Driving slow in the fast lane

[Old Arkansawyer]

While traveling the interstates and doing the speed limit, many times a
state trooper would pass me at an estimated 10-15miles/hr over. My
practice was to fall in behind them and keep about 50-75 yards back.
Passed lots of traffic in the right lane. Never got stopped much less a
ticket and was doing 80 miles/hr at times.

 

[grover99]

. "I think after a certain age you should have your license renewed every 2 years , and you have to go in to do it ". In Missouri you have to renew every 6 years until you turn 75 then it drops to every 3 years. You have to go in and pass a vision test and prove you know what a number of road signs mean.

 

[UncleEd]

... until you turn 75 then it drops to every 3 years. You have to go in and pass a vision test and prove you know what a number of road signs mean.

For many, many well under 75, their
vision sucks because they can't
read the road signs and even if
they did, they think they were
only suggestions for other people.

 

[LVSteve]

My wife drives in the left lane and it makes me crazy.

I asked her one time why do you drive in the left lane and her answer was its smoother.

On I-10 in California this is 100% true. That drag between Palm Springs and San Bernardino is proof positive we went to the Moon. We peeled a bunch off, laid it out in CA then attached on/off ramps.

 

[LVSteve]

You can expect a lot more people to be driving slow the way gas prices are going.

I find it's not my speed on the freeway that upsets others, it's my application of the "two-second rule" that I was taught in the UK. Over 50 mph you allow two seconds between you and the car in front. Apparently this causes the onset of Asphalt Agoraphobia in American born drivers and passengers. It's like they think this will happen if you leave some space.

 

[625-7]

Rusty......

Give me some Savoy Brown Little Red Rooster and I'll just cruise the right lane

 

[COFFEEMUG]

I dare anybody from florida to argue this.

 

[CB3]

Define Slow

So, for law enforcement people out there, is driving at the speed limit (in any lane) while other people are speeding past impeding traffic? And therefore is it an offense that can be ticketed? Meaning the speed limit is not the speed limit?

My last speeding ticket 12 or 13 years ago required a "traffic class" and one year probation to expunge. In the traffic class I was told by the local PD officer running it that they could (not would) ticket anyone for going 1 mph over a posted limit. Flow of traffic and an accepted 5 mph cushion seem acceptable, if not actually legal.

In Utah our rural interstate freeway speed is 80 mph. That's just too fast for some people who do typically stay in the right of two lanes—except of course for some California drivers who think the left lane is the ONLY lane.

Of interest, last year UHP arrested over 3,500 drivers for speeds in excess of 100 mph. So, where does going too fast above the posted speed limit become a greater threat to innocent lives? There are numerous reasons speed limits are set and posted. It's basically because we need to protect ourselves from ourselves.

Wyoming experimented with no freeway speed limits for about two years a decade or so ago. They went back to posted speeds. Seems you can't really control the mechanical safety of every car, or the skill and judgment of every driver, or the capability of the road to accommodate high speeds.

IMO, if I'm going the posted speed limit, I am not going slow. If you want to break the law and speed, it's your choice, until you endanger me. Let me get to where I'm going safely and don't get pissed because I drive at the posted limit.

 

[tops]

. "I think after a certain age you should have your license renewed every 2 years , and you have to go in to do it ". In Missouri you have to renew every 6 years until you turn 75 then it drops to every 3 years. You have to go in and pass a vision test and prove you know what a number of road signs mean.

Age doesn't have anything too do with being stupid and (or) special. I have seen drivers of all ages that don't drive responsibly.
The best one I saw lately and the punishment was when there were signs that the left lane was blocked. I was second in the right lane and a red sports car in the left lane thought he could beat us to the great big red cones. He beat us but he misjudged the distance. Big red cones and car parts went in the air. He left his left front fender on the side of the road. When he got the repair bill I bet he didn't feel special and he wished he wasn't stupid. Larry

 

[Nevada Ed]

My biggest peeeve, is a large unit being towed and not pulling over or stopping at a wide out, to let 5 or more cars behind it go by.

I followed a large swimming pool from the Nev. / Utah border , all the way to Delta, before I could pass.

That should call for a BIG ticket.

 

[SMSgt]

My wife drives in the left lane and it makes me crazy.

I asked her one time why do you drive in the left lane and her answer was its smoother.

If were going on the interstate I have to drive.

If you're driving I-95 through SC, you definitely want to stay in the left lane unless you want to buy a new suspension. Sorriest highway maintenance I've ever seen.

 

[Ματθιας]

Coffeemug , you can't just blame it on the Canadians . I think after a certain age you should have your license renewed every 2 years , and you have to go in to do it . I'm sure all of us will be there sooner or later , so we need to be a little understanding . This coming from someone whose wife drives now , she says my driving is too aggressive .

I do appreciate your post there Puller , I really do . Maybe we can have it posted in every DL office in the country .

In New Mexico, one can get a DL eight years, over, I think 67, the max is four years and over 75, license renewal is every year.

 

[SMSgt]

I dare anybody from florida to argue this.

I had to drive I-95 south from Stuart, FL, to its demise in Miami one day. Not once did I get below 85 mph. White knuckled all the way.

 

[Ματθιας]

Drive right, pass left, a simple concept, really.

The ABQ metro interstates, I25 and I40, there's literally no traffic enforcement so it's not unusual to be doing 75-80mph and get passed by someone doing 90+!

I mostly see people from out of state hanging out in the fast lane.

What gets me is when one tractor trailer (or an RV) will try to overtake another on a long hill and both are doing 55mph with a half mile of traffic backed up behind them!

 

[1BadSmith]

People!!... let's not get all high tech hear, we don't need definitions, or to sound like Bill Clinton...depending on "what your definition of is, is?" Fast lane is to get moving, slow lane is not!! Not rocket science!! If you have 40 people behind you, get the hell out of the way!! You are the problem! "Nine your fine"....meaning nine over speed limit on interstate, your pretty good with law enforcement here in WI. The "slow" people that stay in that lane and don't get it are probably the same ones that can't figure out how to walk in malls and probably walk in the street instead of sidewalk and wear dark clothes at night. Yeah, if I hurt your feelings, I don't care. Simple, simple!! Oh wait!! Some loser thinks 15mph is fast so we need to give everyone an opportunity to travel however they feel is right. NOPE! Stop it!! Get a clue. Rant over.

 

[Ruger Nut]

Here in La. you can get a ticket for driving in the fast/left lane under certain conditions.
Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 32, SS 71 | FindLaw

 

[GypsmJim]

I drive in the middle lane, at about 5 mph above the speed limit. The right lane is always too congested by cars exiting or entering. That way no one can pester me because I'm driving too slow.

If I come upon a geezer driving too slow, I move to the left lane and pass. I don't go crazy and speed by, and I do it safely.

Inevitable every time I get in the left lane, an idiot comes up on my bumper at 20 mpg above the speed limit and I'm sure he complains at me because I'm going too slow in the passing lane.

We have a driving problem in the US, and much of it started with the pandemic. People now think speeding beyond reality is OK.

Now, don't get me started about tweeting in the left lane at 75 mph...

 

[COFFEEMUG]

I had to drive I-95 south from Stuart, FL, to its demise in Miami one day. Not once did I get below 85 mph. White knuckled all the way.

I go up to Leesburg from bradenton once a month, 95 mph or better the entire way and I have to move over for the faster drivers.

 

[snubbyfan]

Out here we have 2 lane roads. One lane going one way and one lane going the other way.
If you get stuck behind a slow vehicle, you might as well settle in, it may be a while before a passing lane comes up.
We usually give ourselves an extra 15 to 20 minutes to get somewhere.
Tourist season's coming up soon and they seem scared to death of curves and hills.
And if there's a curve with a hill....

 

[SMSgt]

Out here we have 2 lane roads. One lane going one way and one lane going the other way.
If you get stuck behind a slow vehicle, you might as well settle in, it may be a whole before a passing lane comes up.
We usually give ourselves an extra 15 to 20 minutes to get somewhere.
Tourist season's coming up soon and they seem scared to death of curves and hills.
And if there's a curve with a hill....

The one sensible FL traffic law is speeding is allowed when passing on a two-lane highway.