I'm pretty sure that almost nowhere is the left lane designated as a faster lane, the only exceptions I can think of are steep hills, and have explicit signage.

I'm pretty sure that almost nowhere is the left lane designated as a faster lane, the only exceptions I can think of are steep hills, and have explicit signage. AFAIK, the normal rule (certainly in NJ and TX where I've actually researched) is, when there are more than one lane in a direction, "keep right except to pass". It doesn't matter at all how fast or slow you're going. If you're not actively passing, you should move over to the right. You don't get to say "I was doing the speed limit, and nobody should go faster, therefore I'm the faster traffic that is entitled to the left lane". Personally, I blame the Eagles for popularizing the song Life in the Fast Lane, and thus bringing that mis-characterization into common usage.