Hogging the Left Lane? - Be Aware of Georgia's new "Slow Poke" law

[rhett o rick]

Don't you hate it when you are trying to pass slower cars on the freeway and some asshat is hogging the passing lane. Driving the same speed as the car in the adjacent lane?

The state of Georgia has a new law aimed at discouraging those camped out in the fast lane.

"So what that law says if you’re in the left lane on a 4 lane road with 2 lanes going the same direction if you’re riding next to somebody at the same speed you can either A accelerate and pull in front of them and merge over to the right or B slow down and pull behind them in the right lane and let the traffic pass on by," Trooper Niehus, explains to a driver.

Hogging the center of three lanes is also a pisser especially when it is big trucks. The right lane is essentially wasted as it is only used for ingress and egress and the hot shots that speed like crazy down the right lane and then dangerously cut thru the center lane (some times pejoratively known as the Gray Hair blockade).

I drove 900 miles in Great Britain and never saw anyone get passed on the right (the slow side actually the left in GB). People pass and immediately pull over. This is common also in France and Germany. It is much more efficient use of highways.

read more at: http://www.wspa.com/story/26186104/be-aware-of-georgias-new-slow-poke-law

[hlthe2b]

1. Yes, everyone does hate it. But this does seem to be "legalizing" speeding...

Since no one would be able to travel in the left lane at or even close to the speed limit. With the exception of a few trucks traveling uphill, I rarely see anyone in the right lane traveling under the speed limit so in essence, the left lane is now officially sanctioned for speeders.

[Duckhunter935]

3. In most places

left lane is for passing only anyway not for normal riding unless all lanes are full.

[hlthe2b]

5. As is the case for north/south bound I-25 and east-west bound I-70 in Colorado...

nearly always fully congested within 60 miles or so of Denver.

[Jackpine Radical]

28. Yeah, but everyone in Colorado is doing 25 like Cheech & Chong.

[IADEMO2004]

102. Duzy

[cui bono]

17. People are going to speed no matter what.

This makes it safer for everyone so that they don't have to maneuver through traffic.

In CA it's illegal to drive so as to impede the flow of traffic, so technically, even if you are going the speed limit, if you are holding people up by blocking the lane you can get a ticket. I doubt anyone has ever gotten one for that though.

[Codeine]

21. Everybody speeds anyway.

There are always those few, self-important dickwads who want to get all passive-aggressive and force people to slow down, but the rest of us are generally speeding, and doing it in a remarkably safe fashion.

[rhett o rick]

24. I think that's the problem we're facing. Some think that they are the guardians of the speed and

justify slowing down illegal speeders. We have laws and we have police, we don't need self-righteous people plugging up the passing lanes because they think they are within their rights. That's exactly why this law was necessary. Impeding traffic, even in the name of goodness, is dangerous.

[fizzgig]

34. i get stuck behind ma and pa with wyoming plates all the time on 25

left lane, pacing the semi in the right lane. my volvo doesn't quite haul ass, but when i'm passing you on the right and am only going a hair over the speed limit, you're doing it wrong.

[hlthe2b]

74. As bad as Ma & Pa Kettle are or the occasional decrepit vehicle that has no place in the left lane,

the real problem--especially on I-25 north of Denver continues to be hyper aggressive drivers--those who see both lanes are full, yet believe THEY have the right to weave in and out with inches to spare and fly down the shoulders to try to get around a solid two miles of traffic.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. We've had that law in Illinois for 10 years. Authored by an ex- state cop turned senator.

I look forward to the day someone enforces it.


And now let's hear from the "I'll drive as slow as I want in whatever lane I want" side...

[Aristus]

4. No, let's not.

My view is, if they have to go that slow, they can just pull off the road and come to a complete stop.

[hlthe2b]

6. how does one enforce that if both lanes are fully congested?

[rhett o rick]

25. You seem to be making this harder than it is. Obviously, if both lanes are fully congested then

the law doesn't apply. The law is to prevent idiots from impeding traffic, even if they, in their self-righteous minds think they are justified.

[hlthe2b]

73. You can back off. I prefaced from the start that I agree with this...

However, on a practical level, it isn't going to do squat. As bad as Ma & Pa Kettle are or the occasional decrepit vehicle that has no place in the left lane, the real problem continues to be hyper aggressive drivers--those who see both lanes are full, yet believe THEY have the right to weave in and out with inches to spare and fly down the shoulders to try to get around a solid two miles of traffic.

[rhett o rick]

82. I must have missed that preface. IMO the drivers that don't keep to the right are a big

problem. I don't like to pass on the right but they force the issue. Keeping to the right is much more efficient for everyone.

[hlthe2b]

87. Never did I say once I disagreed that all need to stay right-merely made the observation that it is

basically giving a nod to speeding and does nothing to reign in the aggressive drivers, which is the big problem where I am.

Go fight with someone else--or at least someone that disagrees with you.

[Igel]

85. No, it's not.

Not if it's enforced.

When things are congested, everybody's slow. When things are congested, you still get crackpot drivers.

It's when things are moving at normal or near normal speeds that the crackpot drivers are really crazy as they have to swerve from right to middle to left lanes to avoid slower drivers. So you move everybody right. The crackpot drivers can go straight for longer distances in the fast lanes.

Right by where Sargeant Mike has his speed trap set up.

(This was the way it used to be, at least, in NJ when I lived there. You *would* get ticketed for violating the keep-right rule. And if you wanted to speed, which is what I sometimes wanted to do as a 19-year-old with a 180 mile weekend commute, I could. Never ran into Sgt. Mike. I always made sure there was somebody faster than me.)

[hlthe2b]

86. Bullshit. I commute to/from Denver 60 miles each way daily

You don't know what the hell you are talking about where I am. But, nice attempt to be condescending.

[hlthe2b]

88. Agressive drivers think it doesn't apply to them...

When both lanes are full and speeds plateaued, those who believe they are "entitled" try to enforce it themselves--weaving in and out of traffic with inches to spare, speeding up withblinking lights flashing trying to get an entire lane full of cars in front of them to move to a non-existent free area on the right, passing on both right and left on the shoulders. This is the crap I'm talking about.

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. My cousin got a ticket for it a few months ago here in Texas (woohoo!)

It's one of the reasons why I refuse to go anywhere with her until she goes back to Drivers Ed.

[TwilightGardener]

8. So at what point are you speeding, no matter what lane you're in?

I'll try to pass some traffic while in the left lane, going generally ten miles over, and then some assclown will fly up onto my bumper out of nowhere, going way faster than everyone else and probably 15-20 miles (or more) over the speed limit, and I think, "How fast do you want to go, fucker?" Why should I let that clown win? Why should I be pressured to move over, when I'm already going faster than those in the right lane? My attitude is, "Simmer down, Sparky." Makes me laugh to see their roadrage-twisted faces behind me.

[tritsofme]

13. Eh, I get out of their way. If I'm going 10-15 over I am happy to have someone faster

on the road with me. Let them be the bait for the cop waiting ahead!

[TwilightGardener]

15. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I'd rather force them to have a ruptured aneurysm.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

29. Sometimes they might have an aneurysm, and sometimes they might

whip out a gun and road rage you or even just try to run you off the road. Intentionally pissing people off is an idiots move, no matter where or why you do it.

[TwilightGardener]

31. Then that's the risk aggressive drivers run. I'm following the law.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

32. That's the risk YOU run.

That in your passive aggressive 'following the law', one of those idiots is going to kill you.

[TwilightGardener]

35. More likely they'll sit and fume and ride my ass and then pass

to the right, and weave in and out of all the lanes, as soon as there's the slightest opening. That's usually what happens. Because my doing 75 or 80 in a 65 zone just isn't fast enough for them? Meh.

[Niceguy1]

53. +1

[rhett o rick]

59. Wow, you are one tough dud. But you must not read the stories about those that

think they are self-righteously on the right and get themselves pushed off the road or shot.

[TwilightGardener]

63. Why be violent? Just accept the speed and flow of traffic around you, chill out,

and you'll be fine. No one owes it to you to get out of your way, let you get to work sooner, or make you happy while driving. Plan your schedule better, and you won't care as much.

[Whiskeytide]

78. I don't really want to jump into this fray...

... but you're missing the point. It is safer to have traffic pass you on your left. They stay out of your blind spot. That's why we have the rule of the road that recommends slower traffic stay to the right. Most defensive drivers prefer it that way, regardless of the speeds of the respective vehicles.

When you enrage another driver simply on the principle that you have some dubious "right" to travel in the left lane as long as you're travelling the speed limit or greater, you're needlessly endangering yourself and other drivers. The assclown who rides your bumper probably won't pull out a gun, but he or she likely will pass you on the right and start weaving around you, cut back in front of you, and possibly clip you or another car that doesn't see him because now he's in their blind spot. Before you know it, a family of four in a station wagon might have to pay a heavy price for your principles.

And, you have no idea why they're speeding. Maybe she got a call that her son is at the ER. Or his wife discovered an intruder in the house. Or his pregnant wife is lying in the back seat in labor. Moving over is simply the smart and sensible thing to do.

[TwilightGardener]

79. I'm not responsible for someone not driving safely.

I'm also not going to desperately try to get out of their way because I'm not going 90 the way they want me to. Fuck them. When I'm ready, and done passing other cars in the right lane, I'll move.

[Whiskeytide]

80. No one has suggested...

... that you "desperately try to get out of their way". Just move over when you can safely do so.

And there is a difference between being legally responsible and being factually responsible, or partially enabling - whatever you want to call it.

[TwilightGardener]

81. My point is, if their method to make me change lanes is to ride

my bumper, no matter which lane I'm in, then I may simply ignore them. I don't feel an obligation to get out of anyone's way who behaves in such a manner unless they're police or emergency vehicles.

[Throd]

90. Then your stubbornness starts to endanger 3rd parties, people like me.

But you don't seem to care about other people so long as you're "right".

As others have pointed out, you have no idea why that car wants to pass you. Don't make assumptions.

[TwilightGardener]

92. I don't give a shit why someone wants to go so fast.

That's not my business. They'll get to pass me when I am ready to change lanes, or they'll slow down, or they'll do something dumb. The problem isn't my "stubbornness". The problem is someone who acts like an unsafe, impatient, entitled ass and thinks everyone else should just get the fuck out of his/her way, and the only people they need to worry about are state troopers with radar guns.

[A HERETIC I AM]

105. But you are not an....

"Unsafe, entitled ass".....are you?


Noooooo, of course not!

[TwilightGardener]

106. I am a pretty careful driver. I stopped speeding

a while ago, once I had kids in the car and grew up some (and paid a few tickets). I also don't trundle along below the speed limit, totally oblivious, or tailgate. Or text and drive. Or drink and drive. I did catch myself falling asleep behind the wheel a few times after night shifts, and that was scary, so I stopped doing night shifts. I let people in front of me all the time. I try to be as courteous as I can. But no, I don't tolerate those idiots who fly up to my bumper out of nowhere when I'm already going faster than the rest of traffic, because 80 or 85 just isn't enough for them, and they want everyone to abandon the lane for them instead of falling in with the speed of traffic around them. Those are entitled assholes. Any law that encourages them encourages excessive speed.

[IDemo]

16. I call them shark chum n/t

[rhett o rick]

58. I call them radar busters. If I am in a hurry I will get in behind them and let them get the

ticket.

[cui bono]

18. Why do you consider it a competition?

Just move over when you get the chance and let them be on their way.

[Silent3]

22. I pull over *when I get a chance*...

...but I don't feel in any great hurry, and certainly not obligated to merge into much slower traffic, because some asshole is riding my bumper.

I'm much more willing to yield to people who are decent enough to keep a safe following distance while waiting to pass.

[TwilightGardener]

23. Nah, not when they come up behind me going way faster than the flow of traffic,

riding my bumper, flicking their lights, veering back and forth as if they're going to try to pass me on the shoulder. Those folks can suck it.

[former9thward]

75. Why don't you apply for the police force?

That seems to be what you want. Make people "follow the law" -- as you interpret it.

[rhett o rick]

26. If safety is your utmost concern and not preventing someone from speeding, you will get to the right

when you can. It isn't about preventing the clown from winning. It's about safety.

Maybe I missed your sarcasm tag. " Makes me laugh to see their roadrage-twisted faces behind me."

[TwilightGardener]

30. How is it safer to try to force me over when I may not have a clear opening?

They're the ones being unsafe. I'm just doing my thing. When I feel like it, I'll move. Fuck them. And yes, I really do enjoy their frustration. It makes me smile.

[rhett o rick]

36. It's never safer to force someone over when they don't have a clear opening. Why would you even

suggest such a thing. The concept is extremely simple. Always do the safest thing. Do not impede traffic UNLESS IT ISN'T SAFE to pull over. Pull over AS SOON AS IT'S SAFE.

[TwilightGardener]

37. I'm not impeding "traffic". If there's a line of cars behind me, that's a very

different scenario than one complete dick who wants the interstate to be his personal closed race track. But I'll move when I'm damn good and ready.

[rhett o rick]

40. Trying to teach a "complete dick" a lesson in your car, never ends well. Are you expecting the

"dick" to learn a lesson and turn into a nice person? Hopefully innocent people aren't involved.

[TwilightGardener]

44. I don't think people should be terrorized to either speed way up

or take their eyes off the road ahead looking for a chance to switch lanes because some tool suddenly wants to ride someone else's bumper at speed. I don't respond to bullying.

[rhett o rick]

54. You continue to use the STRAWMAN. No one thinks people should be terrorized to do anything.

You say you don't respond to bullying. Sounds like you do and not in a good way. Do you think you can teach bullies to be nice? You mush understand that road-rage is dangerous to everyone around.

[TwilightGardener]

62. It's not my burden to get out of the way of people who try

to menace me, when I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing (passing people in the passing lane, in this case). It's their burden to maintain a safe and reasonable speed and keep a safe distance from the back of my vehicle. If I instantly scramble to move out of the lane, then I'm the one assuming risk by changing lanes (and changing lanes does pose more risk than simply driving in one's lane). So they'll fucking cool their jets until I move, and that's the way it goes. Or they won't, and they'll go off the road or hit someone else, and that's their fault.

[GoneOffShore]

46. Oh, so that was you last Sunday.

Southbound on the NJ Turnpike last Sunday around 8:30P, I'm driving in the middle lane at 75-77 mph, right lane is clear, I move over. I'm three car lengths back from someone doing about the same speed in the middle lane. The road is moderately busy. Look in my mirror and see intense lights (either LED's or Xenon's) in the left lane moving at what I'm estimating is 95 to in excess of 100 mph in the left lane. He shifts to the center lane and is now approaching the car in the middle lane. Guy in the middle lane just hangs out, even though he has space and time to move to the right and has seen Xenon lights. Xenon lights blows through the three car length, zips into the right lane, then cuts back across to the left lane and speeds out of sight.

[rhett o rick]

57. I've seen that happen a lot of times. And often the middle lane is jammed with the nitwits about

three car lengths apart. So the speed demons get into the right lane because no one is there, and speed ball it to a slow car then weave thru the blockade of nitwits. These nitwits are making the roads dangerous and are who this law is aimed at.

[indigoth]

39. It's not a competition

What do you mean "win"? It's not a contest. This is pretty much the reason for this law ... Obviously the person behind wants to go faster ... Why do you insist on holding them back? You don't know why they are going faster ... What if it's a medical emergency? How hard is it to momentarily pull over and let them go? When you are out walking and someone is jogging behind you, you don't walk slowly in their way on purpose do you? Why is it ok to do exactly that in a car? Just be polite. That's all it comes down to ... Just be polite

[TwilightGardener]

41. It becomes a contest when they get aggressive with me.

Then it's a battle of wills, and I'm going to win that.

[rhett o rick]

43. I can't believe that you aren't pulling our legs. If you aren't joking then what I hear

you saying is that if it comes to a contest as to who is the biggest idiot, you're determined to win.

[TwilightGardener]

45. Nope. It's a battle for who's going to behave correctly and responsibly.

That would be me. The person behind me needs to slow the fuck down--or have a fucking stroke behind the wheel, which is fine with me.

[indigoth]

89. Correctly and responsibly?

By irritating and impeding someone who might be trying to get to the hospital? Really?

[Live and Learn]

103. But you already admitted you were speeding. Isn't that a bit hypocritical? nt

[TwilightGardener]

107. You can't keep pace with the people/truck you're trying to pass, that would be

just blocking the lane and sitting there (and defeating the purpose). You accelerate to pass. I don't go that much above the speed limit--10 mph is generally my limit. If the right lane is moving pretty quick, I simply stay there.

[rhett o rick]

42. I agree, "Just be polite" is the best advice. If the other driver is being an idiot, being an idiot

back won't help anything and may endanger the lives of innocent people.

[roamer65]

97. I really would like to see a national 65 mph speed limit on all freeways.

It would save energy and make the freeways safer.

[TwilightGardener]

99. I'm used to 75 mph rural interstates/65 mph thru cities, and it mostly works.

The scary thing is when I catch myself doing 80 or more, and everyone else is, too--and it's fairly crowded in both lanes, and I realize that if anything bad happens up ahead, or a tire blows, or some troublesome object appears in the road, I might not be able to stop in time--or someone else behind me won't. 80 is pretty fast to get into trouble and still come out OK.

[Duckhunter935]

104. I guess you do not drive much out west

hundreds of miles of straight highway and it can take 10-12 hours between major cities.

I will take 80-85

regularly did over 100 in Germany.

[Ron Obvious]

9. I agree with this

It's the speed differential, not absolute speed, that is the bigger risk when it comes to accidents.

[JackRiddler]

55. No, actually.

You can make up whatever myth pleases you about what really causes accidents, but it's the absolute speed that kills people when accidents do happen.

mass x velocity = momentum.

[Ron Obvious]

56. You're talking about the severity of the collision...

... not the chance of an accident.

The German Autobahn, even in the years of no speed limit, has always had a lower fatality rate than the US freeway system at least in large part because slower drivers keep right and pass on the left.

[JackRiddler]

64. You spoke of the "risk" of accident.

The most important "risk" of accident is being injured or worse. Even accepting your dubious argument that slowpokes cause accidents, better more minor collisions than fewer collisions with more fatalities.

I get it that most drivers like to speed, think they are the greatest and safest drivers in the world, and want to demonize slowpokes. A multitude of factors can contribute to accidents. But above all it's speed that kills.

[Ron Obvious]

65. Risk tradeoffs

I specifically mentioned that the German Autobahn had a lower fatality rate. Even assuming that their fewer accidents would individually be more deadly, the fact that there are fewer of them would mean a lower overall fatality rate. For example, 5 accidents with 70% fatality risk will produce more fatalities than 2 accidents with an 80% fatality risk.

It's anecdotal to be sure, but I've plenty of experience with both systems and I see FAR more accidents or aftermaths of accidents in the the US than I do in Germany. I find freeways rather chaotic and dangerous here.

[JackRiddler]

66. German conditions are different in many ways.

For one thing, they're freakish about following the rules. They really are, you'll see pedestrians at corners at 3 am with no car or person in sight for blocks around and they're waiting for the light to change.

The infrastructure is far superior.

Getting a driver's license involves more required training, is much harder and more expensive, and can take up to two years.

The speed limit is lifted only on most stretches of the autobahn, not everywhere.

The idea that lifting the speed limit in the U.S. would create German conditions is optimistic. I think the immediate result would be more chaos and danger - and road rage, too, as drivers in most metro areas discover it makes no difference to the traffic and stress.

[Ron Obvious]

68. Everything you say is true

And I certainly wouldn't advocate for complete abolishment of speed limits here in the US.

[Tikki]

10. Seems like an easy way to target (profile) drivers...

Tikki

[Go Vols]

11. Good for Ga.

I hope they enforce it.
Cops here will flash their lights at you if you are going slow/less than 70 in the fast lane if they get behind you.

[dembotoz]

12. quoted text says 4 lane road, expanations says freeway

hell of a difference.
most towns on any population have a number of 4 lane road with stop lights every couple of blocks
law would be stupid in these settings

in the country --we live in a world of cruise control--like ronco--you set it and forget it
when moving down the road on cruise i tend to stay in the right lane but as my speed overtakes, i switch to the left lane to pass. sometimes it takes a little longer to pass than other times. sometimes the car being passed speeds up--lord knows why but they do.
getting a ticket because some clown ass wants to speed at a higher illegal speed than i am already going--bite me

[B Calm]

52. I had a guy do that to me last weekend. I came up on to him

so I slowly passed him. No sooner than I get around him, he passes me. Down the road a few miles I slowly come up on him again. So I pass him again. About a mile down the road the asshole starts to pass me again. This time I was getting pissed and bypassed my cruise control and started speeding up with him in the left lane. We were 20 mph over the posted speed when I saw a cop coming from the other direction. I found my brake and the cop did a upturn and pulled the other guy over. I honked my horn when I passed and he gave me the middle finger.

I laughed and said to my wife, that'll teach him for messing around with a retired truck driver.

[littlewolf]

14. I think FL passed it last year. nt

[BrotherIvan]

19. Driving on the Autobahn is a real pleasure

because people on it know the rules: pass on the left and then pull over to the right lane. If you're in the left lane and a car is coming up fast, they will flash their lights and that means pull the hell over. If it's a Mercedes, BMW or sportscar, pull over just coz because likely they're hauling ass. I've driven up to 175mph on the autobahn and felt safer than going sixty on a five lane freeway. If you crash you die, but there is a lot more discipline.

[Duckhunter935]

27. yes it was

I do miss the good drivers over there

[BrotherIvan]

49. We agree :)

Yes, I no longer drive on weekends on the freeway because that means there are people out who are unfamiliar with that route. On hour-long drives on weekend I might pass 8 accidents.

In Europe, most people don't drive. And most people don't drive long distances. I met many Europeans who were scared to drive the autobahn so it was relatively free of traffic and not for the faint of heart. In the US, we almost force people onto the freeway (we don't truly have highways in SoCal) who perhaps would be better on surface streets. But the most disconcerting are the young males in their souped up cars racing and weaving in traffic. I have seen them make other cars crash which is worse than hurting themselves.

[rhett o rick]

33. I loved driving in Europe, except in the big cities. As you said, they know the rules and don't

get pissed. I was on a tour on the Autobahn in a very large bus. The driver rarely changed speeds. When he got within a car's length of a car he would change lanes, irregardless of the car on his left. The car knew better than be in the wrong spot and would either speed up or slow down. As soon as he got a car length or maybe two in front of the slower car he pulled to the right to get out of the left lane. It takes more nerve than in the US but it is so much more efficient. If you are in a hurry, you turn your lights on and most will allow you to get by before pulling out. Those that don't are reminded with the flashing of the lights.

I want to qualify loving to drive in Europe. In Great Britain it was ok on the freeways. I didn't care for the other.

[BrotherIvan]

50. No city driving if I can help it

I've been stuck in far too many round abouts (one in Greece for almost an hour) and gone down one way streets the wrong way. Plus most cities have such great public transportation you don't need it. Or lots of walking down beautiful old streets.

[Skittles]

20. I'm always aware of the vehicles around me

if someone is stuck behind me, I will take action - it's just courtesy and I truly wish it was more common

[rhett o rick]

38. If someone passes you on the right, most likely you are doing something wrong. nm

[8_Point]

48. Yup...

[JackRiddler]

67. Most likely they are a fool.

It doesn't matter if you're too slow. Passing on the right creates the danger.

[NutmegYankee]

69. If the other driver is blocking the left lane, they have no choice.

Assholes who think they are driving pace cars are the greatest danger on our highways.

[JackRiddler]

72. Can't agree.

Maniacs who think it's a race (about a fifth of all drivers) are the greatest danger.

mass x velocity = momentum

[NutmegYankee]

77. So! It's not my responsibility to explain physics to them.

They can decide what level of risk they are willing to take. I'm a professional mechanical engineer, but I still like to travel at 80 on the appropriate highways, even though that speed is very dangerous if you collide with a stationary object. I accept the risk.

[JackRiddler]

91. Stationary objects are not the problem.

Go ahead and crash into those, your beer.

The people you will kill in other moving objects are the problem.

[NutmegYankee]

93. If I'm traveling 80 MPH, they are moving with me at roughly the same speed. nt

[JackRiddler]

94. Just scrape'em on the side, it should be okay.

Science!

[NutmegYankee]

95. So I take it you're the guy doing 15 MPH below the speed in the left lane.

I drive right, pass on the left quickly, and move right again. It's so easy. People acting like pace cars create blockages/backups which puts everyone in danger. A guy going 90 passing on the left isn't much of a danger to me. But if some numbnuts blocks the left lane, the traffic stacks up and the aggressive drivers start weaving or following closely. And those stackup ruin the following distance I'd have if it could pass by freely.

[JackRiddler]

96. I'm the guy on the bike and the train.

Loving it a life long, except for all the dangerous internal combustion fetish-objects driven by people with a permanent rage and firm belief in their own infallibility. (Please don't tell me your stories of Montana or wherever. I don't want to take away Montanans' useful autos. I speak of New York and Europe.)

[NutmegYankee]

98. That's nice.

Most of America isn't within bike range (and you wouldn't want to do so in winter) and there is no public transit. My drive to work is fairly simple as I'm almost always on a two lane road with little traffic. Drivers used to two lane roads usually move such that passing on the dashed yellow is rare.

[JackRiddler]

100. See, you're doing that.

Told you, I'm not talking about Montana or the Texas desert. Most of America has unfortunately especially in the postwar era been designed so that people can only get around in internal-combustion fetish-objects. This was heavily subsidized in the first phase by federal money. Besides the endless traffic and pollution, it's also enabled an incredibly destructive sprawl. This era will eventually end, perhaps sooner rather than later due to the environmental apocalypse to which it has contributed (among other factors). The sooner the necessary redesign begins (with most of the people in densely populated areas), the better.

Meanwhile, many people apparently think their problems are due to slow drivers. Those terrible people!

At least this part is getting a bit better - if 30,000 dead a year is okay.


I'm sure it's the slow drivers who are mainly responsible.

[NutmegYankee]

101. Meh, I'll just plug in the car...

No redesign or moving required.

[rhett o rick]

83. That's exactly right. If someone is passing you on the right you are in the wrong lane. nm

[riseabove]

71. Got that right!

[Skeeter Barnes]

47. Carlin: Anybody that drives slower than me is a moron.Anybody that drives faster than me is a maniac

[B Calm]

51. The center lane is the only passing lane for big trucks

in most states. I know here in the Midwest on three lane interstates, the far left lane is restricted for only 4 wheel vehicles. Most big trucks are also governed to a speed just a little higher than the speed limit. Sometimes it takes forever to pass a vehicle. If a big truck is taking a long time passing you, tap your brake pedal and let him get around you. You will make the truck driver and everybody tailing him very happy. You don't want a big truck along side of you if one of those big tires explode. Same thing if your tailgating a truck.

[Niceguy1]

60. I , cities the center lane is fir

Trucks, too.

If I am going faster than the speed limit and keeping up with the person in front of me I dont change lanes if someone comes up behind me. They can wait, too.

[rhett o rick]

61. I don't mind them using the middle lane for passing but some camp out there. nm

[B Calm]

70. There are idiots driving trucks too. Most of those slow big trucks

camped out in the middle lane for no reason are nervous rookie drivers. Veteran truck drivers cuss them too!

[WillowTree]

76. No, I hate it when.......

.......I'm doing the limit in the far right lane of an eight-lane highway (four in each direction) and some "asshat" finds it necessary to crawl up my tailpipe to the point where they can change the track on my CD. I don't speed. I just don't. As I've said before, I get on the highway, set my cruise control at the limit and take up residence in the far right lane. And I spend about 95% of my time there, moving left only to pass on those infrequent occasions when someone in front of me is actually driving under the limit or sometimes when I see there's a long string of cars entering the roadway from the right and there's room for me to safely move over temporarily to let them merge and then I go right again as soon as things even out a bit. Anyone who wants to is free to pass me in their quest to get to that red light at the bottom of the off ramp before it turns green. Fine by me. But these jags who tailgate millimeters from my rear bumper when I'm doing 55 in the right lane make me practically homicidal. They leave me no alternative but to kill the cruise control and slow down until they either back off, move left and leave me happily in their dust, or burst a blood vessel. And I don't really have a preference for which of those three options they take.

[IDemo]

84. A few years back

I witnessed a drag race one Saturday morning - between two city cops who had just left the station. This was on a city street, not the freeway or highway. They both made a sudden turn into a parking lot and pulled into, you guessed it: a doughnut shop. Seriously. Smiles all around as they got out of the cars.

I also witnessed a state cop doing 80 in a 65 on the freeway, no lights or siren. He exited and pulled to a normal stop at the off-ramp and signaled for a turn, no emergency here.

I don't sweat speeders unless they're endangering other people.