Left lane hogs - BEWARE!!!!!!!!

Audi Junkie · May 24, 2005

I don't "automaticly" get over into the laft lane for merging trafic. People seem to expect it, but it's too easy for them to pace themselves, why should I, at every on-ramp, go through the trouble for *them* to manouver onto the highway? The burden is on the merging car. A few days ago, 2 cars were merging directly at me while I was in the right lane doing 70-75 they cut in front of me and the rear car crossed 2 lanes and took the extra inside (left) lane AWAY from me, so I had to brake hard to avoid both of them! What an AZZ.

Sometimes, when I get the tailgater, traffic clears and I get over to the right too. Rarely can the tailgater overtake me if I hammer it. Why shouldn't I? I don't have to stay in the left to punch it, too bad if they can't overtake me before the next traffic we encounter and I have to retake the left. After I give them one chance to "pass" I can assume they are not interested in doing so, and can ignore them.

kenw · May 24, 2005

One minor correction, JohnBrowning: the left lane is for passing ONLY.

Again, you may be driving well over the speed limit, but if you aren't passing someone, you should not be in the left lane.

period.

wileyE · May 24, 2005

Funny how civil people act while walking down a sidewalk or in store, but put them in a car.......?

just add car=instant azzhole

brianl703 · May 24, 2005

I was just curious--to those people who think it's OK to camp out in the left lane without passing anyone...why are there multi-lane highways? What to you is the purpose of that extra lane and why should the money be spent to add it?

Pablo · May 24, 2005

I agree sub speed limit LL squatters can cause problems larger than someone being 10 minutes early rather than 15 minutes early.......

OTOH Speed limit is 70, I'm doing 70-75.....does this mean I get the finger, flashing headlights, and somebody with a 9MM in my butt, when they want to go 85-90? HE!! NO - that baztart can PASS my white azz!! (on the right or on the shoulder...)

Jimbo · May 24, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:

quote:

Originally posted by moribundman:
As for merging into traffic on US highways, the ramp lenght varies from criminally short to adequate.

Click to expand...

I've found that most of the ramps in Virginia are long enough to get my car up beyond the 65MPH speed limit in 5th gear.

Even an 88HP Ford Escort has enough juice to get up to speed on these on-ramps.

Therefore, I can't understand why the people driving what I know are more powerful cars still can't manage it. I once merged onto I95 behind some dingleberry driving a Porsche who was still going about 40MPH at the end of the ramp. I'm not 100% sure how fast he was going at the end of the ramp because I was already in front of him going 70MPH. (Traffic was very light and I punched it and headed for the middle lane when it became obvious that he wasn't going to merge properly).

Come to LA and experience stop lights at the tops of the entrance ramps! This "metered" traffic flow device is designed to merge traffic at 35mph during rush hour. The problem is that they are left on all day and sometimes 24/7.

The other thing I would do if I were king is outlaw cruise control. Ive always considered it dangerous because of the "falling asleep" factor on interstate highways, but cruise also contributes to driving side-by-side at almost the same speed.

[ May 25, 2005, 01:46 PM: Message edited by: Jimbo ]

1 FMF · May 24, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by brianl703:
What to you is the purpose of that extra lane and why should the money be spent to add it?

by answering i'm not saying I think its ok to camp out in the left lane, i dont. The extra lane(s) are to keep traffic flowing past entrance/exit ramps at a reasonable speed, not for people to go as fast as they want in them. Factor in left hand or left lane exits and the whole camping out in the left lane law doesn't work!

Like i said, it's most likely only going to be enforced in rural area 2-lane interstates where there is minimal congestion. For that scenario I have no problems. For all other type roads, unless it's really blatant like 60mph in a left lane where you can easily do 80 safely and there's little traffic in the right lane which won't make you slow down excessively- say more than 10mph, then I agree to move over.
But if speed limit is 55, and traffic is enterring on the right uphead and slowing things down to 30-40 in that lane (a typical morning commute here), then you should be allowed to stay in the left lane. Traffic in that left lane will flow uninterrupted, at 60mph! It shouldn't matter if the speed limit is 55 or 65. The point is to keep traffic flowing at a consistent and reasonable speed.
Now if someone behind you doesn't like that and think they have the right to go as fast as they want, or faster than the person in front of them, because they are in "the left lane", then the he11 with him. Those people with that mentality are the whole problem. A#1- how safe is it doing 80 one lane over from traffic enterring at 30-40mph? How many times will cars enterring the highway go left into the other lanes before their entrance ramp even ends, to pass the car ahead of them because they can accelerate faster? And B#2, what makes that person better than you where you have to move out of their way? They don't own the road anymore than you do. People can't share, can't wait their turn, and have no consideration for others. That is the biggest reason there are traffic jams.

labman · May 24, 2005

I can't believe anybody is such an idiot, to not only drive that way, but to brag about it.

quote:

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
snip
Sometimes, when I get the tailgater, traffic clears and I get over to the right too. Rarely can the tailgater overtake me if I hammer it. Why shouldn't I? I don't have to stay in the left to punch it, too bad if they can't overtake me before the next traffic we encounter and I have to retake the left.

Pablo · May 25, 2005

quote:

You are not the police. You don't get to decide how fast other drivers should be going. If you are in the left lane and somebody comes up behind you on anything with 3 or more lanes, get out of the way. Look at it this way: If somebody wants to drive faster than you let them. If there is a speed trap up ahead, they will get pulled over. Not you.

quote:
OTOH Speed limit is 70, I'm doing 70-75.....does this mean I get the finger, flashing headlights, and somebody with a 9MM in my butt, when they want to go 85-90? HE!! NO - that baztart can PASS my white azz!! (on the right or on the shoulder...)

Thats the kind of attitude that will get you shot in California. The police should pull you over for your own good.

I am NOT policing the road - I am simply saying - IF I am doing the speed limit+ and some a-hole zips up behind me - it is NOT my problem. Why should I move? I don't really care if someone wants to drive fast....but why should I move? If someone wants to speed, go around and carry on.

brianl703 · May 25, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo:
Come to LA and experience stop lights at the tops of the entrance ramps! This "metered" traffic flow device is designed to merge traffic at 35mph during rush hour. The problem is that they are left on all day and sometimes 24/7.

Thankfully, LA's level of incompetence at highway design and maintenance is not the norm.

brianl703 · May 25, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by Pablo:
Why should I move?

If you are in Virginia there are two reasons why you should move, they are 46.2-804 and 46.2-842.1 which I posted above.

I don't see any exception to those reasons for speed.

Gary Allan · May 25, 2005

Well, this statement appears to have elastic (think elastic clause in the Constitution) properties:

Anyone going slower than you is an idiot.
Anyone going faster then you is a maniac.

All that we are doing now is accusing each other of having higher or lower moral standards of propriatey.

Every person pushes everything to the limit of their level of conscience. Some cheat here ..some cheat there ...all rationalize or intelectualize their position to make it work in their heads. Hopefully we all fall into some level that allows our fellow human to navigate harmlessly through their life without interference. Any other attitude can be called anti-social ..yet that assignment too is totally up to individual interpretation.

Let's quit while were still all in a group hug mood.

jtantare · May 25, 2005

You are not the police. You don't get to decide how fast other drivers should be going. If you are in the left lane and somebody comes up behind you on anything with 3 or more lanes, get out of the way. Look at it this way: If somebody wants to drive faster than you let them. If there is a speed trap up ahead, they will get pulled over. Not you.

quote:

OTOH Speed limit is 70, I'm doing 70-75.....does this mean I get the finger, flashing headlights, and somebody with a 9MM in my butt, when they want to go 85-90? HE!! NO - that baztart can PASS my white azz!! (on the right or on the shoulder...)

Thats the kind of attitude that will get you shot in California. The police should pull you over for your own good.

ediamiam · May 25, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
I don't "automaticly" get over into the laft lane for merging trafic. People seem to expect it, but it's too easy for them to pace themselves, why should I, at every on-ramp, go through the trouble for *them* to manouver onto the highway? The burden is on the merging car. A few days ago, 2 cars were merging directly at me while I was in the right lane doing 70-75 they cut in front of me and the rear car crossed 2 lanes and took the extra inside (left) lane AWAY from me, so I had to brake hard to avoid both of them! What an AZZ.

On the other hand, speeders in the right hand lane pose a problem also. In California many of the merging lanes are too short for merging cars to get up to 70-75 mph to maintain pace. I also agree that its up to the merging car to merge safely, but sometimes you just run out of road in trying to do so.

medic · May 25, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by jtantare:
You are not the police. You don't get to decide how fast other drivers should be going. If you are in the left lane and somebody comes up behind you on anything with 3 or more lanes, get out of the way. Look at it this way: If somebody wants to drive faster than you let them. If there is a speed trap up ahead, they will get pulled over. Not you.

The same can be said for people driving in the left lane. YOU are not the police. You don't get to decide if they drive in the left lane or not. This is a two way street - pun intended.

A law breaker is a law breaker. In states where driving in the left lane is illegal, this person is just as wrong as some who is speeding. If the person who is speeding thinks that he isn't as wrong as the person who is driving in the left lane, his is mistaken and only trying to justify his actions with the wrong doings of another. At the same time, if a person is trying to force another to slow down by hogging the left lane (in a state where it is illegal) he is also just as wrong as the speeder.

Pretty much, it all boils down to the use of common courtesy. If more people would use it (not only the left lane hogs, but the tailgaters, speeders, headlight flashers, etc...) the roads would be a much safer place to be.

So, next time you find yourself not allowing a car to merge, hogging a passing lane, tailgating to prove a point, etc...., remember that drivng is supposed to be defensive, not offensive. Then, take a deep breath and calm down, followed by you doing the right thing, regardless of what the other person is doing.

If you think about it, what good can come out of you trying to prove a point with your car? The other driver will then also try to prove a point. At the very best, nobody will get hurt. Nobody is going to learn a lesson. You may get into an accident, you may get injured, you may die. If any of this happens, your insurance bills WILL go up. Your car will be wrecked. Your family will worry - this should be the #1 reason. So, why in the world would you want to get upset over somebody else breaking the law. You need to worry about you and your family, not the other guy's.

But, if you want to continue to drive offensivly, go for it. It is job security for me, the automotive indistry, the police, and the undertakers.

Left lane hogs - BEWARE!!!!!!!!

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