2 ms·

In the SFBA you’ll see some of the fastest drivers deliberately passing from the right lane - my guess is they think they are less visible outside the fast lane

• pengaru 3y ago
  Having driven quite a lot in the SFBA (SF Bay Area, right?) it's usually out of frustration with traffic clogging up the left half of the highway. Lazy careless drivers leave the right lane underutilized, congregating on the left side because they can't be bothered with monitoring let alone handling potentially merging traffic. So the right lane often becomes the only way to get around these clumped up clusterfucks, and to minimize time spent in the right lane while overtaking, it often occurs at quite extralegal speeds.
  • hot_gril 3y ago
    Even without traffic though, the right lane can be faster because of how many people sit in the left going 65 with nobody in front.
• hot_gril 3y ago
  Because often someone is hogging the left lane but not the right lane, especially in San Jose where nobody wants to be in the right lane due to the wacky merges. So it becomes the true passing lane, with extra risk. Also, carpool lane is on the right on some expressways. A special situation is the 2-lane part of highway 5 between SF and LA. Sometimes one truck needs to pass another, causing traffic in the left lane during the pass. Courteous drivers basically form a line in the left lane waiting for this. A few people pass this entire line on the right then cut in.
  • quantified 3y ago
    And yet between SF and SJ, the empty right lane becomes the fastest available lane. The existence of the Lexus Lane makes that more important where it's in effect because the "left lane" for most cars is closer to the right lane.