One of the most frustrating aspects of driving in the US is the utter lack of understanding and attention paid to the simple rule: “Slower traffic keep right.”
It’s not a difficult rule to follow and many drivers in many other countries seem to live quite successfully by this rule. The left lane is not your own personal space where you can go as fast as you please. The left lane is for passing only, in order to proceed past other cars driving in the lanes to the right.
It is also not excusable to think that driving at or above the posted speed limit, or at any specific speed, affords you the right to block the left lane. The only physical speed limits that matter are those imposed by friction and a lack of more horsepower, so get in the lane furthest to the right with cars going a similar speed and stay out of the way of those who wish to pass you.
For the record, passing other vehicles in the left lane needn’t have anything to do with impatience or recklessness — it can be purely a desire to experience driving in a different way that in no way harms or endangers other motorists, but rather respects the flow of traffic and the right to be free from idiocy encumbering one’s path at every bend.
That being said (and true), I will say that I have just recently learned that certain areas of the US (namely California north of the Bay Area, Oregon, and Washington, as well as the long straight stretch of the 5 just south of the Bay Area to a degree) and the southern part of our northern neighbor (up to downtown Vancouver) do much better at this. Both my friend and I were rather surprised at the courtesy we ecountered when driving faster than the rest of the traffic.
In fact, people merged to the right to get out of our way so much that I earned my first two speeding tickets within 4 days from each other. Go figure.
Yeah, I was going to make a caveat for Washington, but even there I had a fair amount of trouble with people lingering in the left lane.
Sorry I didn’t call you back — I tried and my phone had a blank number for you (but still had your name). Something went very wrong with my address book sync.
Anyway, hope you had a good time in Canada, eh.
I moved to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota a few years back. This is the worst place I have ever seen for idiots who dont know how to move over to the right.
It is unfortuate, but if you are going faster than the rest of traffic you are usually better off using the right lane since the center and left are loaded with dumbasses.
Agreed 100%. Out here in California I have found it the worse that I have experienced. Traveling I-5 over the Grapevine is one of the worse examples of this driving there is. I HATE it!
Just a request, would anyone like to post the section of the California vehicle code that defines the #1 lane as a “passing lane”. I commute 50 miles a day on the I10 and I see the worst examples of this “slower traffic keep right” mentality. Most of these people think that “slow” means doing the speed limit. The speed limit is not a suggestion, it is the law. And if people want to do 90+ in the “passing lane”, be prepared for the ticket. I for one would love to here one of you try the excuse that it was the passing lane so it was ok. duh!
Surely, Section 21650 (a):
Is that clear enough?
I would suggest driving at the speed that you are comfortable with in the appropriate lane (furthest to the right as is reasonable) and staying out of the way, physically and ideologically, of those who wish to pass you.
Guess what? If you’re driving 65 while people around you are driving (or trying to drive) 80, then you are driving “slow,” regardless of the posted speed limit. “Slow” is a term to describe your velocity relative to your peers in any given situation.
It’s a safety issue rather than a law issue. Unless you are an on-duty law enforcement official in the proper jurisdiction, it is not your duty or your place to enforce your ideas of “correct” driving on the surrounding cars, even if your ideas coincide with the law. You can’t control anyone’s speed but your own, and a slow driver who insists on remaining in the fast lane is a safety hazard. For instance, if another driver wants to pass you but can’t because you’re obstructing the fast lane, it is likely that he will attempt to pass you on the right, where the slow-but-courteous drivers are. This increases the risk of an accident, which very well might result in injury and property damage to innocent parties, and depending on the circumstances, you yourself might suffer injury or damage.
Excluding the exceptionally ignorant, people doing 90+ in the passing lane are fully aware that they are breaking the law. Speeding is typically a conscious choice, and it comes with the knowledge that, if caught, a ticket is the consequence. It’s idiotic to think that anyone would truly believe that speeding in the passing lane is okay. Duh. (Of course, most drivers would prefer not to get a ticket, so they slow down when a cop is spotted.)
Bottom line: You are not doing anyone any favors by parking yourself in the left lane when faster drivers are present. You are, in fact, endangering yourself and the people around you. It’s not a difficult thing to move to the right and stay there until you need to pass someone else, so just do it.
I agree, Minnesota is one of the worst when it comes to observing the “slower traffic keep right” ideology. On a 5 lane stretch of freeway, you’ll see people rushing into the left lane, cell phones in hand, and just sit there. I firmly believe that the term “Minnesota nice” is merely something Minnesotans quote as propaganda for the rest of the nation. Locally, the status quo is aggression and the constant search for opportunity to screw over the drivers next to you. In the news today, is a story of what is classified as a road rage incident. A group of teenagers in the left lane were apparently teaching a tailgater a lesson by tapping their brakes. The result was that the tailgater finally had the opportunity to pass on the right and swerved back in front of the slower vehicle in retailiation. The result was that the teenages, presumably overreacting, lost control of their vehicle and suffered a death of one of the passengers. It surprises me that this type of thing doesn’t occur on a daily basis. To reiterate the sentiment of the previous posts, when drivers self-appoint themselves as the guardians of the highway for speed inforcement, they endanger themselves as well as other innocent drivers.
I believe Brad is quoting the wrong information. Based on the use of the words “right half of the highway” it seems that this is refering to how in the US, cars drive on the right half of the road. On some roads that have one lane in each direction, it is sometimes leagal to pass using the left half/lane of the road. I would like to see someone find code that show that the leftmost of a multiple lane road is only a passing lane.
Here is a part of the California Vehicle Code that may be of interrest to those who tailgate drivers trying to “encourage” them to move out of the way.
Agreed on your first observation: it does look like the section I quoted applies to different directions of traffic. It’s rather disconcerting that the law isn’t written more clearly, though.
As for 21658, that seems to apply most clearly to the slower vehicles, who shouldn’t leave the right-hand lanes until it is safe to do so (when there are no faster cars coming). Other than that, I don’t see that section having much bearing on the subject at hand.
I completely and totally agree. It is simple courtesy and based on signs on the highway it is also law. Why is it never enforced?
I agree that someone driving substantially below the speed limit in the left lane for extended periods deserves a ticket for not observing the posted “Slower Traffic Keep Right” signs.
The problem I see in this thread, however, is a wide scale disrespect for the law both by “putters” and by speeders. The so-called “congestion” occurs in part because too many people do not allow enough time to get to where they need to go at the posted speed limits. They then want to violate the law to correct their mistakes.
Slow down and obey *all* the laws, including the posted speed limits!
I dare anyone to share with us an incident in which someone actually got a ticket for driving the speed limit in the left lane.
@Luke: Thats because everyone gets the hell out of the way if CHP is in the left lane. Hence no tickets.
Speaking of driving in the left lane, I recently have received a ticket in WA state for staying in the passing lane too long and holding up traffic. Funny thing is that I was traveling 70-75mph passing cars since Spokane and I had come acorss a Semitruck and two slower cars spaced a good distance apart. It was going up a hill heading West on Highway 90 just passed George. He clocked me going 62 up that hill (I own a 86 toyota pickuptruck which has a bit of trouble climbing btw)still passing those vehicles. While passing I had began asking about snoqualmie pass as a recent concern and had passed the semi not even 400m and had spaced moving back into the right lane. One car behind me besides the State patrol. I’m a 19 yr old college student with 4 years of an entirely clean driving record. The ticket was for $124.00! I’m taking a 3 and a half hour drive to court just to say explain what I have just told you. Does anyone have any opinions or just plain advice they can give me for this up coming case?
You people think speeding is bad. But think why people are speeding. They’re speeding because they got enough of being behind of slow cars driving in parallel, clothing the entire freeway. Also keep in mind, that usually slow drivers do break the law!!! Why? Because the reason they’re slow is because their attention is focused on their cell phone conversation and they stop paying attention to the road. That’s the reason they don’t have the capacity to change lanes. They can’t focus on the road, can’t see what’s coming, or what they should do.
The optimal strategy for dealing with left lane hogs is to give them ample time to move over, and then when they refuse to do so, safely pass on the right. Once past the hog, move back to the left lane (using the headlights visible in the rear view mirror rule - i.e. make sure not to cut them off).
Once back in the left lane, slowly decelerate, more and more and more, until the hog finally moves right (but don’t go so slow that it becomes really hazardous). At this point, speed back up, move back right yourself (to show the right way to do things), and continue.
If the hog returns to the left lane once you move on, repeat, and FORCE them back to the right. Do this repeatedly until they learn, or until you must exit. Even the most clueless driver, after the third time, will get the message that they are expected to stay to the right.
If more people did this (I know of several here in the bay area that do), left lane hogs might start observing the “slower traffic keep right” signs.
I deal with this everyday driving up I-5 North from Seattle to Marysville. Its so frustrating to drive on the freeway because no one has a clue what lane control is. So I use the HOV lane as my own personal passing lane, I know it will one day catch up with me but I personally feel that if the Passing lane law was enforced then the HOV lane wouldn’t get abused.