Slow drivers in fast (left) lane on freeway

[grampi]

Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by mk378
Originally Posted by UG_Passat

State trooper should of pulled the person over and issue a ticket.

The civic driver was too oblivious to notice the state trooper in the rear view mirror.


For breaking which law? And turning the lights on and chasing a car when there is no legal basis or intention to write a ticket should be written up.

A police car with the emergency lights off has the same legal rights and obligations in traffic as any other car. Pragmatically, yes it's highly advisable to stay out of its way.

The car in the left lane was going fast enough to actively pass traffic in the second to the left lane. Is the standard now that you have to be going faster than the car behind you at all times?

Camera guy's passenger was concerned that he was speeding up and passing cars on the right to keep filming.


In my home State the Civic driver could be ticketed for failing to yield the right of way. Most States have keep-right-except-to-pass laws.


Keep Right laws by State

EVERY state has speed limit laws, but no one pays any attention to those either...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by wag123
Many years ago I took a defensive driving course to get a ticket dismissed. The gentleman giving the course was an off duty Texas DPS State Patrol Trooper. He taught that the safest and most defensive way to drive on the highway is to move with the flow of traffic. If the flow of traffic is 70 mph where 55 mph is the posted speed limit, you go 70. If the the flow of traffic is 40 mph where 55 mph is the posted speed limit, you go 40. As a law enforcement officer, he said that he was more inclined to pull someone over who was not doing this, regardless of the posted speed limit.


It's basically the variation in speed that's dangerous. That's what clueless drivers don't get. Much more dangerous to have a fast driver switching lanes than have everyone going at the same speed. They might cite some law that may or may not exist, but that doesn't stop you from getting killed because the variation in speed was too much. Doesn't matter who is at fault if you're dead.



True to a good degree Wolf....

Variation in speed is a very big contributor to accidents on a limited access highway.

Question is how much variation is too high a variation ??

10 mph?? 15 mph?? 20 mph ?? 25 mph plus??

I'd say maybe 15 mph or more variation/higher...

If more or less everyone is going 70-74 mph... Someone going 85-89 is going to cause trouble in my opinion.

15 mph is a big difference... Go back and watch NASCAR races at Darlington... New tires on cars had them going way faster aka 15 mph faster average lap speed vs other cars on old 45 lap tires going 15 mph slower. And many wrecks happened during 4 tire change pit cycles...






That's the problem with speeding. What is the acceptable amount to go over the limit? 10,15, 20? I generally drive 5-10 over, but I still have jerks blowing by me going another 20 MPH faster. Some people seem to think they can just drive as fast as they want, lane jumping and passing everyone who's in their way. People can't tell me this is safer than a left lane camper...

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by wag123
Many years ago I took a defensive driving course to get a ticket dismissed. The gentleman giving the course was an off duty Texas DPS State Patrol Trooper. He taught that the safest and most defensive way to drive on the highway is to move with the flow of traffic. If the flow of traffic is 70 mph where 55 mph is the posted speed limit, you go 70. If the the flow of traffic is 40 mph where 55 mph is the posted speed limit, you go 40. As a law enforcement officer, he said that he was more inclined to pull someone over who was not doing this, regardless of the posted speed limit.


It's basically the variation in speed that's dangerous. That's what clueless drivers don't get. Much more dangerous to have a fast driver switching lanes than have everyone going at the same speed. They might cite some law that may or may not exist, but that doesn't stop you from getting killed because the variation in speed was too much. Doesn't matter who is at fault if you're dead.



True to a good degree Wolf....

Variation in speed is a very big contributor to accidents on a limited access highway.

Question is how much variation is too high a variation ??

10 mph?? 15 mph?? 20 mph ?? 25 mph plus??

I'd say maybe 15 mph or more variation/higher...

If more or less everyone is going 70-74 mph... Someone going 85-89 is going to cause trouble in my opinion.

15 mph is a big difference... Go back and watch NASCAR races at Darlington... New tires on cars had them going way faster aka 15 mph faster average lap speed vs other cars on old 45 lap tires going 15 mph slower. And many wrecks happened during 4 tire change pit cycles...






That's the problem with speeding. What is the acceptable amount to go over the limit? 10,15, 20? I generally drive 5-10 over, but I still have jerks blowing by me going another 20 MPH faster. Some people seem to think they can just drive as fast as they want, lane jumping and passing everyone who's in their way. People can't tell me this is safer than a left lane camper...


It's not safer, but it's safer than lane jumping. The left lane camper makes it even less safe for everyone else. Someone else that has nothing to do with the left lane camper gets smashed into because the speeder was trying to avoid the left lane camper.

 

[wings&wheels]

"It's not safer, but it's safer than lane jumping. The left lane camper makes it even less safe for everyone else. Someone else that has nothing to do with the left lane camper gets smashed into because the speeder was trying to avoid the left lane camper."

..and the left lane camper leads to the right lane passer, a subset of them being the truly impatient idiots who do so in the right most lane through interchanges...

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by wings&wheels
"It's not safer, but it's safer than lane jumping. The left lane camper makes it even less safe for everyone else. Someone else that has nothing to do with the left lane camper gets smashed into because the speeder was trying to avoid the left lane camper."

..and the left lane camper leads to the right lane passer, a subset of them being the truly impatient idiots who do so in the right most lane through interchanges...


Yes, just much safer overall if no one is passing or switching lanes. Anything to cut down on that makes things safer. Germans know how to drive on the Autobahn, they move out of the way for faster traffic.

 

[bbhero]

I'm with you wild man grampi....

I go 8-9 over in 55, 60, 65, and 70 mph zones....

World Champions going say 85+ are not helpful at all in a 70 mph zone.

I do get over and out of their way almost always... Unless I am passing cats in the right lane at a good clip. And I mean seriously at a good quick small amount of time. And once there's a opening in the right lane then I get over to the right and let those cats go on hauling donkey. I also stay over to the right and do not cruise in the left lane.

Speaking of speeding guys... Saturday evening at 615... Heading east bound on Rte 60 into Williamsburg... I turn right from Rte 199 interchange and head into town... About a mile from that light... A LOUD and I mean LOUD car comes flying by me doing I'd bet 150 mph if not a bit more than that... Seriously..... I literally jump out of my seat of my car.. and a second car come right after that car just as LOUD... Scared the beejeesies out of me. Took those two cars a half a mile plus to slow down for the light at Outlet mall... That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen on a road. There is a high performance shop west of town where one of the Street Outlaws cars is worked on and tuned on... I almost guarantee that was them morons driving like that... I don't care what they do... Actually I like the Street Outlaws shows... But... Do not do that on a road where lots of other people are on... At 615 on a Saturday evening driving into TOWN.... Do that.... At 1230 to 300 am in the morning say on Rte 60 west of Anderson's corner... When and where there's nobody on the road...

In 40, 35, 30 and 25 mph zones I typically only go 5 mph over...

 

[bachman]

No bragging rights;
These things I'll attest to are actually just following or obeying the traffic laws.

I've been getting better at little things over they years. I realized it was easy to get sloppy and complacent and critiquing others helps me curb being a hypocrite which lends improvement and self critique to my own behaviors.

Habits, driving time/schedule and traffic patterns seem to tell me what to expect (WRONG !) and I see it in others. I note mistakes I see a lot then try to identify my own reality and quirks.
They come out of side streets and I see they don't expect to stop at the sign probably because many mornings the streets are empty. I can tell they are perturbed to have to stop because they are not used to it. Sometimes, I slow quite a bit seeing them because it looks like they won't stop. They are speeding to the stop sign at the cross street and that in turn slows me down to be extra cautious. Not only do they have to stop when seeing traffic coming, they could have almost rolled through as they like and expect to had they not alarmed me into slowing as per caution.

Silly, hurried fools shooting themselves in the foot.

* I'm purposeful about complete stops or no rolling through at any intersections or "right on red". For me, it's a Stop and I can only assume my focus there must stem from seeing others rolling through after slowing and thinking I did the same thing or thinking I would learn to from others.
* I'm also careful to stop at the line and not be part way or covering the crosswalk at intersections. I rarely see anyone coming but I know a few times in years past, I suffered the deserved embarrassment of backing up to fix the situation or had the peds walk out and around the front of the car while glaring at me.

I see other drivers doing that all the time.
I know there are lots of other little things I work on, catch or fix too but mainly, riding a motorcycle has helped me to be a better driver and outwardly, more forgiving and considerate.

I drive 5 to maybe 7 over around town unless its the neighborhoods where no posting means 25 or its posted 25 mph. Those residential areas have lots of kids, dogs and cars parked on the streets. When I read a situation like that, nobody has to remind me to drive slow, cautious and watchful.
Eight to 10 over on the hwy for me as it's going with the flow and I feel not being the outcast at 5 or more under or 15 to 20 over means I'm safely in the bubble of many others. It's worked that way for me all of my driving years, in MI and here in CO as well as the multi state travels in-between or road trips / vacations.

I'm okay with being labeled a speeder because 6, 9, 14 or 35 mph over- It's ALL speeding.
Many I see speeding ( a bit over but not drastically) are driving safe, allowing room or distance for stopping, lane changes and or letting others merge. Many drive with predictable behaviors, use their signals and adjust the speed to the situations or conditions to remain safe. I've gotten better at noticing them too.

 

[MCompact]

Yesterday I had a dimwit in a dilapidated Buick Rendezvous(but I repeat myself) make a u-turn into the left lane-on the interstate right in front of me. He then dawdled along for several miles and finally slowly moved into the right lane- without using a signal, of course. When I drove past the poor fool he was puttering along with one hand draped over the wheel at the 12:00 position.
Morons- they are everywhere.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by MCompact
Yesterday I had a dimwit in a dilapidated Buick Rendezvous(but I repeat myself) make a u-turn into the left lane-on the interstate right in front of me. He then dawdled along for several miles and finally slowly moved into the right lane- without using a signal, of course. When I drove past the poor fool he was puttering along with one hand draped over the wheel at the 12:00 position.
Morons- they are everywhere.


I've got this beat. I was northbound on US 41, behind another driver. The portion we were on was two lanes, but it merged onto a 4 lane section. At the end of the on ramp where it goes to 4 lanes, the driver in front me almost comes to a complete stop, then does a U-turn onto the northbound lanes going south. Yes, he was now going the wrong way down a one way section of the highway (it reminded me of John Candy and Steve Martin in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles) . There were no vehicles coming at the time, but I hope he didn't end up hitting anyone head-on. I have never seen anyone do this before or after....

 

[A_Spruce]

Here's one for y'all that I've not seen posted yet.

It's the middle of the night nobody on the road but you and a few other random cars. You're in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, cruising 65, and some imbecile starts riding your arse!

They are absolutely free to go around you on either side, go whatever the frick'n speed they want, but they choose to ride your arse! you slow down to 40 (safely), they slow down, you speed up, they speed up. You move over, they take off like a bat out of [censored]! What the ever loving fritterhouse?!?!?!

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by A_Spruce
Here's one for y'all that I've not seen posted yet.

It's the middle of the night nobody on the road but you and a few other random cars. You're in the middle lane of a 3 lane highway, cruising 65, and some imbecile starts riding your arse!

They are absolutely free to go around you on either side, go whatever the frick'n speed they want, but they choose to ride your arse! you slow down to 40 (safely), they slow down, you speed up, they speed up. You move over, they take off like a bat out of [censored]! What the ever loving fritterhouse?!?!?!

Those people are in an entirely different universe mentally. They just latch onto the first car they come across in their lane and stay there.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by mk378
Originally Posted by UG_Passat

State trooper should of pulled the person over and issue a ticket.

The civic driver was too oblivious to notice the state trooper in the rear view mirror.


For breaking which law? And turning the lights on and chasing a car when there is no legal basis or intention to write a ticket should be written up.

A police car with the emergency lights off has the same legal rights and obligations in traffic as any other car. Pragmatically, yes it's highly advisable to stay out of its way.

The car in the left lane was going fast enough to actively pass traffic in the second to the left lane. Is the standard now that you have to be going faster than the car behind you at all times?

Camera guy's passenger was concerned that he was speeding up and passing cars on the right to keep filming.


In my home State the Civic driver could be ticketed for failing to yield the right of way. Most States have keep-right-except-to-pass laws.


Keep Right laws by State

EVERY state has speed limit laws, but no one pays any attention to those either...


That doesn't change the fact that drivers can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane...

 

[A_Harman]

I occupy both sides of the Left-Lane Bandit behavior, depending on if I am hooked to a trailer or not.

When I'm hooked to a trailer, my motto is "Go With the Flow and Stay Out of the Way". I have enough mental processing capacity left over at the slower speed to be able to watch traffic and anticipate log jams by seeing what jerk drivers are going to cause a problem. I even make it a game, commenting on the traffic patterns like Howard Cosell calling a boxing match.
But there are some stretches of road that are too rough for comfort, and I take to the left lane for a smoother ride. For instance, there is a stretch of galloping road on I90 coming into Madison, Wisconsin that makes me seasick. I don't care how many cars pass me on the right and flip me off, I'm going for the smooth ride for the next few miles.

Then when I've delivered the trailer and am deadheading back to Elkhart, I'm pretty resolute running 72-73 mph, and stepping it up to 75 for short periods to attain a comfortable position in traffic. I would go faster, but my truck gets lousy fuel economy above 75. But I try not to be a jerk about speed. I'm a long-distance cruise kind of a driver on most days, so if I have to run a few mph slower for a few minutes waiting for a slower driver to complete a pass, OK.

 

[SeaJay]

I wanna go as fast as I can, get out of my way, and do it quickly!

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by 02SE
EVERY state has speed limit laws, but no one pays any attention to those either...


That doesn't change the fact that drivers can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane...
[/quote]
You're missing the point. Drivers can be ticketed for speeding too, but that doesn't stop them from doing it...

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by 02SE
EVERY state has speed limit laws, but no one pays any attention to those either...


That doesn't change the fact that drivers can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane...

You're missing the point. Drivers can be ticketed for speeding too, but that doesn't stop them from doing it...[/quote]


Nice job screwing up the quotes, attributing your comment to me...

But rest assured I got your 'point'. I was just pointing out the obvious to you...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by 02SE
EVERY state has speed limit laws, but no one pays any attention to those either...


That doesn't change the fact that drivers can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic in the left lane...

You're missing the point. Drivers can be ticketed for speeding too, but that doesn't stop them from doing it...



Nice job screwing up the quotes, attributing your comment to me...

But rest assured I got your 'point'. I was just pointing out the obvious to you...
[/quote]
I don't know how that happened. I went to post a reply and I got the "for readability your post can't be more than 4 quotes deep, you must edit" (and I hate those stupid things). I deleted some of the previous posts, and that's how it came out. All I am saying is it doesn't matter what driving laws there are, people do what they want, and unless the laws are enforced, nothing will stop people from braking the laws...