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No. No one is 'forced' to exceed the limit, not remotely, and there are plenty of drivers who, for a variety of reasons, drive at or under the speed limit (many
by usefulcat 1y ago
No. No one is 'forced' to exceed the limit, not remotely, and there are plenty of drivers who, for a variety of reasons, drive at or under the speed limit (many large trucks, for example).
On a highway, driving slow in the left lane is not good, but doing 65 in a 70 in the right lane is perfectly fine.
- aftbit 1y agoYou need to be glued to the right lane though, or be willing to speed while passing even slower traffic, or you will definitely mess up the flow.
- AlexandrB 1y agoWhat really messes up flow is traffic "waves"[1] and these are often caused by drivers hitting the brakes because they're following too closely or someone cuts in front of them aggressively. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_wave https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_wave
- usefulcat 1y agoYes. Once I realized this, I tried to put a higher priority on maintaining a more steady average speed, even though that usually means leaving a larger gap ahead of me. Of course, the problem then becomes that people will often use that gap to cut in front of you, thus negating much of the benefit. Tragedy of the commons.
- AlexandrB 1y agoI blame automatic transmissions. Stop and go traffic is hell in a manual, so there's a bigger incentive to maintain a constant slow speed instead of zooming forward then slamming the brakes.
- aftbit 1y agoYep - follow distance makes a huge difference in both safety and traffic flow. If you can leave 20 cars in front of you, do it. You get there just as fast but have more time to react and don't need to hit your brakes as often.
- dataflow 1y ago> No. No one is 'forced' to exceed the limit, not remotely, You never get tailgated when you go too slow? People do it all the time and it's dangerous as heck.
- usefulcat 1y agoIf you're in the left lane and being tailgated, then it's your fault, if there is no one in front of you. If you're in the right lane and being tailgated, it's the fault of the tailgater. There's a reason why some states have traffic signs that state "left lane for passing only".
- AlexandrB 1y agoIt's always the fault of the tailgater. There are other ways to ask someone to move over like flashing your high beams. Tailgating just creates a dangerous situation.
- dataflow 1y agoI'm talking about the right lane. And people tailgate in every lane when they feel you're going slow. Just with more frequency on the left lane. And it's not like you can always choose. Highway lanes split in two all the time.
- usefulcat 1y agoIn my experience, if someone is tailgating you in the right lane, then speeding up is not likely to make them tailgate you any less, because such a person is either not paying attention or intentionally being a jerk.