"left lane for passing only"

Nice

 

They should all have their license suspended for a month or something

I see these idiots everyday and they are causing traffic.

 

I'm thrilled to see this law being enforced!

I found this bit of the article particularly funny: "Troopers told them to stay out of the left lane if traveling below freeway speeds and not to travel continuously in the left lane for no reason." - dont go'ver thar for no reason...

 

This is old, but still good.

I got stuck behind an idiot in a Toyota convertible, got a chance to pass on the right, then got right infront of him and slowed down.

Made him move over to the right trying to pass me, then I sped up and made my exit

 

Although the Texas transportation penal code (Sec 544.011) does not follow suit concerning left lane driving like a few other states do common sense is the left lane is for passing only and not for Sunday driving.The left lane is our 'bread and butter"!

 

I think the cause of the problem is that there is not enough emphasis on the "left lane function" when learners are taking their lessons. It is natural for petrolheads to know; but for normal housewife or whatever, driving is just a neccessity. Their mentality must be - Oh, I will just stick to whichever lane that is empty so I can cruise comfortably.

You can give them all the looks or waves you want, and all you would receive are blank and confused faces. It drives me nuts. The troopers are doing something good for once.

 

Well put and another issue is "Ok fine drive in the left lane but have enough courtesy too move over for another car". Even as a LEO I always drive in the right lane and if I am in my pov I just gradually slow down until the tailgater gets the point. I always enjoy that for the reaction I see once they go around and give 'that look' then I smile and show them my badge and 90% of the time they get in front of me. Sometimes I'm just in awe of the lack of attention a driver show's when they start tailgating me and my dang license plate say's it all!!!
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"One of the concerns for enforcing the law is aggressive drivers who get frustrated at the slower traffic in front of them and, as a result, dart from lane to lane to get by other cars."

One of my pet peeves is the person who dives through in the right lane and the cuts in front at the last moment (inevitably leaving very little room) when I'm in the left lane queue to pass a truck or other slow-moving vehicle. Those idiots should be getting tickets also.

 

We have a terrible problem with this inconsiderate behavior in Northern Virginia. Even when you approach a slower moving driver in the passing lane and repeatedly flash your high beams, they will not yield. Deliberately. I then signal, go around them, and when I get in front of them, I put on my brakes. Hard. I love the reaction I see in the mirror as I drive off!

 

that pisses me off all the time,i'm passing a semi and trying to get back in the right lane and some idiot comes up behind me and swerves into the right lane just as im changing lanes [i always ck to give the semi enough room ]

 

Your actions are dangerous and stupid. Road rage much? It pisses me off too, but you're already around them. Just move on.

 

HEY!!! It's supposed to be about safety!!

Example:

I sure hope you learn not to pull this immature part of the routine by the time you turn 18.

When you pass them, just pass, and continue on.

About the closest I get to being "that guy" is when someone has actively been blocking the passing lane for anyone and everyone, even speeding up to close a passable gap, I'll help them enjoy the freeway a little longer if I get that characteristic panicked "That's my exit!!!" head turn and blinker. For those, I'll match their speed in the next lane for the next exit or two, smile, and wave. Several times, I've had an assist from someone else in the parade, who knows exactly what I'm doing.

Then, all of us who were waiting behind the twit move on.

 

I don't know if it's ignorance or apathy, but I don't know and I don't care. GTFO of the left lane if you're not passing. PERIOD. If you possess a license, you should have a brain.

CW

 

for some reason, this seems more common in urban areas - out on long hauls I find much less of it.

And it is not just ignorance - I had a college who deliberately took the left lane at the speed limit as an aid to speed enforcement of those behind her. Others have that same mind set.

 

The self imposed speed regulators... I hate 'em.

 

Not very nice, outright dangerous in fact.

Kai

 

True, maybe, but left-lane hogs aren't "nice" or safe, either. Indeed, it is their poor driving that is inciting people to do things they wouldn't normally do.

CW

 

Compared to what I've seen in England the few times that I've driven there, lane etiquette in this country absolutely stinks. And the police don't help by usually ignoring it, at least everywhere that I've driven.

And it's worse if the freeway roadway is three lanes wide instead of two. Even in rural areas (with widely-separated exits), people will then often cruise in the center lane instead of the right one. The same rule should still apply: cruise in the right lane unless passing. I have been on three-lane stretches where the right lane often becomes the fastest lane because almost no one is using it!

 

I'm not saying it's right, but slot of the times the right lane on a 3 lane interstate is extremely bumpy from the 18wheeler traffic.

 

You could not be more right about the lane etiquette issue and even though I'm a peace officer I have seen a few times when a State Trooper was traveling in the left lane and doing between 5-10mph under the posted speed limit while patroling which did not make sense to me. Most of the freeway's in urban area's here have a 70mph limit which is reduced to 65mph at night or it can only be for truckers yet I stay in the righthand lane at 65mph day or night. It is just alot more relaxing for me and heck with gas price's being what they are and rising it makes a huge difference in your pov.

 

Ok, theoretical question for all...

You come upon a left lane road hog. What do you do? Assuming there's no vehicles in the right lane, do you pass on the right or wait? What do you do if they fail to move over? Blinker? Flash of the brights? What do you do when they STILL fail to move over? And, what do you do when there's a car in the right lane, but the vehicle in the left lane insists on driving at the same speed and refuses to accelerate or slow down and move over?

I'm often confronted by this every day, and how I handle the situation depends, maybe, on how I feel at the moment (as well as the road and the traffic conditions). I can't say I have a rule, but I can say they make me livid. Honestly, I've found that if you can get around them on the right, that's the most expeditious way to handle it and it avoids any confrontation. That said, I adhere to the pass on the left rule, so I'm reluctant to pass on the right. Such a conundrum!

CW

 

I will typically flash the lights a few times and if the offender refuses to move I will make as safe a pass as possible on the right. Often, the left laner will realize they should move over after I've gone around. So frustrating to see them get over in your rear view when you just invested several miles trying to get around them.

Admittedly, old age has made me wiser. There was a time when I would start moving over before I was all the way past and force them into the shoulder.

 

Good post and if boxed 'in' patience will eventually reward you. Above any other factor is safety and being curtious I always wave and smile which goes along way and we all want to safely make it to our destination right. Flashing highbeam's occasionaly until they are noticed while still following at a safe distance is the way it can be handled and a righthand (middle lane) lane pass is not frowned upon if done safely. We have alot of elderly drivers who make this mistake because they do not know the law that the lefthand lane is not for cruising but for passing.

 

So you one upped his bad driving with irresponsible driving? Brilliant.