Mini Rant - Drive right, pass left!!

[JeffD607]

One must be careful when trying to train left lane drivers. Back in the 80's, I was driving an unmarked troop car in the passing lane of the interstate when an individual came up behind me and flashed his headlights for me to get out of his way. I promptly moved to the right lane, let him pass, and then took off like a rocket. I then paced him, stopped him, and gave him a ticket for speeding. Some people just make your job all that much easier.

 

[CamW]

I've noticed that the left lane campers are usually driving Subarus, Prius and Teslas.

 

[Rule3]

Many, many drivers on the Interstates are crazy!! They go 80+mph or whatever and tailgate you like they are a NASCAR driver. Long ago there was some rule of thumb of leaving a car length for every ten mph you were driving (or some such thing) You have no reaction time driving that close.

What really ticks me off is when driving in the right lane and there are drivers coming onto the interstate , the word is merging, they just come flying expecting you to move out of their way. They are supposed to MERGE and get into traffic when it is safe, not make you slow down!. So you play chicken with them, idiots!

Then of course there are the lane changers where no lane is good enough for them weaving it and out (but that is everywhere)

 

[Doug M.]

What bugs me is when a semi comes up behind another semi going 2 miles an hour slower than him and pulls out to pass. That ends up blocking both lanes for a mile or more because he is still going that 2 MPH faster

**
Other than the military, commercial vehicles are the priority users of the Interstate and US highway system. Cars are ancillary users. The two tiered speed limits and heavily governed and often under powered trucks are the main cause of this kind of problem. If 5 axle (80K pounds max) semi won't hold 60 or a bit more on a 5% grade, the problem is how it is specced. Some companies govern their trucks to 62 or so to save fuel (a .001 mpg improvement in a fleet is a lot of money) and sometimes for perceived safety. Annoying to car drivers, but in the grand scheme, an inanity.

What I hate is the people in cars who start passing a semi and slow down because they are too timid and fearful to just keep going. Sitting next to a semi for no good reason is really dangerous. Can't handle the close encounter? Pull over, have the car towed to a dealer to be sold, and call for a ride. Those people should not be on the road, ever.

 

[LVSteve]

At times, you might call me a lane camper. I'm not lolligagging over there as far too many do. I just see unnecessary risk in frequent lane changes in stretches with a lot of interchanges.
Before everyone settles down into their spaces in or around the traffic blood clots, I'll be well clear. I will maintain space around my car.

That highlights a complaint I've had about highway design in many places in the US. The locals bleat for access and you end up with interchanges that are far too close together. The off lane for one junction is also the acceleration lane for the previous one. It's madness.

As for tailgating, by the standard I was trained to in the UK, 99% of drivers tailgate on the freeway. The UK standard is once the speed gets over 45 mph, you have a two-second gap between you and the car in front. When I do this with US born passengers, they often meltdown with Asphalt Agoraphobia, squealing, "You're not keeping up with traffic!" Funny thing, but if I'm the same 100 yards behind someone after 10 miles, physics tells me I did keep up. Weird that.

 

[LVSteve]

**
Other than the military, commercial vehicles are the priority users of the Interstate and US highway system. Cars are ancillary users. The two tiered speed limits and heavily governed and often under powered trucks are the main cause of this kind of problem. If 5 axle (80K pounds max) semi won't hold 60 or a bit more on a 5% grade, the problem is how it is specced. Some companies govern their trucks to 62 or so to save fuel (a .001 mpg improvement in a fleet is a lot of money) and sometimes for perceived safety. Annoying to car drivers, but in the grand scheme, an inanity.

What I hate is the people in cars who start passing a semi and slow down because they are too timid and fearful to just keep going. Sitting next to a semi for no good reason is really dangerous. Can't handle the close encounter? Pull over, have the car towed to a dealer to be sold, and call for a ride. Those people should not be on the road, ever.

I see you have driven on I-40 recently.

 

[Doug M.]

Actually, not in years. I90 and the vermin from Seattle area triggered my rant.

 

[Leonard]

No she is down here in the South, In Fl you can get a ticket for going slow in the left lane.

https://legalclarity.org/florida-left-lane-law-statute-rules-penalties-and-exceptions/

This is very frustrating in South Florida they crawl below speed limits in all lanes, take forever to react to a green lite. I wish they would get ticketed.

 

[AJ]

Are there any of these fools left anywhere but Florida? I thought all of them had been imported to or moved to Florida??

 

[AJ]

It is not just on the interstates. On our last visit to Houston I was in the right lane of the Beltway 8 access road approaching our hotel, so I was doing the speed limit. Traffic in the left lane was slowly passing me.

A rather large SUV towing a trailer passed me on my right using the shoulder. He overtook the two cars in front of me as well before pulling back into the right lane.

As for the standard of US interstates and freeways, come and drive New Zealand roads. They will give you a new appreciation for US ones. Two lane, no centre barriers and potholes/rough repairs so numerous that you just cant't drive around them.

The driver of this semi is going to jail for a while............. https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/c...d-to-triple-fatal-crash-fhp-says/85650701007/ Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!!!

 

[Denverd0n]

What I hate is the people in cars who start passing a semi and slow down...

Absolutely! I think there are various reasons why they do it, but at least 1/3rd of the drivers on the road will slow down as they pass another vehicle. The bigger the vehicle, the more they slow down. It's just insane, as the SAFE thing to do is to get past expeditiously. That doesn't mean that you have to speed way up and zoom past them, but at least maintain your speed and get on around. Lingering next to them is DUMB!

 

[LVSteve]

The driver of this semi is going to jail for a while............. https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/c...d-to-triple-fatal-crash-fhp-says/85650701007/ Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!!!

Going to the next legal exit to turn around would force the driver to admit he'd screwed up and wasn't in total control of his life. Who wants to do that?