Are You a "Left-Laner"?

[Knottscott]

"dlminehart's" poll about red lights got me thinking. Are a you a left laner? You know...someone who camps in the passing lane whether their passing someone or not.

Coming home on the expressway today, I encountered a traffic gridlock that turns out to be caused by a left laner who seemed perfectly content dictating his slow highway speed to everyone around....given the opportunity to pull back in, he never did. I always wondered what motivates people to do that. IMO it's not a very safe act because of the backup of cars in close proximity to each other at high speed...combined with impatience, the frustration of being trapped, and impulsiveness, sometimes people take unnecessary risks to break the gridlock.

Any confessions?

[Rob3100]

I find myself making the ~165 mile trip from New Braunfels, TX to Houston for business so I get to see many "left lane bandits" and they come in two categories:

1) On the phone
2) Have tuned the world out

Both are dangerous and both aggravate me.

[crokett]

You forgot one. I'm in the left lane a lot but I am none of the above. I am generally going faster than most traffic.

[Rob3100]

That's not a left lane bandit, that's using it as intended!

[Perfidiajoe]

How about the ones that get in the left lane to pass, & then stay 1 car length ahead so no one else can pass. Are they playing for a tie. I've often said, "What ever happened to the signs saying slower traffic keep right" or "Left lane for passing" Look in the mirror folks, if you have a line of cars behind you, & a lot of space ahead of you, you don't belong in the left lane. Just my opinion, but the drivers manual calls it a passing lane, I don't seem to recall any where a I'm going fast enough lane.

[Kristofor]

First, during rush hour (any time speeds drop below 50mph) all bets are off, use all the lanes just don't keep changing lanes and making people slam on the brakes.

In town during free flowing traffic I'll stay in the left lane as long as there's nobody catching up to me.

On the interstate outside of metro areas, I'll get over to pass (sometimes multiple vehicles) then pop back into the right lane for normal driving. Again if there are cars I can see I'll be passing (ie rapidly overtaking them) I'll stay in the left lane so long as there's nobody behind me.

Since the speed limits are semi-arbitrary made-up numbers (they didn't rebuild the roads to go from 55, to 65, to 70) I agree with the previous poster that "slower traffic keep right" should have a higher order of precedence than the speed limit and the left lane 54MPHers should be ticketed long before the folks going 74.

[LCHIEN]

Sort of depends...
on the open, uncongested highway the left lane can easily be treated as a passing lane where there are sporadic cars in the right lane and left lane is largely unoccupied.

But in the Houston metropolitan area, which now extends about halfway to San Antonio or Austin (just kidding, its not quite that bad yet), frequently both lanes are heavily traveled and its not really practical to use the left for passing only. This is particularly true on weekends and holidays where the traffic between major cities is like that.

I'll add that even when heavy the traffic on the interstates usually moves briskly like 75-80 mph, I'll sometime cruise in the left lane along with everyone else at the prevailing speed as it moves a bit faster than the right (doing 70-75) but I'll pull over to the right if a gap starts to open up ahead of me or there seem to be some anxious drivers behind me.

If you are counting Houston freeway traffic on any day of the week, all 3-5 lanes in both directions are usually quite full moving anywhere from 5 mph to 75 mph from about 5:30AM to 9PM, and still a lot of traffic all through the late evening and early morning. Sort of by "pipe flow" rules the traffic in the inner lanes moves a bit faster than the outer lanes where people are exiting or merging.

[L. D. Jeffries]

A big LOL when I read about "left-laners". Living in a RURAL area, if you stay in the left lane you will pretty quickly have a head-on! Since we only have "two" lanes anyway. Nearest interstate is 30 miles away going down to Watertown and Syracuse and points south. Used to live where, unless you were on horse back, you had to drive on 3 - 4 - or more lane roads/streets. Quite frankly I don't miss them.

[Rob3100]

Good points, most of my driving is extra-metro/rural interstate so that's was my frame of reference. In town/city it seems the "all bets are off" typically applies.

Loring,

No joke about I-10, I'm on it almost every week and the worst part of the year is coming up. All those people who don't drive the interstates outside of Houston get out there and fill up both lanes with cooler laden SUVs. A tip for those of you heading to New Braunfels from the Houston area: When you exit in Seguin, don't take Hwy 46 to New Braunfels, take Farm Road 725. It's only 2 lanes, but you won't be sitting at Hwy 46 / I-35 for 20-30 minutes. 725 goes the same place (NB) as 46, just on the other side of the Guadalupe and much less traveled.

[Knottscott]

Seeing as though the premise of this thread is really just bellyaching, thought I'd add another petpeeve. (must be the crappy weather! )

Just a few minutes ago when I went to pick up my son, I was travelling down a main surburban road with no one close by in front of or behind me. There was a car waiting to come out of the library...waiting, waiting, waiting, then like a scared rabbit they bolted out right in front of me while I slam on the brakes, and they settled on a speed about 3 mph below the speed limit, which was about 8mph slower than I had been going. What's the rush to pull out in front of me and drive slow?! That's right up there with being asked to wait while the pizzeria burns my pizza!

BTW - I agree that all bets are off on a congested expressway...guess I was thinking more of moderate traffic that's flowing nicely 'cept for the leftlane nazis!

[ejs1097]

In PA, there is a law against hanging out in the left lane. If you go more then 1 mile and don't merge over and you aren't passing anyone you can get a ticket. EVEN if you are going over then speedlimit.

In PA, the lawmakers like to reward lawbreakers and this is one example. I get peeved when someone is hanging in the left lane too, but you're not suppose to be going faster then the posted speed in the first place. This just rewards tailgaters.

[jziegler]

Lots of good points on here. And, of course, all bets are off when dealing with more than 2 lanes each way. Over half of my commute is on a nice stretch of i-95 through Delaware. 4 lanes each direction. Staying in the right lane isn't an option most of the way. But, I stay out of the left lanes unless I'm passing. Well, after I merge in, that is. Then, I get off the highway and have about 8 miles on 2 lane rural highway, so no left lane there.

NJ has a law similar on the PA one mentioned, but not well enforced, if it's enforced at all.

I've also been staying more to the right recently, it seems that the average speeds have gone up in the last 2-3 years. Where going a few over was average to high average a few years ago, it now puts you as one of the slow ones.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

Seeing as though the premise of this thread is really just bellyaching, thought I'd add another petpeeve. (must be the crappy weather! )

Just a few minutes ago when I went to pick up my son, I was travelling down a main surburban road with no one close by in front of or behind me. There was a car waiting to come out of the library...waiting, waiting, waiting, then like a scared rabbit they bolted out right in front of me while I slam on the brakes, and they settled on a speed about 3 mph below the speed limit, which was about 8mph slower than I had been going. What's the rush to pull out in front of me and drive slow?! That's right up there with being asked to wait while the pizzeria burns my pizza!

BTW - I agree that all bets are off on a congested expressway...guess I was thinking more of moderate traffic that's flowing nicely 'cept for the leftlane nazis!

That's absolutely one of my petpeeves. I always check, if there's one car coming and I can see no one behind him, I'll wait until he passes instead of pulling out in front of him and making him slow down. Just common courtesy. If its heavy traffic and there's one chance to pull out, I'll accelerate a little faster than normal to fit into the flow and not disrupt the pace.

What I absolutely hate is to be the only car on the whole road and some yay-hoo puls out in front of me causing severe braking on my part then holds me up traveling at a speed significantly slower than one would expect of someone in such a hurry.

I think there's a whole lack of consideration for others being practiced nowadays, chat-and-drive-cell-phoners, left-laners and pull-out-in-front-and-go-slowers are perfect examples.

[Ed62]

None of the categories works for me either. I'll stay in the left lane when the majority of those in the right lane are driving slower. But I certainly don't have traffic piling up behind me. If someone comes up behind me, I get over to let him pass.

Ed

[MilDoc]

Nope, with one exception. On I190, here, there are no yield or stop signs for entering traffic. So, if there is a lot of traffic coming on the highway I stay in the LL. Otherwise I risk getting hit, or slowed by the folks that enter the highway then do 40 or so even tho' the speed limit is 70. I just folks that do that and do not even think to yield to oncoming traffic.