kEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS

I'm no fast driver, so I always drive in the right hand lane. But I'm surprised that so many hot dogs think that it should be some sort of major offense if somebody drives the maximum allowable speed when they're in the left hand lane. Why should a law abiding driver be expected to move over to the right hand lane just so that some self appointed speed demon can pretend he's AJ Foyt and drive 40 miles over the speed limit???

When I walk up to the teller's window in a bank, should I always stand to the right of the window just in case a bank robber might want to break the law and steal the money?

 

I've had a huge beef with these kind of drivers all my driving life. Having driven in Europe at 16 and a few times since then I see what the US is lacking in educating the driving public. Part of it is not education, it's purely not giving a s@#t. I've driven since I was 13 having lived in the country and could drive better that 50% of the public by the time I had my licence. I drive fast, not reckless, but as the conditions permit or require. Where I live, I think we have some of the worst drivers on the planet. On the freeway, with two lanes, 90% of the traffic is in the fast lane, stop and go, very dangerous. The majority of accidents, I feel, are from these driving conditions. The other day, on the east side of town here, terrible populated street a guy half merged into the turn lane, stopped with many slamming there brakes behind him, looked around, then almost hit a car on the right getting bask into the lane. A cop was right behind them and didn't even bother to do anything. This particular street, Milpas for you that know Santa Barbara, has at least 10 traffic violations each time I have to drive down it. It's third world at best in my opinion. I guess it's a matter of the number of officers enforcing the law and priorities. We're not high crime here at all but I guess these types of law breakers aren't on the list for taking up their time. I'm going to me p@@sed if I have to go to traffic school for failing to fully stop at a stoplight, though!

Jeff

 

What if it *IS* AJ Foyt?

Who are you to decide what the other driver and vehicle combination are capable of on the roads? Are you basing your criteria of others on your own abilities? On your opinion that everyone else in the world is "worse" than you?

People who take it on themselves to impose "penalties" on those they perceive as "lawbreakers" are know as vigilantes. There's a law against them, too.

Speed limits are an opinion made by a chair-bound paper pusher about what Aunt Sadie in her Yugo can handle. And then the politicians keep lowering them every time there's any kind of accident. (It's cheaper than fixing the roads, or having cops enforce lane control laws.)



Many years ago, I was tooling down the GSP at ... well, I was out of double digit land. This was in my fully kitted out rally car.

I got passed.

By an old Buick that seemed to only touch down a tire every few yards. It looked pretty reckless to me, but as it was wreckless, maybe he knew something I didn't.

And even if not, I didn't want him near me when he crashed.


This epidemic of people thinking they have the right to impose their views on others is a leading cause of road rage --- and a fundamental violation of the inclusive culture that built this country. Diversity should be embraced, not stamped out just so you can tell yourself that *your* life choices are the One True Right ones. (Maybe they are -- for you. Not for the next guy.)

This counter-revolution against diversity seems to be closely linked to the tendency of the incompetent to try to keep the competent from doing any better than the lowest common denominator. Which is cause, and which is effect? Or do they just fuel each other?


And failure to keep right is as much a violation of the law as speeding.
(Even if there isn't a radar gun with a court admissible printout for lane violations.)

So does your being a "self appointed" road block give others (say, a hummer) the right to punt you off the road? After all, you're violating a law, so you're fair game (by your theory).

 

Horsefly,
The left lane is for passing. It is not up to you or your friends to become cops and sit in the "passing lane" to make sure nobody "speeds" while passing sign after sign telling them that slower traffic should remain on the right.

Bob

 

Reasonable and prudent driving should be the norm. By that in my opinon driving with the flow at speeds maybe 10-15 mph over the limit on expressway type highways are acceptable. I think you will also find that most police will leave these folks alone. The weavers and tailgaters should be stopped before they create an accident. Staying in the right lane except to pass should be the norm and these folks if traveling at the posted limit should not be harrassed. The difference of the NASCAR crowd is they all know each other so traveling at that speed they pretty much know what each will do. For some traveling at 150mph (thats like almost 1/2 mile per second) they never know when someone will pull out to pass or a deer will cross the road. I don't care how well the better then avg. non race driver think they can drive they need to be thinking what they will be doing more then a 1/2 mile ahead of themselves. I recall the many times I've driven in Germany and when you saw a car in the left lane with their right hand directional on you pulled over . If they were up in the 3 digit range they would flash their lights at least a 1/4 mile away and you would pull over. This would work good out west but not in the Fl. or NY or Ca. or other high traffic areas. So how do you solve this , go to the track and burn off your frustrations. I just turned on the TV and in the NYC news there was a 1 car accident on one of the local highways (bronx river parkway) at about 3AM this morning. Roads were empty and this SUV with 4 people in it doing over 90mph lost it and all got killed. Good thing no innocent person was killed. So my net is stay in the 10mph over range , keep right , stop for stop signs , use your directionals and don't kill my wife and kids. Enjoy the ride

 

I have high hopes now for the Mexican Truckers that have just been allowed byt the Bush Administration to cross the border and make their deliveries in the US.
Mind you, I am not being sarcastic: I believe they might show us better road manners than many of us.

 

One of the things I like about driving in California is that trucks must stay in the right hand lanes. On a 6 lane highway they can pass in the middle lane. This is great because when one of these monsters gets in the left hand lane you can't see the road ahead for hazards. Wishing all states would do this, particularly Colorado.

 

All traffic enforcement in the US is primarily revenue driven, any safety benefit is only collateral.

 

Report I've read says after four, closing time in NY, want to bet EtOH and certain substances were involved?

I don't know them, but did they all need killing?

 

No problem as long as you are passing someone slower. However, when the conditions allow you to safely get back into the right lane you should do so and allow the people behind you to pass. What really frustrates me is when a person is in the left lane going 71mph passing a line of cars going 70mph. It can take forever for them to get around when just a couple of mph more for a short period of time would make things so much more bearable. Even more so is when two 18-wheelers are side-by-side slowing down to 60mph going up a hill. Why the hell can't one of them slow down and clear one lane up?

 

It all comes down to lack of courtesy for fellow drives, lack of education as to "accepted" (not nessecarily legal) road etiquette, and inattentive drivers.

Problem can't be solved..perhaps improved, but never solved.

 

All the posts are good and we all know there are bad ones out there. However I routinely drive in the left hand lane. I select it for road surface on a completely open road sometimes. I select it for visibility sometimes. If there is a car even 100 yards in front of me I will move over sometimes to see further. If there is a truck, I really want to see more and I'm going around.

We are all familiar with roads that have 3,4 or more lanes. These roads need to have people in all lanes to maximize its use.


I know what you mean though. Sometimes I will pass right, shift left, match speed and put my right turn signal on for a while. Just to remind them of the other possibilities. I've actually seen some take the suggestion.

 

This problem is even reflected by the language:

1. "Slower Traffic Keep Right." What horrible wording. The "-er" goes right over readers' heads, and no one considers themselves "slow." These signs should instead read "All Traffic Keep Right Except To Pass." The "All Traffic" part is essential because a lot of people invent in their minds exceptions to the keep-right principal, such as the popular "I'm going the limit" argument.

2. "Fast Lane." Again, who likes to think of themselves as slow? Also reinforces the notion that what matters is absolute speed rather than relative speed. It's "Passing Lane."

3. "Slow Lane." See #2. It's "Right Lane" (an appropriate double-entendre).

4. Numbering lanes left-to-right. The #1 lane is the leftmost lane, implying that all highways have a "fast lane" and then some number of "slow lanes" that come and go. That's backwards. The #1 lane should be the rightmost. It's way too late to change this one, of course.

 

Visibility is a large part of the "able" formula. There's a stretch of S-turns in New England that I used to take slower in summer than in winter. The traction was less in winter -- but when the leaves filled in on the trees, the visibility sucked. When conditions require, you drive lower than the speed limit.

And I approach blind curves with extreme caution -- especially on narrow New England roads, were drivers often drift into the oncoming lane through curves, if they don't *see* anyone coming. It never ceases to amaze me how many people can believe that the sky is full of invisible flying saucers, but can't comprehend that there might be another car around that blind curve.

I don't drive excessively fast on public roads -- untrained, unskilled, inattentive drivers are scarier than handling and traction limits at speed on a track.

On the street, "defensive" driving has to border on "paranoid". I've seen any manner of utter stupidity from other licensed "drivers". (Using the term very loosely.)

I've gotten five speeding tickets in five decades (all in italian cars, fwiw) (Four were "revenue enhancement"). In all that time, I've had one "wreck" -- a single vehicle incident at 20 mph, caused by a rim failure on a "historic" road with no shoulder at all. (FOD damage, as the brake cooling duct deflected road debris into the rim.) And I still get the "safe driver" discount on my insurance.

I'm not advocating excessive speed: pay attention to precision, and speed will take care of itself, with practice.

But I will stand against people trying to hold others down to their level of incompetence.

These days, I get left lane blocked when I'm well below the limit -- but moving faster than the sheeple sitting in the right lane. (Staring only as far as the bumper ahead of you makes for lousy reaction times, in the average "passenger behind the wheel". "Situation awareness" isn't just for fighter jets.)

I maintain that a 20 year old with a crackerjack box licence, gabbing on the cell phone in an SUV with a sloppy steering linkage (I hate rental cars) cannot use his own level of incompetence to accurately estimate what my capabilities (go stop and turn) are on the road. (And I have been practicing precision for half a century.)

When competence becomes subject to "majority rule", it's clear that the incompetent (in any specific field) outnumber the competent. That's a slope from which there may be no return.

In an era of artificial "metrics" replacing tangible results, self-esteem seems to be approaching an all-time low. Those with no confidence in themselves have even less regard for anyone else.
(Maybe that's why there are so many "E-D" ads on the telly, lately? )

 

Didn't Richie Cunningham give this same speech to the Fonz?

 

I've been thinking about a new license plate frame:

DUMB PEOPLE

KEEP LEFT

However, seeing as the people that should be reading it will be either illiterate or indifferent, I thought I might as well have one that would speak to the more intelligent people who will understand it. Won't help the problem, but then what will?

"SLOWER" PEOPLE

KEEP LEFT

 

I love the insane self justifications given by people on a FERRARI web site concerning why people should be allowed to drive illegally over the posted speed limit. Don't pot smokers, herioin addicts, and meth heads use the same sorts of self justification concerning the use of illegal drugs? Both acts are illegal, and drug abusers are doing it inside the safe confines of a crack house,...not at 140MPH on the highway like Joe Speedy with his hot dog Ferrari. Speed kills, be it speed in a Ferrari or speed inside a pill bottle.
If not, why is there a website called wreckedexotics.com? I'm sure most of those drivers were sure they could handle their hi-po car like AJ or Mario. But alas, many were wrong; DEAD wrong.

 

Some of us are consistent. I have no problem with speeding given appropriate conditions, just like I have no problem with meth/heroin/whatever use. Hell, you could probably even drive on meth just fine.

 

Horsefly- You are NOT alone. I agree w/ everthing you've said. I'm not a particularly fast driver either, though I go with the flow in the fast lane. When I'm already doing 10-15 mph over the posted speed limit, I feel no obligation pull to the right to let some hot dog pass me. He can fu_____ go around! Furthermore, many of the right lanes on many of CA's freeways are in such bad shape that even 65 mph can be hazardous, (esp US 80 between Sac and Reno- if you've driven it, you know what I mean).

 

I do several drives during the year between North and Central CA and, for the most part, it seems like people know to "stay right, pass left" on long road trips. I always know when I'm back in my home town though because the right lane becomes the fast lane. I don't know if it's the signs that say "Slower Traffic Keep Right" don't make sense to people or if it's just they don't want to acknowledge that they are "slower traffic".

 

Anyone ever driven I-95 from Miami north? I will pay the 12.00 to use the Turnpike rather than get on the "freeway". The last time I tried I-95 coming back from the Cavallino Classic I was driving an indicated 80 and people were coming up on me like I was doing 30. If you are lucky, they actually see you in time and slow down from 100+ and try an move to the left lane. If you are not particularly lucky, you get screeching brakes and the evil eye when they manage to pass. Even the Turnpike isn't immune from that kind of driving except there are more troopers on the Turnpike than I-95, so occasionally you see one of the those irresponsible a**holes pulled over and getting a ticket.

 

In Germany, Italy, etc. you can drive as fast as you dare (in some places) but not in the US. Doesn't matter if it's 3 AM and you are the only person on the road, by golly, you just are not supposed to go over the speed limit. South of the US border people drive like crazy and use the horn instead of the brakes or turn signals.

Wonder why the difference.

 

From the S2000 folks:
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Exactly. Driving back from Pebble Beach some of the roads in the right hand lane were so rough and noisy that I drove in the left hand lane for comfort. If a car was faster, I would move over to the right hand lane (after signalling my intentions) to let them by.

So one has to look at the situation on a case by case basis.