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> "This is why getting slow drivers to stick to the right lane is so important to roadway safety; we generally focus on joyriders’ ability to cause accidents—an

> "This is why getting slow drivers to stick to the right lane is so important to roadway safety; we generally focus on joyriders’ ability to cause accidents—and rightly so—but a car driving under the speed limit in the left (passing) lane of a highway is almost as dangerous." i really wish people would heed this rule about slower cars staying to the right (regadless of speed). if you are not passing the car to your right, you should move to the right until you are, but many people scoot to the left lane and set their cruise control so they can zone out (and possibly occupy their brains with something else like talking to other people). this would not only minimize speed deltas and reduce accidents, but it would also improve throughput as speedier traffic clears out faster. and drivers should never just zone out while operating a machine capable of killing people. in any case, i both agree with the article--i actually think speed limits should be accurately set at the 85th percentile, called "suggested speed" or the like, and decriminalized--and support traffic calming measures in urban areas like narrowing lanes, adding more trees/curves, and making commercial streets mixed use by default.

dreamcompiler 7y ago
I think the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs may encourage noncompliance because nobody wants to think of themselves as "Slower." Perhaps a better sign would be "If a car passes you on the right, YOU get the ticket."
- rxhernandez 7y ago
  Many people also dont want to be considered unnecessarily fast or aggressive. Marines notwithstanding, people tend to be okay with being slower in the high desert area of Southern California.
- jplayer01 7y ago
  Germany's rule is to stay as far right as possible as long as you don't need to overtake any cars or there aren't any cars ahead of you that are slower than you. It has nothing to do with how slow you are, but everything to do with traffic around you.
- graywh 7y ago
  some drivers think it's their right to drive the speed limit in the far inside lane and want others to obey the law
  - dreamcompiler 7y ago
    Sometimes I ride with those people and ask them "Are you a cop?" They are always shocked to discover that without a badge they have no legal right to enforce speed limits.
- frosted-flakes 7y ago
  That's why the signs should use the alternate phrasing "Keep right except to pass". Usually, I only see these on two lane highways. Alternatively, "keep left lane open for passing", which I have seen on overhead electronic signs on 400-series freeways in Ontario.
- imtringued 7y ago
  That doesn't make any logical sense. If you're driving the speed limit and some idiot is 20mph above it he can switch to the right lane far faster than you can and often basically cuts you off from behind. If you decide to switch to the right too then the situation is reserved and you're cutting them off which massively increases the risk of a collision. Your solution will just result in more people driving above the speed limit or more aggressive driving to protect the right lane. Ticketing people because others broke the law is completely insane.
  - dreamcompiler 7y ago
    If you had not been hogging the left lane you would not have been in that situation to begin with. Hence you deserve a ticket.
aidenn0 7y ago
There is a single 6 lane highway going through the town I live. From slowest to fastest the lanes are: Middle, Left, Right. What happens is all the slow traffic (-5 to +2 of speed limit) doesn't want to deal with the absurd number of on-ramps (12 in 13 miles!) so they move to the middle lane. Then the moderately faster cars (+2 to +7 of the speed limit) pass on the left. Then you get all the people that want to go faster and they go to the right lane and then cut across to the left when cars are merging.
- cgiles 7y ago
  As a slower-than-average driver, this is exactly what I do on any highway except an interstate. My logic is that if there are 3 or more lanes, the furthest right lane should be for getting on or off only, further left is for fast long-distance driving, and the slowest lane should be second-from-the-right. I do not see how it makes sense to encourage slower drivers to take the far right lane in this scenario. It is actually pretty dangerous for people trying to merge on to have the right lane heavily occupied. However, indeed the counterargument is that this leads to a lot of lane swapping when people get on and want to cross over to the far left to travel, and then all the way back over to the right when they want to get off. Especially since speed of travel is not necessarily related to whether the car is making a short or long trip on the highway. The real question, I think, is what should a fast driver do if they get onto a highway, and are planning to get off in 1-2 miles. Should they bother crossing over to the left or stay in the right lane?
  - vorpalhex 7y ago
    If you're going the same speed as the lane, it doesn't matter how busy it is as long as there's a car sized gap. If you're coming to a full stop and then trying to merge with a moving lane (what you shouldn't do), then yes, the busy lane is much more dangerous.
    - cgiles 7y ago
      But if you're trying to merge on, whether or not you have to stop before merging is not totally in your control. Specifically, if the right lane is packed, you may have to stop if there is no opening as you pull up. Then it will be harder to merge in, not only because you are starting from zero velocity but also because the lane is packed. That is why I think people should not get in the right lane on a highway unless they are about to get off.
bryanmgreen 7y ago
While currently living in CA and having driven in many foreign countries - predominately France, sticking to the appropriate lane makes a HUGE difference, from personal experience. French drivers will mercilessly tailgate and flash their lights at you if you're driving too slow on multi-lane roads. They live by the rule to be as far to the right as your preferred top speed allows, no matter your actual speed in KPH or the speed limit, so that faster cars can be on the left. (How it is supposed to work in the states.) Even if you're doing an easy 145KPH (90 MPH) and you're in the far left lane and another car is approaching faster, you are 100% expected to move to the right and allow them to maintain their illegal speed. I absolutely love their driving behavior.

dreamcompiler 7y ago

I think the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs may encourage noncompliance because nobody wants to think of themselves as "Slower." Perhaps a better sign would be "If a car passes you on the right, YOU get the ticket."

rxhernandez 7y ago
Many people also dont want to be considered unnecessarily fast or aggressive. Marines notwithstanding, people tend to be okay with being slower in the high desert area of Southern California.
jplayer01 7y ago
Germany's rule is to stay as far right as possible as long as you don't need to overtake any cars or there aren't any cars ahead of you that are slower than you. It has nothing to do with how slow you are, but everything to do with traffic around you.
graywh 7y ago
some drivers think it's their right to drive the speed limit in the far inside lane and want others to obey the law
- dreamcompiler 7y ago
  Sometimes I ride with those people and ask them "Are you a cop?" They are always shocked to discover that without a badge they have no legal right to enforce speed limits.
frosted-flakes 7y ago
That's why the signs should use the alternate phrasing "Keep right except to pass". Usually, I only see these on two lane highways. Alternatively, "keep left lane open for passing", which I have seen on overhead electronic signs on 400-series freeways in Ontario.
imtringued 7y ago
That doesn't make any logical sense. If you're driving the speed limit and some idiot is 20mph above it he can switch to the right lane far faster than you can and often basically cuts you off from behind. If you decide to switch to the right too then the situation is reserved and you're cutting them off which massively increases the risk of a collision. Your solution will just result in more people driving above the speed limit or more aggressive driving to protect the right lane. Ticketing people because others broke the law is completely insane.
- dreamcompiler 7y ago
  If you had not been hogging the left lane you would not have been in that situation to begin with. Hence you deserve a ticket.

aidenn0 7y ago

There is a single 6 lane highway going through the town I live. From slowest to fastest the lanes are: Middle, Left, Right. What happens is all the slow traffic (-5 to +2 of speed limit) doesn't want to deal with the absurd number of on-ramps (12 in 13 miles!) so they move to the middle lane. Then the moderately faster cars (+2 to +7 of the speed limit) pass on the left. Then you get all the people that want to go faster and they go to the right lane and then cut across to the left when cars are merging.

cgiles 7y ago
As a slower-than-average driver, this is exactly what I do on any highway except an interstate. My logic is that if there are 3 or more lanes, the furthest right lane should be for getting on or off only, further left is for fast long-distance driving, and the slowest lane should be second-from-the-right. I do not see how it makes sense to encourage slower drivers to take the far right lane in this scenario. It is actually pretty dangerous for people trying to merge on to have the right lane heavily occupied. However, indeed the counterargument is that this leads to a lot of lane swapping when people get on and want to cross over to the far left to travel, and then all the way back over to the right when they want to get off. Especially since speed of travel is not necessarily related to whether the car is making a short or long trip on the highway. The real question, I think, is what should a fast driver do if they get onto a highway, and are planning to get off in 1-2 miles. Should they bother crossing over to the left or stay in the right lane?
- vorpalhex 7y ago
  If you're going the same speed as the lane, it doesn't matter how busy it is as long as there's a car sized gap. If you're coming to a full stop and then trying to merge with a moving lane (what you shouldn't do), then yes, the busy lane is much more dangerous.
  - cgiles 7y ago
    But if you're trying to merge on, whether or not you have to stop before merging is not totally in your control. Specifically, if the right lane is packed, you may have to stop if there is no opening as you pull up. Then it will be harder to merge in, not only because you are starting from zero velocity but also because the lane is packed. That is why I think people should not get in the right lane on a highway unless they are about to get off.

bryanmgreen 7y ago

While currently living in CA and having driven in many foreign countries - predominately France, sticking to the appropriate lane makes a HUGE difference, from personal experience. French drivers will mercilessly tailgate and flash their lights at you if you're driving too slow on multi-lane roads. They live by the rule to be as far to the right as your preferred top speed allows, no matter your actual speed in KPH or the speed limit, so that faster cars can be on the left. (How it is supposed to work in the states.) Even if you're doing an easy 145KPH (90 MPH) and you're in the far left lane and another car is approaching faster, you are 100% expected to move to the right and allow them to maintain their illegal speed. I absolutely love their driving behavior.