4 ms·
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 rig
by 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 agoIf 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 agoBut 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.
- vorpalhex 7y agoDon't stop if the right lane is packed. Keep going and a gap will open as traffic accelerates away from the stopped group creating distance - you don't need to merge immediately.
- aidenn0 7y agoI don't see how it's more dangerous to have cars merging into the slowest lane than to have cars merging into the fastest lane.