Left "Passing" Lane Etiquette?

[Hoonose]

IMHO, the left lane is the safest lane to be in since there won't be traffic trying to enter from the left (in most cases), nor slowing traffic trying to exit right, so unless there are posted signs that state "keep right except to pass", I will stay in the left lane on highways so long as I am passing the traffic in the lanes to my right.

Sometimes I'll see someone coming from way back at a really fast clip who decides to come right up on my tail and tailgate me at 80 MPH rather than be inconvenienced by having to pass me on the right. Since I am already exceeding the speed limit by 10 - 15 MPH, I don't feel any compunction to be courteous to some a$$hole who is being so discourteous as to ride my tail and flash his lights demanding that I move over so he can do 100.

Every lane change entails more risk than staying put. My safest move is to stay in the left lane - so long as I am going faster than all the other lanes - and not move over to allow some speed freak to go faster. If he wants to drive recklessly, let him take the risks of making the lane changes and not try to bully me into moving over.

The US does not have Autobahns, so the rules of the Autobahn do not apply.

If there is a sign that states, "slower traffic keep right", and if my speed is greater than all the traffic on the right, I have no reason to move among them so long as I am already exceeding the posted speed limit. Just because someone wants to go faster than I'm going does not mean I have to move over for them, but I'm sure I will soon hear from those people!

[efusco]

Sorry man, but you should not be driving in the left lane unless you're passing. I think the Autobahn rules should/do apply as it makes it much easier for others to predict your behavior. Passing on the right is illegal in most places and by staying in the left lane you're forcing the individual who wants to pass you to make a decision that's potentially unsafe and illegal (albeit he's already breaking the law by speeding...but then so are you).

I think you're wrong on this and should stay in the right lane except when passing or when it's necessary due to a large amount of merging traffic and such.

[samkusnetz]

i agree with efusco. the left lane is for passing, and unless you really are going faster than *everybody* on the road (in which case you should slow down!), you should stay to the right.

[galaxee]

"always reserve the left lane for faster traffic" is what i live by... why piss others off intentionally like that? passing on the right is illegal because the left lane IS the passing lane.

[Ed Vatza]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samkusnetz @ May 10 2006, 06:15 PM) [snapback]253118[/snapback]</div>

i agree with efusco. the left lane is for passing, and unless you really are going faster than *everybody* on the road (in which case you should slow down!), you should stay to the right.
[/b]

Yes but...

while I agree in principle, I am confronted by this dilemma every day. As I get on the Interstate I have to immediately decide do I want to stay in the right lane which is like the lunar landscape and will destroy my new Prius in record time or do I want to get out into the left lane which is a little (somewhat) better. Well everyone who has driven this highway more than once is trying to get into the left lane. And most of them want to go 80 while I am happy at 65. I've had more than one person indicate that I was No. 1 in their heart! But I'm not going to drive in that right lane. I didn't do it with my old car and I'm certainly not going to do it with the new Prius.

I should point out that the road improves after about two miles or so. Then I move into the right lane.

[efusco]

I'm, by no means, a right lane Nazi! When the road is in bad shape, or there are other temporary issues making the right lane less safe or responsible to drive in I'll get in the left lane and slow down the whole highway too, but I'm back on the right asap when conditions change.

[jbarnhart]

Move to the right if someone is going fast in the left lane. But I certainly agree with paflyfisher that the roads are so $&%^$% poorly maintained now that right lanes are all but unusable on many stretches of our highways. The big commercial trucks have completely destroyed the lanes and our state and local governments have wasted our gas taxes on pay raises and more bureaucrats.

[jeromep]

A conversation that includes stuff about the Autobahn. Fun!

No, we do not have the strict rules that the German Autobahn has with regard to passing lanes and cruising lanes. However efusco does what I do also. I stay right unless the road conditions are terrible on the right and then I just keep my eye on my mirrors and move right long before somebody comes up and rides my rear end.

jbarnhart's point is totally correct. Our governments are wasting every kind of tax collected and not bothering to maintain our infrastructure. That leaves us with bad or unsafe right lanes and a need to use the left lane for cruising.

The reason that the Germans can strictly enforce the left/right issue is because they actively maintain their roads and make sure that the road surface is in good condition. You wouldn't want to do 100+mph on some streaches of U.S. Interstate.

[priusenvy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hoonose @ May 10 2006, 02:57 PM) [snapback]253108[/snapback]</div>

The US does not have Autobahns, so the rules of the Autobahn do not apply.

If there is a sign that states, "slower traffic keep right", and if my speed is greater than all the traffic on the right, I have no reason to move among them so long as I am already exceeding the posted speed limit. Just because someone wants to go faster than I'm going does not mean I have to move over for them, but I'm sure I will soon hear from those people!
[/b]

It doesn't appear to be a law in the AZ vehicle code, but their driver's handbook explicitly states the following:


Stay to the right and only use the left
lane for passing. If you are traveling
on an expressway with three lanes,
treat the far right lane as a slower-
speed through lane and the far left lane
as the passing lane.


http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/documents/Custome...ide_99-0117.pdf

What you're doing just increases the danger in a situation that was not dangerous in the first place. Speed by itself is not nearly as dangerous as large differences in speed, and that's what you're creating when you think you're entitled to the left lane and force faster traffic to pass you on the right. People who think and drive like you should have their licenses revoked, IMHO.

Just as a few others have written, I sometimes break this rule on roads when there is no faster traffic, if the right lane is in poor shape. For instance, the slow lane of I-80 going up to Lake Tahoe in CA is much rougher than the left lane from trucks driving with chains in the winter. But I keep an eye on my rear-view mirror, and when I see faster traffic approaching, I move back into the right lane as soon as it is safe.

[priusenvy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jeromep @ May 10 2006, 05:00 PM) [snapback]253175[/snapback]</div>

No, we do not have the strict rules that the German Autobahn has with regard to passing lanes and cruising lanes. However efusco does what I do also. I stay right unless the road conditions are terrible on the right and then I just keep my eye on my mirrors and move right long before somebody comes up and rides my rear end.
[/b]

A few enlightened states actually do require you to drive in the right lane except to overtake in their vehicle code. Those states are:

Illinois
Kentucky
Maine
Massachusetts
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Washington

The relevant section from the Illinois vehicle code is:

"(d) Upon an Interstate highway or fully access controlled freeway, a vehicle may not be driven in the left lane, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle."

This page may be of interest: http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html