Left Lane Advisory (1 Viewer)

[egautr1]

I swear this is the biggest problem on I-12 between Hammond and Slidell. I used to commute everyday from Mandeville to Slidell for work and every morning and afternoon I would run into 5-6 cars cruising going under the speed limit or right at the limit in the left lane. and they refuse to get over

It drove me nuts. Get in the right lane and stay there till you need to pass someone!! How hard is that??

What is almost worse though is the people who will be going at whatever cruising speed and get to a semi-truck or another vehicle and begin to pass, but then they slow down and pass them slower than the speed they were previously going!!! WTH is that??? Then when they are done passing they speed back up and usually stay in the left lane!!
What is wrong with these people!!


The video in the OP should be required viewing for every highway driver in country.

 

[Galbreath34]

Speed limit violations are for law enforcement to handle. Whatever the speed (both below, both above) as a driver if you know someone wishes to pass and you are blocking the passing lane preventing them from doing so, it's your legal obligation to get over as soon as is reasonable (slow down behind car next to you if he's going too fast or complete your pass). Just like seeing an ambulance lit up behind you you're obligated to get over to the right, whether or not the patient is stable, and whether or not you know the ambulance is empty and the driver is just trying to beat traffic. Leave that to someone else, you're not a law enforcement officer.

Most states don't have a legal definition on time spent passing, but rule of thumb is if it takes you more than 60 seconds to pass a vehicle going above 50mph you'd have to travel 300 miles without either of your speeds changing for you to be 5 minutes ahead of him. So don't bother passing in that situation unless there's literally a nearly empty highway and you're at the start of a 500+mile trip.

 

[kcirdor]

... or shot, but that begs the question: why is it not OK to go the speed limit on the left lane? The limit should be the limit, right?

It is not ok to just cruise in the left lane. Make your pass legally and get over to the right lane. Let the police deal with idiots going 95 in a 65.

 

[zeetes]

when I'm in the right lane, just cruising along, not in a hurry, I CANNOT stand the guy who rides my tail because someone is in the left lane going slower than me. Get your butt over and ride the tail of the guy that's causing your problem. I'll make your life hell, I will slow down about 20 mph.
Also the guy who thinks, during rush hour traffic, that the 1000's of people in front of him just needs to get out of his way. we all know traffic sucks sometimes. if there is a line of cars as far as the eyes can see, I'm not getting over behind someone doing 50 mph to appease you.

while i don't completely agree with this, i like to **** with those people that get behind me in the right lane and sit on my rear bumper. ever so slightly apply just enough pressure for the brake lights to pop on. you'll know when it is enough by their quick drop back. thankfully my clutch pedal is close enough to my brake that i don't have to let off the accelerator.

if that fails, i just set cruise to the vehicle in the left and create a roadblock. they'll find a way around.

I'm an ******* driver, but i try to do it with class. use a turn signal, don't ride the left lane, and leave enough room so that i can at least see your front tires behind me, we'll be just fine.

 

[Galbreath34]

Also, pragmatically, if I'm in my Ferrari doing 100 MPH and a Porsche is to my right doing 98mph, and a Shelby is closing in on my doing 125 MPH, if I get over and back, I'm not out more than a few seconds of time and on my way. If I sit and play games the Shelby is out a lot more time, potentially getting pissy and road ragey and we're tangled up.

Pragmatically there's no reason to not just get over then get back in the left lane when the other guy is gone. It literally has no impact on your overall trip time, whereas the other way you risk other crazy speeders catching up, are certainly slowing them down with almost nothing to gain but increased chance of someone doing something stupid.

What other than control issues or ego could justify or motivate staying in the left lane when you know a faster car wants to go by? What legitimate impact on your trip does momentarily letting someone pass have on you?

 

[Galbreath34]

while i don't completely agree with this, i like to **** with those people that get behind me in the right lane and sit on my rear bumper. ever so slightly apply just enough pressure for the brake lights to pop on. you'll know when it is enough by their quick drop back. thankfully my clutch pedal is close enough to my brake that i don't have to let off the accelerator.

if that fails, i just set cruise to the vehicle in the left and create a roadblock. they'll find a way around.

I'm an ******* driver, but i try to do it with class. use a turn signal, don't ride the left lane, and leave enough room so that i can at least see your front tires behind me, we'll be just fine.

From all the people around you, including the ones with their kids going to visit family, please learn not to make points and teach lessons with a 2000+ lb vehicle going highway speeds in traffic. It may be the other guy's fault for ramming you but the dead 2 and 3 year old girls that are in the minivan that gets caught up in all the aftermath swerving from everyone else will thank you.

Drive as if what you're about to do could kill a child at any minute and you'll be a much better driver. How much does showing that guy he's a cork nugget 100 times weigh in the balance against one time seeing on the news or facebook the two girls you just helped kill? I know the answer for myself, but to each his own. Let the deaths the tailgater may one day cause be on his own head, don't share with him.

BTW, not at all saying the other guy isn't a dangerous jerk himself no matter what you do or do not do, especially tailgating in the right lane.

 

[zeetes]

From all the people around you, including the ones with their kids going to visit family, please learn not to make points and teach lessons with a 2000+ lb vehicle going highway speeds in traffic. It may be the other guy's fault for ramming you but the dead 2 and 3 year old girls that are in the minivan that gets caught up in all the aftermath swerving from everyone else will thank you.

Drive as if what you're about to do could kill a child at any minute and you'll be a much better driver. How much does showing that guy he's a cork nugget 100 times weigh in the balance against one time seeing on the news or facebook the two girls you just helped kill? I know the answer for myself, but to each his own. Let the deaths the tailgater may one day cause be on his own head, don't share with him.

BTW, not at all saying the other guy isn't a dangerous jerk himself no matter what you do or do not do, especially tailgating in the right lane.

I'm way too self-centred to even think about those behind him.

 

[Galbreath34]

Fair enough, I'm not judge and jury, just sharing how I think of it and wish others did. I'm sure especially when younger that I've failed many a time to live up to what I want to be as a driver.

 

[SystemShock]

It is not ok to just cruise in the left lane. Make your pass legally and get over to the right lane. Let the police deal with idiots going 95 in a 65.

I'll take my not so veiled insult neat

What I am saying is, at what speed point is not OK to pass?

And just for the record, I am not a road warrior or feel the road belongs to me. Just making conversation

 

[kcirdor]

I don't think there is a point of speed that is not ok to pass, bottom line is slower traffic keep right and left lane is for passing only. The speed limit has nothing to do with either of those. Whether or not whomever is passing or being passed is breaking the law is up to the police and karma.

 

[boutrous]

... or shot, but that begs the question: why is it not OK to go the speed limit on the left lane? The limit should be the limit, right?

You are completely missing the point. The point is not how fast you are going, the point is to stay out of other people's way who may want to go faster so everyone can drive as they wish. The point is, the left lane in not a cruising lane. You cruise in the right lane and only get over to pass. The longer you stay in the left lane, the higher the chance someone will approach you going faster and you then are causing a rolling hazard. If everyone went the exact same speed, you would only need one lane because you could never pass anyone. That is not the case in reality, however.

 

[Galbreath34]

I'll take my not so veiled insult neat

What I am saying is, at what speed point is not OK to pass?

And just for the record, I am not a road warrior or feel the road belongs to me. Just making conversation

Generally if it's tough for you to pass the vehicles in front of you at less than say 20 seconds per vehicle then get back over, just wait it out until there's no traffic.

If you can feel comfortable speeding up to where you can complete the pass then get over, you can do that too.

The thing that's not ok is to get into a situation where you're in the left lane for minutes at a time with people waiting to go by. Either slow down or speed up so you can get out of the left lane within a minute in that kind of situation. I say this having at times driven a 550+mile round trip weekly commute for up to 51 weeks a year.

Also, by far the most dangerous times are the big holiday weekends which combine impatient inexperienced folks with flat out inexperienced folks. I think one Thanksgiving Wednesday on the 280ish miles there were 5 fatalities and I counted at least 12 multi car pileups where I could still see the vehicles waiting for tows. Took over 10 hours when it's normally a 5 hour or so drive (70 and 65 most of the way and I rarely need to take a whizz on a trip).

 

[SystemShock]

You are completely missing the point. The point is not how fast you are going, the point is to stay out of other people's way who may want to go faster so everyone can drive as they wish. The point is, the left lane in not a cruising lane. You cruise in the right lane and only get over to pass. The longer you stay in the left lane, the higher the chance someone will approach you going faster and you then are causing a rolling hazard. If everyone went the exact same speed, you would only need one lane because you could never pass anyone. That is not the case in reality, however.

Oh, I didn't miss the point. My question is simply, how fast is too fast to pass?
If I am going 80 on a 70 on the left lane, why would I move?
And if someone approaches me going faster than the speed limit, why am I causing the rolling hazard?

 

[zeetes]

Fair enough, I'm not judge and jury, just sharing how I think of it and wish others did. I'm sure especially when younger that I've failed many a time to live up to what I want to be as a driver.

honestly, you are absolutely correct. i wish everyone drove with the same thinking you do.

i am definitely not making excuses for how i drive. i try my best to do what i am responsible for as a driver. i also hate driving, hate people, hate arrogant drivers, and can't stand those that drive like the road is theirs and everyone is supposed to get out of their way. usually my lack of patience takes over and my better judgement is usually the victim of it. i definitely would not want to put the lives of someone else in jeopardy, but i will keep what you said in mind. makes a lot of sense. also, since posting that, ive also taken both of my anti depressants, my anti anxiety, and my adderall, so I'm a little less bitter at life.

 

[kcirdor]

Oh, I didn't miss the point. My question is simply, how fast is too fast to pass?
If I am going 80 on a 70 on the left lane, why would I move?
And if someone approaches me going faster than the speed limit, why am I causing the rolling hazard?

Why would you just be cruising in the left lane? If you want to make the law the point of it all... The law says MOVE OVER.

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

Louisiana R.S. 32:71 On multilane highways keep right except to pass and move right if blocking overtaking traffic.