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Has the left lane become the new right?


plenzmd1

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I drive prolly close to 25K miles a year...and driving habits and mores just keep getting worse every year.I m fairly certain that when i pass now, it is close to 70% of the the time i am passing to the right of the vehicle. Not quite sure why this has occured, but it keeps getting worse every year. My gut tells me two reaons

 

1) cell phones..think when people are on phone, it is too difficult to do more than drive in str8 line or concentrate on any thing other than their conversation.

 

2) lack of courtesy in society..selfish rules the world today..screw what i was taught, i am in left lane and i like it here!

 

Truly, word of advise, right lane between On 95 between Richmond and DC way faster than left now.

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I would say number 2 if anything.

 

But... On a limit access highway, there is no rule against passing on the right if it is not posted. Right? Just like U-turns... You can make them anywhere UNLESS it is prohibited. People just know the rules.

 

Anyway... Remember when passenger side door mirrors were an option... Aren't they required now?

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beat me to it...in today's society where no one respects the space around them...heck, go to a store, people think they are the only ones there, they stop with no regard for people that may be behind them, when they decided to turn, it doesn't matter if someone else is already in the path, they are ready so they are going to do it. we have raised a generation of 'me first, and only' and they are trying to take over the world

 

I would say number 2 if anything.

But... On a limit access highway, there is no rule against passing on the right if it is not posted. Right? Just like U-turns... You can make them anywhere UNLESS it is prohibited. People just know the rules.

 

Anyway... Remember when passenger side door mirrors were an option... Aren't they required now?

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You three are nuts. Politics has nothing to do with driving habits.

 

 

It really is IMO due to a couple factors. The population is aging and the 60 something driver who used to clip along in the left lane is now dawdling in that same lane.

 

And as an Official Old Fart (I prefer to be called an OOF) I agree with the sentiments expressed about the general lack of awareness and manners of many people today. There have always been jerks, but they are now the majority.

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beat me to it...in today's society where no one respects the space around them...heck, go to a store, people think they are the only ones there, they stop with no regard for people that may be behind them, when they decided to turn, it doesn't matter if someone else is already in the path, they are ready so they are going to do it. we have raised a generation of 'me first, and only' and they are trying to take over the world

 

 

 

Exactly. Get on a boat and the blinders really go on! People would rather get run over than move! :wallbash:

 

Anyway... I am almost sure there is no: "Left is the hammer/passing lane, middle cruising, righ is the off/slow lane." That is just local practice... Heck the Canadians have always passed on the right. All lanes are the posted speed limit and all lanes can used for passing UNLESS posted... Right? Which means, who cares which lane you pass the other in... ACTUALLY, everybody should be doing the speed limit. That is the defining parameter here, no? If you are doing the speed limit, he is doing the limit... Why does somebody need to pass.

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People just meander in the fast lane. Especially on 3lane I-85. They just drive right next to someone matching their speed and you cannot pass. Everyone likes driving with me in my truck because if traffic is thick they let me in front of then and I put 9,100 lbs 10' off their bumper.

 

Oh and they get mad when they are not going fast enough, especially if they drive 65 in a 70. They just don't move. I think its the whole idea that the other person wants to speed and I want to travel safe I am in the right ... that type of mindset. But the popular I don't give a crap I am just doing my thing is most popular. And not to throw race in but it always seems like overweight black chicks or 40something year old white men with their families in the car - they just don't move

Edited by jboyst62
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beat me to it...in today's society where no one respects the space around them...heck, go to a store, people think they are the only ones there, they stop with no regard for people that may be behind them, when they decided to turn, it doesn't matter if someone else is already in the path, they are ready so they are going to do it. we have raised a generation of 'me first, and only' and they are trying to take over the world

 

Everybody Gets a Trophy

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People just meander in the fast lane. Especially on 3lane I-85. They just drive right next to someone matching their speed and you cannot pass. Everyone likes driving with me in my truck because if traffic is thick they let me in front of then and I put 9,100 lbs 10' off their bumper.

Which forces people like me to slow down 5-10 mph and if you stay on my bumper it isn't going to get any better.

 

Your discourteousness isn't any better/worse than the person going below the speed limit in the left lane. I typically travel 8-12 miles over the limit depending on the road. If I'm passing someone and I see a person traveling faster closing on me I'll increase my speed by another 5mph to get out of their way, but, stay off my bumper or you'll be stuck behind me until you drop back.

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People just meander in the fast lane. Especially on 3lane I-85. They just drive right next to someone matching their speed and you cannot pass. Everyone likes driving with me in my truck because if traffic is thick they let me in front of then and I put 9,100 lbs 10' off their bumper.

 

Oh and they get mad when they are not going fast enough, especially if they drive 65 in a 70. They just don't move. I think its the whole idea that the other person wants to speed and I want to travel safe I am in the right ... that type of mindset. But the popular I don't give a crap I am just doing my thing is most popular. And not to throw race in but it always seems like overweight black chicks or 40something year old white men with their families in the car - they just don't move

 

Yeah... What is the point. Roads are so jammed up nowadays... The whole "break free from the pack mentality" doesn't hold. You gotta be in the pack. Like I said... Get a boat... It is a million times worse!

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I drive prolly close to 25K miles a year...and driving habits and mores just keep getting worse every year.I m fairly certain that when i pass now, it is close to 70% of the the time i am passing to the right of the vehicle. Not quite sure why this has occured, but it keeps getting worse every year. My gut tells me two reaons

 

1) cell phones..think when people are on phone, it is too difficult to do more than drive in str8 line or concentrate on any thing other than their conversation.

 

2) lack of courtesy in society..selfish rules the world today..screw what i was taught, i am in left lane and i like it here!

 

Truly, word of advise, right lane between On 95 between Richmond and DC way faster than left now.

 

I think that the cell phones are the primary reason, but a secondary reason is that motor vehicles have become very "comfortable" to drive with all the new technology. In new cars, you can barely feel the road, and you can barely hear anything outside of your car. The result is that it's almost like being in a "cocoon" without any outside influences. People really do not know how fast (or slow) they are driving anymore, because it "feels" the same at 70 mph or 35 mph.

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This is definitely a pet peeve of mine as well. What makes it worse is that in North Carolina, there are no so-called "passing lanes." As long as the driver is going at least the minimum speed, they're welcome to use any lane. It's maddening.

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Which forces people like me to slow down 5-10 mph and if you stay on my bumper it isn't going to get any better.

 

Your discourteousness isn't any better/worse than the person going below the speed limit in the left lane. I typically travel 8-12 miles over the limit depending on the road. If I'm passing someone and I see a person traveling faster closing on me I'll increase my speed by another 5mph to get out of their way, but, stay off my bumper or you'll be stuck behind me until you drop back.

 

 

Again... Fine and dandy. But the whole keep the left lane clear just doesn't hold anymore. Nowadays the lanes are filling up in urban areas... Just go.

 

I think that the cell phones are the primary reason, but a secondary reason is that motor vehicles have become very "comfortable" to drive with all the new technology. In new cars, you can barely feel the road, and you can barely hear anything outside of your car. The result is that it's almost like being in a "cocoon" without any outside influences. People really do not know how fast (or slow) they are driving anymore, because it "feels" the same at 70 mph or 35 mph.

 

Good point.

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Again... Fine and dandy. But the whole keep the left lane clear just doesn't hold anymore. Nowadays the lanes are filling up in urban areas... Just go.

I go as long as I have room. What I said pertains to any lane, but typically it is those to the left everywhere I have lived (which doesn't include Illinois).

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Which forces people like me to slow down 5-10 mph and if you stay on my bumper it isn't going to get any better.

 

Your discourteousness isn't any better/worse than the person going below the speed limit in the left lane. I typically travel 8-12 miles over the limit depending on the road. If I'm passing someone and I see a person traveling faster closing on me I'll increase my speed by another 5mph to get out of their way, but, stay off my bumper or you'll be stuck behind me until you drop back.

I don't get too abusive with riding a bumper. If there is a line of cars being held up by a single car on the 2lane stretch of I85 I will get up there see if they move. On I85 there is a stretch where it goes down to 65 and it is two lanes...after having been 3 lanes and 70mph for a while. This causes all the semi's to get bunched together so you'll have about a mile of rigs all back to back. In the passing lane you'll have people just too scared to get over in the travel lane and instead drive their normal 60-65 mph when clearly everyone else wants to continue their 70-80 mph. Oh, and if I am in a particular rough mood I will get up and pass them in the right lane and drive right off their side about 2 foot away. I will definately admit to being an a-hole on the road some time.

 

The travel lane is for traveling and the passing lane is for passing. You need to find a group of people, a group of good drivers and stay with them any time you are driving more then 30 minutes. Otherwise, I generally just stay in the travel lane at a slower speed.

Edited by jboyst62
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Driving habits in this country are horrid. I don't think it's a selfish thing; I just believe (a) kids aren't taught properly (it's way too easy to get a license), and (b) a lot of people are just plain oblivious.

Edited by eball
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