6 ms·

Theoretically "always pass on the left" is a rule in the US too, it's just a rule that is not consistently observed.

by azernik 10y ago

DigitalJack 10y ago
That's because too many people drive in the left lane all the time. In my commute, traffic gets inverted where the left lane becomes clogged with people not going fast enough and to get anywhere requires passing on the right. I can appreciate not wanting to go back and forth between say the middle lane and left lane all the time. I just wish people could figure out they are holding up traffic and get out of the way for a minute or two every now and then.
- hvidgaard 10y ago
  > I can appreciate not wanting to go back and forth between say the middle lane and left lane all the time. That is about as self centered one can be in trafic. In reality, they are endangering themself and everybody else near them.
  - hutzlibu 10y ago
    Why? If I do a steady 140 km/h in the middle lane, as mostly everybody else (here in germany), then why am I endangering anybody, if I just stay there? There is still the left lane for the faster ones and the right for the slower. (in the 3 lane scenario)
    - hvidgaard 10y ago
      Sitting in the middle lane with adequate speed is fine when there is heavy and/or slower trafic in the right lane. The grandparent talks about sitting in the leftmost lane because it's more convient, rather than sitting in the middle lane and using the left lane when passing.
      - douche 10y ago
        Eh, I'd have to agree that staying in the middle lane and going the speed limit is the smarter thing to do. There are too many badly-designed on-ramps and people that don't understand how merging works for staying in the right lane to be practical, in most cases.
        hvidgaard 10y ago
        It's about sitting in the right most lane, because it's more convient, and not because you're passing.
  - DigitalJack 10y ago
    Lane changes are dangerous too. I have no real statistics to back me up, but most of the signs of accidents that I see appear to stem from lane change collision. I base that on sideways skid marks and wall impact.
brewdad 10y ago
In the 3 US states I've lived in, always pass on the left has been a "rule of thumb" but has never been illegal. So long as the right lane is a legal travel lane.
- azernik 10y ago
  Huh. I thought it was a law in CA, which it technically is... but with exceptions for highways with two or more lanes in each direction.
- smitherfield 10y ago
  It's illegal here in Massachusetts.
  - kylec 10y ago
    It's legal on highways, e.g. "any roadway on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement" https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter89/Section2 https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Ch... I lived in Massachusetts for 3 years and routinely passed people on the right, sometimes even in the breakdown lane if it was open for traffic.
glitcher 10y ago
I have noticed a tendency for many slow, timid appearing drivers to prefer to campout in the left lane because it gives them the least amount of interaction with other highway traffic. On a typical 3-lane highway, the right lane will have many big trucks, plus merging traffic entering and exiting constantly. The center lane puts them right in the middle of all the chaos, getting passed by other traffic regularly on both sides. In the left lane they can set their cruise control to 5mph below the limit and squat. Even when there are lulls in the amount of traffic, many times I have approached this type of driver from behind in the left lane, paused to see if they would move over for me to pass, and they almost never do. Disclaimer: I like to drive 5-10mph over the speed limit :)
- mos_basik 10y ago
  >5mph below limit, left lane Horrifying! :) But yes, the left lane is much nicer to camp out in on, say, a long commute - as long as you can handle maintaining the speed. I live in the Dallas area and the lanes usually seem to be, from right to left: "the limit", "+5-10” and "+10-15". 15mph over is my cutoff, more or less, so I keep an eye on the mirror and try to shift over if someone is clearly coming up fast. Besides, don't want anyone tailgating me at those speeds tbh. Does get a bit aggravating when what I consider "safe following distance at speed" is considered by the driver behind me as "this dumb econo-box being slow" and they whip around me. Doubly so when all it achieves is the two of us swapping places because there are no open avenues forward, lol. I'd have given it to him if there was one. But "everyone else is a bad driver" will always be with us (myself no exception) so what can you do but grin and turn the music up.

Theoretically "always pass on the left" is a rule in the US too, it's just a rule that is not consistently observed.

by azernik 10y ago

Theoretically "always pass on the left" is a rule in the US too, it's just a rule that is not consistently observed.

That's because too many people drive in the left lane all the time. In my commute, traffic gets inverted where the left lane becomes clogged with people not going fast enough and to get anywhere requires passing on the right. I can appreciate not wanting to go back and forth between say the middle lane and left lane all the time. I just wish people could figure out they are holding up traffic and get out of the way for a minute or two every now and then.

hvidgaard 10y ago
> I can appreciate not wanting to go back and forth between say the middle lane and left lane all the time. That is about as self centered one can be in trafic. In reality, they are endangering themself and everybody else near them.
- hutzlibu 10y ago
  Why? If I do a steady 140 km/h in the middle lane, as mostly everybody else (here in germany), then why am I endangering anybody, if I just stay there? There is still the left lane for the faster ones and the right for the slower. (in the 3 lane scenario)
  - hvidgaard 10y ago
    Sitting in the middle lane with adequate speed is fine when there is heavy and/or slower trafic in the right lane. The grandparent talks about sitting in the leftmost lane because it's more convient, rather than sitting in the middle lane and using the left lane when passing.
    - douche 10y ago
      Eh, I'd have to agree that staying in the middle lane and going the speed limit is the smarter thing to do. There are too many badly-designed on-ramps and people that don't understand how merging works for staying in the right lane to be practical, in most cases.
      - hvidgaard 10y ago
        It's about sitting in the right most lane, because it's more convient, and not because you're passing.
- DigitalJack 10y ago
  Lane changes are dangerous too. I have no real statistics to back me up, but most of the signs of accidents that I see appear to stem from lane change collision. I base that on sideways skid marks and wall impact.

brewdad 10y ago

In the 3 US states I've lived in, always pass on the left has been a "rule of thumb" but has never been illegal. So long as the right lane is a legal travel lane.

azernik 10y ago
Huh. I thought it was a law in CA, which it technically is... but with exceptions for highways with two or more lanes in each direction.
smitherfield 10y ago
It's illegal here in Massachusetts.
- kylec 10y ago
  It's legal on highways, e.g. "any roadway on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement" https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter89/Section2 https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Ch... I lived in Massachusetts for 3 years and routinely passed people on the right, sometimes even in the breakdown lane if it was open for traffic.

glitcher 10y ago

I have noticed a tendency for many slow, timid appearing drivers to prefer to campout in the left lane because it gives them the least amount of interaction with other highway traffic. On a typical 3-lane highway, the right lane will have many big trucks, plus merging traffic entering and exiting constantly. The center lane puts them right in the middle of all the chaos, getting passed by other traffic regularly on both sides. In the left lane they can set their cruise control to 5mph below the limit and squat. Even when there are lulls in the amount of traffic, many times I have approached this type of driver from behind in the left lane, paused to see if they would move over for me to pass, and they almost never do. Disclaimer: I like to drive 5-10mph over the speed limit :)

mos_basik 10y ago
>5mph below limit, left lane Horrifying! :) But yes, the left lane is much nicer to camp out in on, say, a long commute - as long as you can handle maintaining the speed. I live in the Dallas area and the lanes usually seem to be, from right to left: "the limit", "+5-10” and "+10-15". 15mph over is my cutoff, more or less, so I keep an eye on the mirror and try to shift over if someone is clearly coming up fast. Besides, don't want anyone tailgating me at those speeds tbh. Does get a bit aggravating when what I consider "safe following distance at speed" is considered by the driver behind me as "this dumb econo-box being slow" and they whip around me. Doubly so when all it achieves is the two of us swapping places because there are no open avenues forward, lol. I'd have given it to him if there was one. But "everyone else is a bad driver" will always be with us (myself no exception) so what can you do but grin and turn the music up.