should be stamped accordingly and they should
be permitted to exercise that skill when it is "reasonable and prudent", with no interference from the police.
drivers not possessing the proper credentials would obviously be mandated to drive much slower and have
steep fines and suspensions to face as a consequence.

some form of testing on a rigorous level will make an instant improvement in highway safety. if you can't pass
muster, you don't drive. it's that simple. we don't pass out pilot's licenses to anyone who can read a pamphlet,
do a 3-point turn, and slalom thru some orange cones. we're talking about people's lives here. getting
some sanity into our driver testing laws will do more for safety than busting someone in their ferrari for doing
150mph in the middle of nevada on a sunny wednesday afternoon with the nearest car a mile away!

oh i can hear the bureaucrats now wailing where will the funding come for all this? where indeed.how do you
place a value on human life? how do you put a pricetag on that?

 

I am always trying to pass and thus own the road and I have complete right to the left lane.

 

http://www.finance.cch.com/sohoApplets/HumanLifeValue.asp

 

You have no such right. If you are not joking, you are stupid. You are also not long for this world. Thankfully. IMHO.

 

I have no problem with that. I don't think you even have to prove anything. If you are out there by yourself, go for it! I do. But, be careful. If there is a dope in the left lane, back off. You can't blow by a fool who never saw you (for whatever reason). Fast driving is only good when there is NOTHING ahead. The average dumbshi* is not paying attention. You have to. You will never get the attention of an idiot talking to another idiot on a cell phone at 0500. Skill is never an issue. It takes nothing but a charge card to drive a minivan.

 

Ever see LeMans, or the ALS? Four different clases of cars from 911s to prototypes, all running at the same time.

It looks pretty congested for a race track, to me. But it works.

"Competence is elitist."

Without protecting the "stupid" vote, how would today's politicians get re-elected?


Nobody questions their gawd-given "right" to obstuct traffic, anymore. The traffic patterns are laid out to let one person hold up everyone else.

It's really bad in the D.C. area, where all the tourists who can't drop a couple of bucks on a map can sit in the middle of the road, wondering where to go, holding up half the county (who would like to tell them where to go. )

This must be "never never land": The roads are full of "lost boys".