I agree. And I have been told by many that I drive like a grandma. So in the rare occasions that I notice myself being passed on the right, I am certain that I am the problem.
What pisses me off are these "self-righteous idiots that insist on driving the posted speed limit when ever one else wants to go faster. They are more dangerous than those who are speeding.
I'm also one of the people who would piss off Shadowcat, though. I don't drive in the fast lane because I only go the speed limit. I don't care to keep up with everyone else who is speeding. I don't go the speed limit to be self-righteous though, I do it to avoid being pulled over. And it has worked so far. I've never gotten a speeding ticket, I have a spotless driving record, and haven't been pulled over since I was 18.
When I was 18 though I did get pulled over a half dozen times in a month or so after buying my first car. I'd forgotten some of the rules from driver's ed two years prior. They always let me go. One of the times I didn't even have my license on me and the cop took my debit card and ran my info and let me go. I definitely got lucky, but now I am cautious as fuck.
I've known people who got all self-righteous when you suggested that they not drive the speed limit in the left lane. "That's the law!" they explained. But so is "slower traffic keep right", at least in the vast majority of US States. So they're being self-righteous about one law while violating another.
This does remind me of an experience driving on the AutoBahn. In Germany, passing on the right is very much verboten and I'd imagine you'd get ticketed for going slow in the left as well. I was doing about 100 mph in the middle lane. Somebody comes flying up behind me at least 150, quickly moves over to pass me on the left and then cuts over two lanes to the right so that he could be in the lane to exit shortly there after. Totally different driving culture there.
I've never had a vehicle pass me on the right while on the Mass. Pike. What I have experienced is having a vehicle tail gating me in the left lane until I move over. I think this maybe due to the de facto no speed limit on sections of the Mass. Pike and I should know tail gating vehicles have the right of way.
@shailynn, as a Maryland driver I agree. Though VA drivers are even worse.
@nina - I think the idea of a “fast lane” is the problem. The left isn’t the fast lane. It’s the passing lane. Keep right except to pass. If you’re going 90 mph but the middle and right lanes are open, keep to the right.
When I’m king,I’m going to direct the troopers to enforce the keep right law and ticket people driving in the left lane when there is room to the right. That’s what they do on the autobahn and why you don’t get passed on the right. Driving slow in the middle or left lane is super dangerous for the way it disrupts the flow of traffic.
IIRC, "failure to keep to the right" is a ticketable offense in NJ. Back in the 80s, NJSP would use it as a pretext to pull over drug mules right after they crossed over the Delaware River into NJ. Then they got smacked down for profiling.
Nowadays, nobody goes speed limit on NJTP. The modern cruise control which also paces you a selected distance behind the car in front makes it easy. I set it to 85 and park myself in the center lane, which is always faster than the right. No worries about getting pulled over when you're in the think of the pack
Sometimes I am in the left lane because I am turning left at the next intersection. I do not stay in the right lane until just before I get to the intersection because I might face a situation in heavy traffic where I try to switch from the right lane to the left but there are already cars there and I then miss my chance to get in the left lane and make my left turn at the intersection.
I have annoyed people honk at me in this and various other traffic situations. However, I have been driving over fifty years without an accident. I have good judgement and rely on that good judgement in traffic situations.
The drivers I hate most, even more than those who think the highway is a NASCAR track, are the ones I call "Mr. Nice Guy". These are the assholes who have the right of way, but they're always gonna "let you go". And you can't go, because of other traffic conditions that Mr. Nice Guy is oblivious to, like the fact that he's waving you to make a left turn in front of him, right into another lane of traffic where no one is slowing down, because, why would they when they have the right of way? Only an asshole like Mr. Nice Guy would do that.
He thinks he's doing a good deed, but all he's doing is creating a dangerous situation and ultimately screwing you over. Sometimes, the drivers behind him get annoyed and start going around him, cutting off other cars and adding to the oncoming traffic that will kill you if you follow Mr. Nice Guy's stupid little wave. The only way you're gonna make that turn is if he eventually gives up and moves on, so you can clearly see the oncoming traffic and turn when appropriate, but some of them are relentless. I've had it happen where I decided to forget about turning and drive straight just to get away from Mr. Nice Guy.
Keep right, pass left! It’s simple. Why are there so many stupid assholes who putter along in the left lane forcing a dangerous situation where everyone has to change lanes and pass them on the right? They should have their licenses revoked.
Manuellabore - Keep in mind the center lane is the passing lane (the hammer lane as a trucker I know calls it) for trucks and busses. They are prohibited from traveling in the far lady lane. So if you have a trucker on your bumper in the center lane, that’s why.
Studme53: If there's trucker on my bumper in the center lane, it means I'm on the bumper in front of me, waiting for the left lane to clear so I can pass.
sometimes i wish that i could drive and not be held hostage from relying constantly on public transportation. but whenever i watch those youtube public dashcam video channels i know that for my own self preservation that i made the right decision in not pursuing to learn how to drive.
that mr nice guy fella does cause a lot of bad to happen i noticed on those videos. if that guy acts "normal" or basically act up as the average typical driving asshole -hye no accident(s).
Seems like a few MD/VA drivers commenting, so I will jump in with my two cents. My observation over 15 years of constant beltway driving and commuting between NoVA and various points in MD; there’s a stark contrast in driver behavior. On the VA side, traffic flow is much, much faster and there’s noticeably more driver aggression overall. In MD, traffic generally adheres more closely to speed limits, and drivers are more courteous; however, I've consistently observed a much higher incidence of impaired and distracted driving. Also on MD side, with the overall flow closer to speed limits, the aggressive tailgaters (usually in a large contractor truck or sh*tty hoopty with heavily tinted windows) seem to come out of nowhere, making it more dangerous. While the VA side is far more aggravating to navigate for me personally stats generally show a higher number of accidents on the MD portions of the Beltway and I-95 heading toward Baltimore. It sucks *ss on both sides, but for very different reasons.
I tailgate, flash my high beams and lay on the horn when an asshole is in the passing lane and not passing vehicles in lanes to the right. Some just don’t get it - like they never heard of “Keep right, pass left”. I even had a car in front of me slow down pull over to the left grass median instead of just getting into the right lane.
Another rule: “If it steers, it clears.” Meaning if you’re in a fender bender, move to the shoulder out of the travel lane. Don’t sit there blocking traffic waiting for a cop.
in my 4 million plus miles of driving mostly big trucks I've seen a lot of shit. and most of that driving I did was 56 to 64 mph on flat ground. The two freight companies I drove for... consolidated freightways and ABF would govern the top speed of the tractors to sometimes ridiculously slow speeds. so I spent most my time in the far right lane.
I would still be told by a finger that I was number one! I had a bumper sticker that I would hold up in the window sometimes that said 'next time wave all your fingers at me'.
Blaming drivers who are obeying the law for accidents caused by those violating the law is ludicrous. Lots of responsibility avoidance in that position.
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last commentYeah that's true. But there are a number of countries that drive on the wrong side of the road. Or maybe we're on the wrong side of the road.
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I agree. And I have been told by many that I drive like a grandma. So in the rare occasions that I notice myself being passed on the right, I am certain that I am the problem.
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What pisses me off are these "self-righteous idiots that insist on driving the posted speed limit when ever one else wants to go faster. They are more dangerous than those who are speeding.
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In my world drivers from Maryland and Indiana are the worst offenders of this.
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I agree with this post. It's true.
I'm also one of the people who would piss off Shadowcat, though. I don't drive in the fast lane because I only go the speed limit. I don't care to keep up with everyone else who is speeding. I don't go the speed limit to be self-righteous though, I do it to avoid being pulled over. And it has worked so far. I've never gotten a speeding ticket, I have a spotless driving record, and haven't been pulled over since I was 18.
When I was 18 though I did get pulled over a half dozen times in a month or so after buying my first car. I'd forgotten some of the rules from driver's ed two years prior. They always let me go. One of the times I didn't even have my license on me and the cop took my debit card and ran my info and let me go. I definitely got lucky, but now I am cautious as fuck.
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I've known people who got all self-righteous when you suggested that they not drive the speed limit in the left lane. "That's the law!" they explained. But so is "slower traffic keep right", at least in the vast majority of US States. So they're being self-righteous about one law while violating another.
This does remind me of an experience driving on the AutoBahn. In Germany, passing on the right is very much verboten and I'd imagine you'd get ticketed for going slow in the left as well. I was doing about 100 mph in the middle lane. Somebody comes flying up behind me at least 150, quickly moves over to pass me on the left and then cuts over two lanes to the right so that he could be in the lane to exit shortly there after. Totally different driving culture there.
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I've never had a vehicle pass me on the right while on the Mass. Pike. What I have experienced is having a vehicle tail gating me in the left lane until I move over. I think this maybe due to the de facto no speed limit on sections of the Mass. Pike and I should know tail gating vehicles have the right of way.
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Plot twist: Hank is actually driving in the Uk right now.
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@shailynn, as a Maryland driver I agree. Though VA drivers are even worse.
@nina - I think the idea of a “fast lane” is the problem. The left isn’t the fast lane. It’s the passing lane. Keep right except to pass. If you’re going 90 mph but the middle and right lanes are open, keep to the right.
When I’m king,I’m going to direct the troopers to enforce the keep right law and ticket people driving in the left lane when there is room to the right. That’s what they do on the autobahn and why you don’t get passed on the right. Driving slow in the middle or left lane is super dangerous for the way it disrupts the flow of traffic.
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IIRC, "failure to keep to the right" is a ticketable offense in NJ. Back in the 80s, NJSP would use it as a pretext to pull over drug mules right after they crossed over the Delaware River into NJ. Then they got smacked down for profiling. Nowadays, nobody goes speed limit on NJTP. The modern cruise control which also paces you a selected distance behind the car in front makes it easy. I set it to 85 and park myself in the center lane, which is always faster than the right. No worries about getting pulled over when you're in the think of the pack
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Sometimes I am in the left lane because I am turning left at the next intersection. I do not stay in the right lane until just before I get to the intersection because I might face a situation in heavy traffic where I try to switch from the right lane to the left but there are already cars there and I then miss my chance to get in the left lane and make my left turn at the intersection.
I have annoyed people honk at me in this and various other traffic situations. However, I have been driving over fifty years without an accident. I have good judgement and rely on that good judgement in traffic situations.
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The drivers I hate most, even more than those who think the highway is a NASCAR track, are the ones I call "Mr. Nice Guy". These are the assholes who have the right of way, but they're always gonna "let you go". And you can't go, because of other traffic conditions that Mr. Nice Guy is oblivious to, like the fact that he's waving you to make a left turn in front of him, right into another lane of traffic where no one is slowing down, because, why would they when they have the right of way? Only an asshole like Mr. Nice Guy would do that.
He thinks he's doing a good deed, but all he's doing is creating a dangerous situation and ultimately screwing you over. Sometimes, the drivers behind him get annoyed and start going around him, cutting off other cars and adding to the oncoming traffic that will kill you if you follow Mr. Nice Guy's stupid little wave. The only way you're gonna make that turn is if he eventually gives up and moves on, so you can clearly see the oncoming traffic and turn when appropriate, but some of them are relentless. I've had it happen where I decided to forget about turning and drive straight just to get away from Mr. Nice Guy.
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Keep right, pass left! It’s simple. Why are there so many stupid assholes who putter along in the left lane forcing a dangerous situation where everyone has to change lanes and pass them on the right? They should have their licenses revoked.
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Manuellabore - Keep in mind the center lane is the passing lane (the hammer lane as a trucker I know calls it) for trucks and busses. They are prohibited from traveling in the far lady lane. So if you have a trucker on your bumper in the center lane, that’s why.
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“Far left lane” not “far lady lane.”
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Studme53: If there's trucker on my bumper in the center lane, it means I'm on the bumper in front of me, waiting for the left lane to clear so I can pass.
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sometimes i wish that i could drive and not be held hostage from relying constantly on public transportation. but whenever i watch those youtube public dashcam video channels i know that for my own self preservation that i made the right decision in not pursuing to learn how to drive.
that mr nice guy fella does cause a lot of bad to happen i noticed on those videos. if that guy acts "normal" or basically act up as the average typical driving asshole -hye no accident(s).
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Seems like a few MD/VA drivers commenting, so I will jump in with my two cents. My observation over 15 years of constant beltway driving and commuting between NoVA and various points in MD; there’s a stark contrast in driver behavior. On the VA side, traffic flow is much, much faster and there’s noticeably more driver aggression overall. In MD, traffic generally adheres more closely to speed limits, and drivers are more courteous; however, I've consistently observed a much higher incidence of impaired and distracted driving. Also on MD side, with the overall flow closer to speed limits, the aggressive tailgaters (usually in a large contractor truck or sh*tty hoopty with heavily tinted windows) seem to come out of nowhere, making it more dangerous. While the VA side is far more aggravating to navigate for me personally stats generally show a higher number of accidents on the MD portions of the Beltway and I-95 heading toward Baltimore. It sucks *ss on both sides, but for very different reasons.
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I tailgate, flash my high beams and lay on the horn when an asshole is in the passing lane and not passing vehicles in lanes to the right. Some just don’t get it - like they never heard of “Keep right, pass left”. I even had a car in front of me slow down pull over to the left grass median instead of just getting into the right lane. Another rule: “If it steers, it clears.” Meaning if you’re in a fender bender, move to the shoulder out of the travel lane. Don’t sit there blocking traffic waiting for a cop.
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One thing to keep in mind is that rants can turn into road rage and today you never know who is carrying a gun.
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in my 4 million plus miles of driving mostly big trucks I've seen a lot of shit. and most of that driving I did was 56 to 64 mph on flat ground. The two freight companies I drove for... consolidated freightways and ABF would govern the top speed of the tractors to sometimes ridiculously slow speeds. so I spent most my time in the far right lane.
I would still be told by a finger that I was number one! I had a bumper sticker that I would hold up in the window sometimes that said 'next time wave all your fingers at me'.
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Blaming drivers who are obeying the law for accidents caused by those violating the law is ludicrous. Lots of responsibility avoidance in that position.
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