cracking down on left-lane campers,

[Quickv4]

Watch a video of someone driving on the autobahn, then youll see how your supposed to drive! If you inch up to somebody, they WILL pull over to let you pass, very attentive drivers. No wonder their no-speed limit roads have a lower accident rate than our 65mph interstates.

We wont ever see an American autobahn, unless we get people in cages off their cellphones, and two hands on the wheel, while routiniely scanning the mirriors!

[Sport-Touring]

[Indy Raven YZF]

Just came back from Arkansas (with a bunch of slower traffic keep right signs posted) and were forced to pass numerous times on the right (we weren't even doing 80).  Got the finger a bunch of times too, and this wasn't even with the left lane cars being remotely close to passsing any one.  Michigan is the worst, I hate I-94, I try to avoid it at all costs.  

Don't get it, pass and move over, I think people are just too lazy to move between lanes, easier to hang out in one.

[roadrunner]

just the other day a guy in the left lane paced the vehicle in the right lane for 12 miles from one town to the next.  It was early in the morning and we were the only three on the road.  I tried flashing my lights, backing off, but all was in vain when we got in to town I was able to pull up next to him at the stop light and proceeded to rip into him about driver curtesy, yeilding to traffic etc, all he could respond was "what I wasn't speeding".  Nothing burns me more than inconsiderate drivers, especially left lane bandits.  I supose this is one reason I love riding motorcycles, it really decreases my anger that would rage when I'm driving a car.

[Mydlyfkryzis]

Wow... they don't have ambulances in your area!  That's really scary!  Oh wait, they do?  I guess the proper thing to do would have been to call an ambulance if you thought your wife was that close to delivering.

Maybe your ambulance squad is next to your house, but the last time I needed to take my wife tot he hospital, I didn't want to wait 20-30 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. Some days are quicker, but in my area, it's a volunteer squad, and you have to wait for the EMT's (who are great, and I appreciate their service), to drive tot he Ambulance Squad House, and roll.

Walker may be in the same situation. I can get top to the local hospital faster than the ambulance can make it to my house.

YMMV

[B-rent]

Timely thread. There's a line to be drawn here and I haven't seen a post yet mention it. What if you are in the left lane passing people but you're not passing people at the rate that those who are behind you want you to pass? Does this still count as blocking the left lane?

Case in point, I was driving in the left lane going 70mph. The guy I was passing sped up when I was passing him so my original passing speed of 10mph faster than him was reduced to 5mph if not less. I was still passing him, although more slowly than I was initially. I'm still going 70mph though. The guy behind me, in a fit of frustration, drove his pickup truck so close to my Corolla I could only see the top of his lights and the hood of his truck in my rear view mirror. So because I wasn't passing at the speed he wanted me to pass I'm at fault? I'm the inconsiderate one? Where do you draw the line?

If I'm going 90mph and I'm STILL passing people but I'm not passing at a fast enough speed to make the people in back happy, I'm at fault?

People should not camp the left lane. But, if someone is passing people at 57mph when the speed limit is 55mph, the other folks who think they deserve to pass because they want to pass faster need to check themselves. Does that make sense?   Or is it too much passing and checking?    It is the passing lane, whether you're passing at 5mph over the speed limit, or 20mph over the speed limit.

[ctbandit]

Timely thread. There's a line to be drawn here and I haven't seen a post yet mention it. What if you are in the left lane passing people but you're not passing people at the rate that those who are behind you want you to pass? Does this still count as blocking the left lane?

Case in point, I was driving in the left lane going 70mph. The guy I was passing sped up when I was passing him so my original passing speed of 10mph faster than him was reduced to 5mph if not less. I was still passing him, although more slowly than I was initially. I'm still going 70mph though. The guy behind me, in a fit of frustration, drove his pickup truck so close to my Corolla I could only see the top of his lights and the hood of his truck in my rear view mirror. So because I wasn't passing at the speed he wanted me to pass I'm at fault? I'm the inconsiderate one? Where do you draw the line?

If I'm going 90mph and I'm STILL passing people but I'm not passing at a fast enough speed to make the people in back happy, I'm at fault?

People should not camp the left lane. But, if someone is passing people at 57mph when the speed limit is 55mph, the other folks who think they deserve to pass because they want to pass faster need to check themselves. Does that make sense?   Or is it too much passing and checking?    It is the passing lane, whether you're passing at 5mph over the speed limit, or 20mph over the speed limit.

Actually I mentioned the exact scenario from the first part - passing at 75mph but someone still wants to go faster to pass;

and the second part, if your going over the speed limit in the act passing are you still required to yield to faster traffic, is what the whole thread is about.

Not to step on toes, just saying the whole thread is about "the line" being drawn

[ianbh]

IMHO Texas is the worst with CA a close second but it's getting worse all over.  Ian, Iowa

[ctbandit]

I'm simply wondering how you enforce this law.  Its gotta be tough because i've NEVER heard of anyone getting a ticket for it.

If you've ever been on the section of rt 34 between Derby and New haven, the 4 lane part, you KNOW this law is not enforced. I've spent that entire stretch stuck behind people doing the exact same speed hundreds of times. I avoid that road like the plague when commuting.

[B-rent]

Actually I mentioned the exact scenario from the first part - passing at 75mph but someone still wants to go faster to pass;

and the second part, if your going over the speed limit in the act passing are you still required to yield to faster traffic, is what the whole thread is about.  

Not to step on toes, just saying the whole thread is about "the line" being drawn

I read many posts but didn't see that portion of your response ctbandit. No worries.

The thread, as I understood up to this point, was should people who are in the left lane be required to get over if they are going over the speed limit and people want to pass them? The speed limit was the basis of this argument.

The point I was making differed from this perspective as I was pointing out, as you did, that even if you are or aren't going over the speed limit and you're in the fast lane passing, (in other words, the speed doesn't matter, you're passing people) does the fact that you are still passing people matter? Anyway...

[ctbandit]

does the fact that you are still passing people matter? Anyway...

That smiley was too much..

Indeed, which is where I think this law, like many - including speeding - leave the judgment/justice too much in the hands of individual enforcers(LEOs).


I feel like this law is like putting a law on requiring to hold the door for someone behind you, or some other courtesy that should be given but by no means always is.

[Snowbird]

   Oh please.  I've been racing cars in the SCCA since I first got a license, and go carts before that.  The Army had also been kind enough to send me to driving course (run by the DSS).  

Giving a car a 'love tap' with less than a 1 mph speed differential at under 50 mph (after she pulled in front of me and hit her brakes) didn't even trip my danger radar.  I was nowhere even near the edge of control for that vehicle.

Sure, I could have hit my brakes and avoided it, and it wasn't my proudest moment, but you have your wife next to you screaming in pain, with your child being born three weeks too early, and lets just see how sensible you act.

Nope, my proudest moment came less than 20 minutes later.

You sound like a former neighbor of mine I had arrested for shooting toward me. His explanation? "I'm an expert; you were in no danger."

ex = a has-been
(s)pert = a drip under pressure

You were wrong.

[Snowbird]

I'm not missing the point at all.  Left lane hangers are annoying and cause cause congestion and are breaking the law.  Its about as simple of a concept to grasp as an apple being the color red.

I'm just saying cracking down on left lane hangers, could be very difficult if they are already doing the speed limit.  

Here in CT, people go 75-90 in 50 zones.  You hang up traffic even if you are making a 20+ pass.  It's actually very unsafe here with only 2-3 lanes at your disposal.  
Should the guy going 75 in a 50 get a ticket?  Well sure, i'd like to see him get a ticket too.  But the reality of it is that a cop isn't going to touch him since he was already speeding.  

I can see that in court....

Cop: you where impeding traffic
Left lang hanger:  I was going 20+ over the speed limit!

Case closed.

I agree with the bolded.

The speed limit is the same in every lane. You'll find it, folks, on the black and white signs.

The proper use of the 'slower traffic keep right' sign is for upgrades where some vehicles may not be able to keep up with other traffic. Some states may have other laws that apply to keeping right.

The reason there are multiple lanes (more than two) is because the roadway is expected to carry more traffic than the right lane can hold. Therefore, some traffic will be in other than the right lane and NOT be actively passing. Passing is just one reason to be in other than the right lane.

[st2sam]

If folks insist on acting like a mobil chicane, they shouldn't be surprised to get a love tap from time to time

stand tall, Walker -- ya done good.

+2    Left lane bandits should be hung by their thumbs and beat with a gas pedal...
If someone wants to pass let them get by, it's no big deal and everyone is happy......

[ctbandit]

The reason there are multiple lanes (more than two) is because the roadway is expected to carry more traffic than the right lane can hold. Therefore, some traffic will be in other than the right lane and NOT be actively passing. Passing is just one reason to be in other than the right lane.

I totally agree, but I think the idea is still to keep the left lane for passing, not traveling, Although I feel at a certain point the road becomes "saturated" and the left would have to be used as a travel lane.But like I said, this should be when there's lots of traffic in the other two lanes, not when you feel like going 65 in the left and are too lazy to move over to the middle lane with all the other people going 65.

[2006FJR]

IMHO CA is the worst with Texas a close second but it's getting worse all over.  Ian, Iowa

I fixed it for you.  

[FJR1300]

Maybe your ambulance squad is next to your house, but the last time I needed to take my wife tot he hospital, I didn't want to wait 20-30 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. Some days are quicker, but in my area, it's a volunteer squad, and you have to wait for the EMT's (who are great, and I appreciate their service), to drive tot he Ambulance Squad House, and roll.

Walker may be in the same situation. I can get top to the local hospital faster than the ambulance can make it to my house.

YMMV

I agree... if there are not any services available, you need to do what you need to do.  In his case, I don't think that was an issue.

[2006FJR]

I agree... if there are not any services available, you need to do what you need to do.  In his case, I don't think that was an issue.

I agree too. If someone wanted to fuck with me when my wife is screaming and we are on our way to the hospital they are going to find out real quick that it not a good idea.  

[yellowbird]

The left lane rule is only applicable in rural areas and interstates. To enforce this rule in major urban areas is impossible. So the country bumpkins who come to NYC in the pickup and flashes their high beams to force the car ahead to move to the right can expect some road rage, most cars are going 20 mph over the limit anyway so to be passing in the left lane you have to be going 90-100mph! what kind of rush are you in?
Sure, courtesy on the road is a good thing, but bumping from behind, try that in NYC ,"race car driver". Even the nice cellphone using female librarian will turn into a monster, If you have so much power its not that difficult to accelerate and pass on the right anyway.

[Global Rider]

But, in the defense of the alternative argument, no one SHOULD be going over the speed limit, so then it can be interpreted that so called left lane campers are not in the wrong assuming they are maintaining the speed limit.

And once again, its not up to left lane dreamers to enforce the law.

The fact is, they are ignornat and in most cases do it on purpose. So what is the problem of moving over? These poor souls want to control you because they themselves have no control in their lives, be it at home and at work, so they try to control others...at least that is how a shrink once put it in an article on driving attitudes.

And when you get down to it, they ARE the cause of this so-called road rage.

Although another topic, the usual cruising speed (what most cars do) on the autobahn is 190 km/hr (118 mph), yet they have a better safety record when it comes to fatalities than the US on sheer numbers alone and a far better record when you take the fact that surviving an accident at that speed decreases exponentially.

[tomek]

I can not believe there are people on motorcycle forum who defend slow pokes blocking left lane.
It is pretty simple ,you see a vehicle behind you -move over.Whether you are doing speed limit,20,30 over-does not matter,it is not your fricking job to enforce speed limit laws.

Midwest,MN,WI,IO,IL and IN are absolutely the worst in this regard,just take I90 between Madison WI and Rockford Il,60-70 % of vehicles travel in left lane,passing is done on the right.
West Coast and Western states are much,much better.