The people who are obsessed with this are also the people who seem to think any person in the left lane at any time gives them justification to aggressively weave in and out of traffic, ignoring the equally present laws against speeding and undertaking.
This is my impression too. The number of times I have been held up by someone hogging the outside lane, or had to change lanes twice around someone hogging the middle, is very low compared to the number of times I’ve been held up by a lorry overtaking another lorry on a two-lane road (perfectly legal, happens at least a dozen times every trip on such roads) or been aggressively tailgated while I’m overtaking traffic (not legal, happens about once per such trip)
or been aggressively tailgated while I’m overtaking traffic
Are you one of those people that creates a massive road hazard by trying to pass by driving a single mile per hour faster than the cars in the right lane?
Are you one of those people that creates a massive road hazard by driving two car lengths behind the vehicle in front? Because unlike you I can explain in exactly what scenario that leads to a crash.
That was my reaction too. The worst drivers are the ones who treat the highway like a race track, always looking to pass anyone in sight, swerving into any lane to do so, and tailgating people as a strategy to get what they want. I hate those people so much. Yeah it’s super annoying to get blocked by a car in the left lane but you’re right, the tailgater is the worse person here.
There’s no such thing as a “fast lane”. “Fast lane” implies that there’s a speed fast enough to justify staying there, which is false.
It’s the passing lane. You use it to pass slower traffic in the middle lane before getting back into the middle lane. If you’re not passing people, you do not belong in that lane.
Your desire to go faster than the car in front does not overrule rules of safe driving. If you think it does, or if you’re so impatient you are unable to think rationally in this situation, your attitude is not suitable for driving a two ton machine at 70-odd miles per hour.
The sticker is wrong. Get out of the driver’s seat.
Just let me past bro. Just get out of my way bro. Just get out of my way or I’ll drive up your arse bro. My right to go fast is more important than your right to safely use the road bro.
I’ll move over when I’m good and ready. Which will be slower if some cunt is right behind me, because I need to make very certain, by double and triple checking my mirrors and blind spots, that you haven’t already decided to undertake, and that there’s definitely nothing that would cause me to have to abort my lane change, because said cunt will already be squeezing past me and I won’t be able to.
I’ll also need to lower my own speed so that their following distance is less likely to cause them to drive into the back of me in the event I have to emergency brake, and less likely to cause their own ruin if I have to swerve suddenly out of the way of some road debris that they than have no chance to spot because they’re trying to get into my back seats.
Incorrect in Wisconsin, FWIW. By law, we have the speed limit, and “slower traffic keep right.” And there’s no keeping-up-with-flow-of-traffic clause, either. So traveling at the limit in the left lane is completely legal, there’s no obligation to clear the way for lawbreakers.
Nor is it yours. Even in your own comments you admit that the left lane is the passing lane. If someone is behind you, you’re slower traffic. You’re obligated to move over, and you’re in the wrong if you do not.
What is it with you power freaks that just have to enact control by fucking with other people? Find a better way to get a rage boner.
It is also illegal to stay in the left lane when other people are speeding. If they are going faster than you, you are by definition slower traffic and obliged to keep to the right.
Your job as a driver is not to police other drivers’ behaviors. It’s not even to follow the letter of the law. It’s to operate the vehicle safely. Creating obstacles for other people because you don’t think they should drive so fast is not a safe action.
Really, we need to collectively get rid of the idea of a “fast lane.” The left lane is a passing lane. You should only be in it when you’re attempting to pass someone, and when the pass is complete, you should move over.
I’d just point out, as in my original comment, that is incorrect in Wisconsin. It is perfectly legal to drive at the speed limit in the left lane here. We don’t have any notion of a passing lane in state law.
Out of courtesy, I stay to the right, but almost every semi is doing 65MPH when the limit is 70MPH, the adaptive-cruise people hanging behind them are even slower. So, I pass them. Interestingly, by following the speed limit, I’ll encounter maybe one or two left-lane campers in a four-hour highway trip. It would seem that the people trying to police the behavior of slower (than they’d like) drivers in fast or passing lane are the greater problem.
Just a quick bit of searching, and I found a Wisconsin sheriff who is far less definitive on this than you:
According to state law, any vehicle traveling “at less than the normal speed of traffic” must be driven in the right-hand lane, or as close as practicable, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle.
So Wisconsin does acknowledge that anyone going less than the normal speed of traffic should only use the left lane to pass. But, as the sheriff points out:
“It describes normal traffic, so to say somebody going 80 is normal is going to be very difficult for me to say that. So normal being above the speed limit, you’ve got two conflicting sets of laws here.”
And it’s okay that traffic laws conflict with each other because, again, the point is not the letter of the law, but the safe and predictable operation of the vehicle.
I can’t find it now, but the local newspaper asked the State Patrol about it some years ago. They were clear: They cannot issue tickets for “obstructing traffic” for driving at the limit in any lane.
It appears that the conflict described by the sheriff is that he’s reluctant to call breaking the speed limit the “normal flow of traffic.”
You need to have your drivers license taken away. Cops openly brag about being able to pull people over whenever they want. They can do this because there are so many rules of the road, that it is literally impossible to drive without violating them.
So really, drop the bullshit “but it’s illegal!!!” cope. You violate the law every time you get on the road. Traffic laws are written to be selectively enforced. You make it illegal to speed and then leave it to officer discretion.
Hell, I say we throw you in jail for life. If every law was enforced against everyone who violates them, then everyone would be in jail for life.
You’ve committed enough crimes to get yourself locked away for life. Perhaps you shouldn’t appeal to the law so readily.
You raise a valid point about how our legal system can be used as a tool of oppression. However, in practice, the State Patrol here are generally pretty ethical, and they pull people over for speeding and reckless driving most of the time. Never for obeying the speed limit.
It is, but suboptimal driving behaviour of your fellow drivers is never an excuse to consciously make road traffic even more dangerous or behave aggresively.
Going significantly slower than the rest of traffic can be dangerous in a limited number of scenarios, but not frequently enough for people to bring it up in casual conversation.
Edit: Significantly slower is like the opposite of significantly faster, being wildly different is dangerous because of how it impacts merging between lanes.
It’s always dangerous on the highway. If you’re going significantly slower other drivers will not realize how fast they will catch up to you and can’t brake properly.
The one frequent scenario I can think of off the top of my head is merging onto the highway. At least once a week it feels like I’m stuckbehingd someone trying to merge onto the highway 10mph under the speed limit making it more dangerous for everyone stuck behind them.
There is a entry lane onto 94 north of chicago where the speed limit is 70 mph but every single person wants to merge at like 45 mph, but then they will keep on accelerating (slowly) to like 100 mph and pass you. I fucking don’t understand.
Also going significantly slower than traffic and changing multiple lanes at once, slowing down far too early for an exit, going very slow in the middle lane so traffic flows around both sides, and some others as well. Basically if the car is going slow enough to be comparable to something stationary in the road it can be a hazard.
But it really does have to be wildly different from traffic, not just 10-15 mph different.
Yeah. And they rarely give a fully articulated reason why “driving too slow is dangerous”. Because they know that the real reason - “it makes other people drive aggressively” - is trying to place the blame on slow drivers for the actions of actually dangerous drivers.
Of course, you should drive at an appropriate speed. But in terms of safety messaging, it’s not the thing to focus on.
If you’re that close to the car in front, you’re the bigger asshole and causing by far the bigger danger
The people who are obsessed with this are also the people who seem to think any person in the left lane at any time gives them justification to aggressively weave in and out of traffic, ignoring the equally present laws against speeding and undertaking.
There are only 2 traffic laws in my town, apparently:
The problem is everyone obeys them.
This is my impression too. The number of times I have been held up by someone hogging the outside lane, or had to change lanes twice around someone hogging the middle, is very low compared to the number of times I’ve been held up by a lorry overtaking another lorry on a two-lane road (perfectly legal, happens at least a dozen times every trip on such roads) or been aggressively tailgated while I’m overtaking traffic (not legal, happens about once per such trip)
Are you one of those people that creates a massive road hazard by trying to pass by driving a single mile per hour faster than the cars in the right lane?
Are you one of those people who wants to go 30 over everywhere you go, and fuck anyone with the gall to get in your way?
How does that create a “massive road hazard”?
Are you one of those people that creates a massive road hazard by driving two car lengths behind the vehicle in front? Because unlike you I can explain in exactly what scenario that leads to a crash.
For real though, I will move over to the other lane as soon as I safely can, some people don’t know how to wait for 5 fucking seconds.
And they all get mad on the internet when you call them out on their shitty, selfish impatience.
That was my reaction too. The worst drivers are the ones who treat the highway like a race track, always looking to pass anyone in sight, swerving into any lane to do so, and tailgating people as a strategy to get what they want. I hate those people so much. Yeah it’s super annoying to get blocked by a car in the left lane but you’re right, the tailgater is the worse person here.
You close the gap gradually as a reminder to get the fuck out of the way. The sticker is correct. Get out of the fast lane.
There’s no such thing as a “fast lane”. “Fast lane” implies that there’s a speed fast enough to justify staying there, which is false.
It’s the passing lane. You use it to pass slower traffic in the middle lane before getting back into the middle lane. If you’re not passing people, you do not belong in that lane.
But people do go faster in that lane than the other lanes, because they have to in order to pass.
True, but people cleaning things in the kitchen doesn’t make it the cleaning room. It’s the passing lane, speed is a byproduct of the actual purpose.
I dunno man. I guess I just understand how nicknames work and where they come from.
You do not have to pass someone. There’s actually no justification for passing someone who is already driving at the speed limit.
Fair point!
Your desire to go faster than the car in front does not overrule rules of safe driving. If you think it does, or if you’re so impatient you are unable to think rationally in this situation, your attitude is not suitable for driving a two ton machine at 70-odd miles per hour.
The sticker is wrong. Get out of the driver’s seat.
Lol bro/sphene. Just move over. Your attitude really isnt fit for sharing communal resources.
Just let me past bro. Just get out of my way bro. Just get out of my way or I’ll drive up your arse bro. My right to go fast is more important than your right to safely use the road bro.
I’ll move over when I’m good and ready. Which will be slower if some cunt is right behind me, because I need to make very certain, by double and triple checking my mirrors and blind spots, that you haven’t already decided to undertake, and that there’s definitely nothing that would cause me to have to abort my lane change, because said cunt will already be squeezing past me and I won’t be able to.
I’ll also need to lower my own speed so that their following distance is less likely to cause them to drive into the back of me in the event I have to emergency brake, and less likely to cause their own ruin if I have to swerve suddenly out of the way of some road debris that they than have no chance to spot because they’re trying to get into my back seats.
You must have been a hall monitor.
I don’t know what that is. You sound upset that someone is criticising your driving.
😂
Incorrect in Wisconsin, FWIW. By law, we have the speed limit, and “slower traffic keep right.” And there’s no keeping-up-with-flow-of-traffic clause, either. So traveling at the limit in the left lane is completely legal, there’s no obligation to clear the way for lawbreakers.
There’s legal and there’s things you should do. If the highway is three lanes, move the fuck over.
As I’ve been reminded, it’s not your job to police other drivers’ behavior. 😉
Nor is it yours. Even in your own comments you admit that the left lane is the passing lane. If someone is behind you, you’re slower traffic. You’re obligated to move over, and you’re in the wrong if you do not.
What is it with you power freaks that just have to enact control by fucking with other people? Find a better way to get a rage boner.
If you have slower traffic keep right, and there is no one to the right of the slower moving car, shouldn’t they keep right in that case?
No, not if they’re travelling at about the speed limit. It would be illegal to overtake.
It is also illegal to stay in the left lane when other people are speeding. If they are going faster than you, you are by definition slower traffic and obliged to keep to the right.
Your job as a driver is not to police other drivers’ behaviors. It’s not even to follow the letter of the law. It’s to operate the vehicle safely. Creating obstacles for other people because you don’t think they should drive so fast is not a safe action.
Really, we need to collectively get rid of the idea of a “fast lane.” The left lane is a passing lane. You should only be in it when you’re attempting to pass someone, and when the pass is complete, you should move over.
Minor correction: It is sadly not illegal in some states to stay in the left lanes.
I’d just point out, as in my original comment, that is incorrect in Wisconsin. It is perfectly legal to drive at the speed limit in the left lane here. We don’t have any notion of a passing lane in state law.
Out of courtesy, I stay to the right, but almost every semi is doing 65MPH when the limit is 70MPH, the adaptive-cruise people hanging behind them are even slower. So, I pass them. Interestingly, by following the speed limit, I’ll encounter maybe one or two left-lane campers in a four-hour highway trip. It would seem that the people trying to police the behavior of slower (than they’d like) drivers in fast or passing lane are the greater problem.
Just a quick bit of searching, and I found a Wisconsin sheriff who is far less definitive on this than you:
So Wisconsin does acknowledge that anyone going less than the normal speed of traffic should only use the left lane to pass. But, as the sheriff points out:
And it’s okay that traffic laws conflict with each other because, again, the point is not the letter of the law, but the safe and predictable operation of the vehicle.
I can’t find it now, but the local newspaper asked the State Patrol about it some years ago. They were clear: They cannot issue tickets for “obstructing traffic” for driving at the limit in any lane.
It appears that the conflict described by the sheriff is that he’s reluctant to call breaking the speed limit the “normal flow of traffic.”
Eh, I see nothing wrong with passing on the right. If you’re driving correctly, it shouldn’t even be possible for someone to pass you on the right.
Exceeding the speed limit is still not legal.
You need to have your drivers license taken away. Cops openly brag about being able to pull people over whenever they want. They can do this because there are so many rules of the road, that it is literally impossible to drive without violating them.
So really, drop the bullshit “but it’s illegal!!!” cope. You violate the law every time you get on the road. Traffic laws are written to be selectively enforced. You make it illegal to speed and then leave it to officer discretion.
Hell, I say we throw you in jail for life. If every law was enforced against everyone who violates them, then everyone would be in jail for life.
You’ve committed enough crimes to get yourself locked away for life. Perhaps you shouldn’t appeal to the law so readily.
You raise a valid point about how our legal system can be used as a tool of oppression. However, in practice, the State Patrol here are generally pretty ethical, and they pull people over for speeding and reckless driving most of the time. Never for obeying the speed limit.
So you’re the person who stays in the left lane with a mile of cars behind you?
Do everyone else a favor and stay off the highway.
Lol, no.
Completely legal doesn’t mean you aren’t a dick for doing it
Sometimes you gotta pass speed-governed semis and adaptive-cruise folks; I’m not worried about criminals’ opinions of me.
Lmao this would be a great bit if you weren’t serious
Thank you!
Atleast you make it easy to tag you as an entitled piece of shit
For obeying the law, and acting courteously, I’m an entitled piece of shit. What a world we live in. What a world!
So true. I can’t believe how often i’ve seen morons like this also say something like “actually driving too slow is dangerous too”
Because it is.
Don’t hangout in the left lane.
It is, but suboptimal driving behaviour of your fellow drivers is never an excuse to consciously make road traffic even more dangerous or behave aggresively.
Going significantly slower than the rest of traffic can be dangerous in a limited number of scenarios, but not frequently enough for people to bring it up in casual conversation.
Edit: Significantly slower is like the opposite of significantly faster, being wildly different is dangerous because of how it impacts merging between lanes.
It’s always dangerous on the highway. If you’re going significantly slower other drivers will not realize how fast they will catch up to you and can’t brake properly.
The one frequent scenario I can think of off the top of my head is merging onto the highway. At least once a week it feels like I’m stuckbehingd someone trying to merge onto the highway 10mph under the speed limit making it more dangerous for everyone stuck behind them.
There is a entry lane onto 94 north of chicago where the speed limit is 70 mph but every single person wants to merge at like 45 mph, but then they will keep on accelerating (slowly) to like 100 mph and pass you. I fucking don’t understand.
Also going significantly slower than traffic and changing multiple lanes at once, slowing down far too early for an exit, going very slow in the middle lane so traffic flows around both sides, and some others as well. Basically if the car is going slow enough to be comparable to something stationary in the road it can be a hazard.
But it really does have to be wildly different from traffic, not just 10-15 mph different.
Yeah. And they rarely give a fully articulated reason why “driving too slow is dangerous”. Because they know that the real reason - “it makes other people drive aggressively” - is trying to place the blame on slow drivers for the actions of actually dangerous drivers.
Of course, you should drive at an appropriate speed. But in terms of safety messaging, it’s not the thing to focus on.