Driving Question?

[Peter Pirate 2]

When in freeway/highway/turnpike driving did it become acceptable to sit yourself in the left lane and never leave it no matter what the prevailing speed is?

I notice in South and Central Florida that this is just the norm now and it really boggles things up and makes it much more dangerous as the amount of lane changing is greatly increased.

Is this discourteous behaviour the norm in other areas too?

 

[bama106]

Left lane drivers here in Alabama are everywhere, and it drives me CRAZY!!!

 

[DebbieB]

I know it is illegal in PA and you can be ticketed.

 

[ckay87]

I know it is illegal in PA and you can be ticketed.

At yet....so prevalent.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I believe it was at the same time that people decided the speed limit was a "suggestion"!

 

[Golf4food]

I know it is illegal in PA and you can be ticketed.

At yet....so prevalent.

Same in Florida - on both counts.

Most people just don't know the rules. If they bothered to even read their driver's handbook before passing their test as teenagers they forget most and probably don't know of any recent changes to the rules and so just drive along in ignorant bliss mucking up the roads for the rest of us...

 

[c4a]

I believe it was at the same time that people decided the speed limit was a "suggestion"!

yep.

It is annoying, though. Right up there with people who drive for miles with their turn signal on & the ones who are doing other things while driving (talking on phone, reading a book or newspaper, etc.)

 

[declansdad]

Man I hate that.

There is one guy here that travel considerably under the speed limit and if you get behind him in traffic you can't get by him. He is oblivious to everything around him including the huge line of cars that he creates behind him.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I don't think it ever occurs to those people that someone else might have a reason for needing to get where they're going. They're just oblivious and wrapped up in themselves. I hope so, anyway. That's how I deal with that.

I'd hate to think that they do know people have places they need to get to and they still decide that they're going to hold them up...because that would just be wicked.

It is, at best, annoying.

 

[ols386]

I always thought that when driving on the freeway, you are supposed to stay in the right land unless you are passing, and the left lane is for passing. But I do see many people over in that left lane going under the speed limit, and everyone else passing them on the right. If I drive up behind someone in the left lane, I usually wait for a minute (or maybe less) to see if they will move over to the right lane, and then if they don't, I pass them on the right. I don't think most people drive in the left lane on purpose, with people passing on the right. I think they are usually just in their own little world. It can be annoying though.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I always thought that when driving on the freeway, you are supposed to stay in the right land unless you are passing, and the left lane is for passing. But I do see many people over in that left lane going under the speed limit, and everyone else passing them on the right. If I drive up behind someone in the left lane, I usually wait for a minute (or maybe less) to see if they will move over to the right lane, and then if they don't, I pass them on the right. I don't think most people drive in the left lane on purpose, with people passing on the right. I think they are usually just in their own little world. It can be annoying though.

Yes, back in the olden days we had such things as "traveling" lanes and "passing" lanes... and the left hand lane was for passing. Now it is the traveling lane where the official speed limit is "as fast as you can go without being ticketed"

Can you tell I'm older than dirt?

 

[mjkacmom]

I always thought that when driving on the freeway, you are supposed to stay in the right land unless you are passing, and the left lane is for passing. But I do see many people over in that left lane going under the speed limit, and everyone else passing them on the right. If I drive up behind someone in the left lane, I usually wait for a minute (or maybe less) to see if they will move over to the right lane, and then if they don't, I pass them on the right. I don't think most people drive in the left lane on purpose, with people passing on the right. I think they are usually just in their own little world. It can be annoying though.

Here in NJ, the driver would probably just slow down, to annoy you. Drivers here seem to think they own their lanes, regardless of the speed they are driving.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I drive over 100 miles round-trip every work day, and about 70 miles of that is on a freeway. Even though the law in our state is "keep right except to pass," I still see a lot of driving in the left lane. In my personal experience, it seems that most of the folks doing that are on their cell phone. If I get tired of following their parade and pass them on the right, I look over and most of the time they're gabbing away like they don't have a care in the world.

 

[MickeySP]

well pull around them and get in front - give them a good brake job - wakes 'em right up LOL

Ok not really suggesting that. It is illegal in almost every state but unfortunately at peak travel times when this is most annoying, most cops are busy clearing accidents & disabled that are clogging roadways.

Failure to keep right is a HUGE cause of accidents

 

[MM27]

I know it is illegal in PA and you can be ticketed.

My sister was stopped on 195 in NJ at about 10:30 at night (that road is dead at night) because she was in the left lane. She was driving home from school and had gotten into the left lane and never went back over. The cop gave her a warning but said he could have ticketed her.

Here in NJ, the driver would probably just slow down, to annoy you. Drivers here seem to think they own their lanes, regardless of the speed they are driving.

Oh yes, that happens all the time. I drive on the parkway every day and it can get bad.

 

[Tink888]

When in freeway/highway/turnpike driving did it become acceptable to sit yourself in the left lane and never leave it no matter what the prevailing speed is?

I notice in South and Central Florida that this is just the norm now and it really boggles things up and makes it much more dangerous as the amount of lane changing is greatly increased.

Is this discourteous behaviour the norm in other areas too?

I see it ALL the time. It drives me NUTS.

 

[OK!]

It's rampant here as well, primarily on the evening commute for some reason. Just tonight I was trapped behind some moron going 50 mph in the fast lane; of course, the lanes next to him were going 50 or just under as well, so they effectively bottled up the entire highway. SO infuriating! And it wasn't until the endless parade of people, once they finally got to where they could pass said idiot, had flown around him and then jumped back in the fast lane right in front of him that he appeared to finally get the message that perhaps he ought to get his fat a** the heck out of that lane. Grrrrr.

Wow. I had no idea I was still that annoyed about that. The stupid thing is that the same blasted thing happens nearly every night. How these people ever got licenses in the first place is beyond me.