Dr.Murdock

Now what that person wrote about calling one's mother was extremly pathetic. I wouldv'e took the lead pipe out of my trunk and bash ur fagget ass brains out, f*cking queer calling from a pay phone.

F23A4

That can be referred to as Darwin's Vehicular Natural Selection.

It's sad to read this thread and see that left lane squatters arent limited to NYC drivers on NJ highways.....seems to be a nationwide epidemic.

I'm so glad I ride the train to work every day; it totally spares me the aggravation.

Republican TL

Its times like these where I wish I didn't drive a nice car and used the Dale Earnhardt Sr. approach to slow moving vehicles.

Either that or drive a pickup with the baja lights....for the front and back. Weee doggie!!!

There is one place I know where left lane squatting doesn't seem to be a problem...Massachusetts. When I was up there for a month everyone was doing 80 - 90 mph on the highways there. Nice!

1995hoo

Actually, in some states, yes, you DO have the right to demand that people get out of the way. In Virginia it is the law--although sadly seldom enforced--that a slower-moving vehicle give way upon a visible or audible signal as soon as it is safe to move over. Thus, flashing your lights is the PROPER thing to do under Virginia law (I don't think anyone around here knows about the left-indicator signal used on the autobahn).

This is a great analogy. I'm going to have to use that one.

F23A4

Dude!! You have no idea how often I'm in those circumstances and wanted to pull a '3-car @ Darlington' on some slug.

mickey3c

The right of those doing the speed limit to slow people down.. The slam on the brakes signal which is always a crowd favorite....

I can see it now we come up with our own set of rules...

The real problem is people not doing at least 5 mph over the limit in the left lane. Or with cruise on and peg the limit.

Technically the furthermost left lane is for passing and is not called the travel lane. So you can be cited for extended travel in the passing lane. We should have a rule like the 3 second violation or 24 second shot clock. If you do not pass anyone for 24 seconds in the left most lane, you are fined 50 bucks..lol

Oversignaling is what I hate... I also dislike not seeing headlights behind you... I know I know those of you who get 35 MPG have to do that to be in my draft... but comeon back away a bit. I also dislike the dam idiot audi drivers that must have that red beam on one tail light designed to tell people to back off. Turn it off...

ericajackhannahjamie?

Perhaps you misunderstood what I stated being good looking is a bless and I know I am very fortunate. However, being whistled at or smiled at in the wrong way is annoying if it happens quite often . That's all I was trying to say

I am not one of those type of person who thinks they're the sh*t because they're hot.

TLNJ

This happens in Jersey all the time...uh people in the slow lane...although I'm not saying guys whistling and smiling the wrong way at hot girls in sweet TL's doesn't happen also....it's Jersey for you!!

My favorite is you're crusing along in the fast lane passing people and then that nutcase person in the next lane who has NOBODY in front of them pulls into your lane for some reason and is going about 55mph.

I truly want to know what they're thinking or where they learned to drive. You're going 55 in a lane where no one is in front of you yet you have to cut over into the fast lane making me slam on my brakes?!?!

DiscoTL

As a faithful Car and Driver subscriber, the above comment triggered my memory. Mr. Yates makes a compelling argument. I vote yes.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

JZ

F23A4

You're an optimist. I suspect that the NJMVS now provides New Jersey residents with driver's licenses gratis. In NJ, the line between right and privelege (which is what driving is) has become more obscure over the years.

Casper42

Women Drivers, No Survivors

EleVatE

What a beautiful Law!!! I love it. Problem is its a lot harder to enforce for cops that will just sit and park there and get readings back on thier dartectors saying 55 all the time.... but when they see that 90... they are sure to take action.

So... a lot harder to enforce. But a very good objective. I honestly think slow drivers are mroe dangerous than fast ones. Given there are retards who drive fast, but if your responsible enough you should be able tod drive fast.

Something I thought of in my commute home one day is they should give out different grades of liscneses.... if you do good enough on your driving test you should get a grade 1 or 2, and move it all the way down to like a 10 or something. It then lets the cops that pulled you over know 1) if you really are a good driver, just driving fast, and 2) how much you really should be able to go. If your a grade 1 you should be able to lawfully go faster. lol that'd be cool, but itd be impossilbe to enforce.

KJSmitty

If you are truly of this character I commend you. It's not very common now days.. Currently and through-out my past/dating years there was no bigger turn off than the type of female attitude you describe. I couldn't care less how "fine" a young lady was/may be, regardless of how much attention she was throwing my way. Having that "I'm all that+" attitude was an enormous personality "negative" in my book.
As you mentioned, beauty on the outside is a blessing, beauty on the inside is priceless. One of the main reasons I married the woman I did.

Now, get out of the left lane so I can pass and give you my awkward "happily married guy looking at a pretty girl in a nice car" stare... :-)





Drive safe

BiggyMcWang

Yeah a good number of people suck at driving alright. Need to accelerate onto the freeway not stop and turn on blinker. Although I would never hi-beam nemore since that seems to be getting bullets sprayed at you. Beware of whacko's on the road that like to blast anyone who corrects them.

bluenoise

About a year ago, I was at a gas station filling up when an older Integra pulled up to the pumps on the other side of the island from me. The guys in it got out and were visibly shaken as they inspected the side of the car. The driver's side rear window was shattered and there were two bullet holes in the sheetmetal just below the window. It had apparently just happened. Realizing I was between them and the street, I decided immediately that I had plenty of gas and got the hell out of there before the shooter figured out where they were.

Swanny05TL

Just stumbled upon this somewhat dated thread & could not help but comment.

Yes...I'm the guy that will flash my brights at the idiot in the passing lane that isn't passing. If said idiot is less than pleased with my polite indication that I'd like to pass & decides to give me the finger, I'll promptly jump in front of him or her & slow way down to give him a taste of his own medicine. If he wants to chase me.....bring it! I don't run from conflict, I face it with courage. Yes...someday I may get my ass kicked or worse, but to me it's like not going to Times Square for New Years because you're afraid of a terrorist attack. You can't live your life in fear-especially fear of a bunch of punks. You have a very powerful weapon at your disposal...and it weighs over 3000 lbs. If you know how to use it properly to defend yourself, you'll be fine. Those punks try to run you off the road....simply tap their rear quarter panel with your front quarter(common tactic used by police). It'll send them into a nice spin & of course it is considered self defense.

To also add my two cents to those that think the gentleman doing 110 was "putting people at risk", unfortunately this is the same narrow minded, uninformed kind of statement we hear so often, similar to "speed kills". Speed in itself does NOT kill. Nor is it dangerous....in the right hands. Uneducated speed kills. People that don't know how to handle speed, kill.

Lastly, regarding the effectiveness of signs that read "keep right except to pass" over "slower traffic keep right": The latter can be misinterpreted by the uninformed, thinking "I'm not going slow, I'm doing the speed limit, so I guess that means I can stay in this lane".

Undoubtedly I'll catch some heat for some of the above, but it would likely be from the same uninformed folk that think speed kills.

gcjin2007

ya welcome to maryland, i consider it a gift and not a necessity that people pass on the left... and yes passin on the left is ALOOTTTTTAAA fun, just too bad no one in md knows how to drive.

azrocks

I usually go around the person when ever possible. however, when I am blocked in, I would first tailgate the person. Followed by high beams. If the person still don't get the hint, I sometimes would tap on my horn. At times the person would purposely step on their brake letting me know they that they just don't care. Most of the time I would just go around them. But at times there are only two lanes, blocked by two car going at the same speed. At this point, I would then pass on the emergency lane, making sure that there is no cops around.

I just wish people would pay attention to what they are doing. If they are in the fast, then they should get out of the way.

Interesting note: when the freeway speed got raised from 65 or 75 here in AZ, fatality rate and the numbers of accidents dropped.

Speeding don't cause accidents. People who blocks the flow of traffic causes accidents.

special-ed

Yeah, I don't know what the frickin' deal is here in the states. Overseas, especially europe, they kindly let the faster traffic take the fast lane. Also, if they're holding up traffic in the fast lane, they can also get cited for a ticket. People just need to drop their damn egos and just let the faster traffic get by and move along.

sAnFrAn_G

and...your an idiot becuase you'll get shot one day! Road rage is something you can avoid and pass on by but you talking about living without fear and jumping out the car and fighting that person. Man...you'll get shot that way sooner or later. I was almost in a confrontation when a man pulled out a shotgun right in front of me. This guy was going real slow and I ended up tailgating him so I can pass him but he ended up stopping at the middle of the road, got out and got his shotgun out. I seriously thought this guy was going to shoot me (so I pulled out my mac 10....naw I'm
playin)...so I was getting ready to floor my car and run this fool over but he decided to go back in his car and drive off. And I know many other incidents that got shot by road rage. You ain't ganna be seeing the people you love and care about if you keep on facing your problems with courage. Just ignore that shit and pass on by. The bigger man walks away.

mickey3c

I am amazed that people need to tell others how to drive..Sure doing like 65 in the fast lane is not exactly what I call taking others into consideration. The idea of flashing lights when something thinks its time/safe to pull over is crazy. That's what starts these issues. People think as long as they are doing the speed limit they are in the right to drive in any lane. Personally, I just pull around them rather than start a road rage incident.

joed40

Bottom line is, it really doesn't matter who is right or wrong. As a general rule of thumb, is it worth getting hurt over? At least in CT, with the failure of the judicial system, and over taxed Police Dept's. there seems to be a growing number of people who should be in jail, but have evaded arrest. These morons think nothing of shooting at anyone, anywhere. Since there is no way to identify the morons from the rest, you are truly playing roulette when you do anything on the road that may provoke a rage response.
It's best to be patient and arrive safe.

gurneyeagle

Sorry Mick, but a quick flash of the lights is an internationally accepted signal asking someone to move over. If some dolt doesn't have the common sense to move over, then yes, just pass them on the right when it is safe to do so.

I travel a 24 mile bridge twice a day on the commute, and it is filled with the "automotively-challenged" who can't read any of the 12 signs posted that say "Left Lane for Passing, Keep Right".

What the original poster should have done was get on a cell phone and call the cops when those punks started playing games. I've had to do that several times over the years.

To their credit, the cops on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway take those kind of games very seriously. In fact they encourage motorists' reports of unsafe driving.

gurney

1995hoo

I never tailgate anyone. It's stupid, rude, and dangerous. Unfortunately, people in the DC area now seem to think that flashing your lights is rude, and so they just tailgate when they don't like your speed, even in the slow lane. If I'm in the slow lane and someone wants me to go faster, that's their tough luck.

But people here tailgate everywhere. The speed limit in my neighborhood is 25 mph; I usually go 30 and I get tailgated just about every day. I'm happy to go faster on a non-residential street, but in a residential community where there are cars parked on the side and you have the possibility of a little kid running out into the road, the tailgaters can kiss my arse.

CL Platano

I feel your pain. I have to deal with all the time on the way to work, I love it as you go to pass them they speed up. I suggest you don't flash your brights because some people just don't get it, just pass them and give them the

1995hoo

This was back on the first page of this thread:

I don't think it has anything to do with the TL per se. I think it's more a function of people disliking HIDs in the first place and disliking HID high-beams even more.

mark 3M bra man

I will tell you what the deal is:

Overseas, they teach drivers how to drive - professionally. Driving is a priviledge, it costs couple of grand to get your license and it is hard to pass. In the US, the 15 year old is taught by his f-king dad who was never taught how to drive. So it is a circle that never ends. And the driving schools/aid are a joke here.

Change the rules of getting a driving license and driving habits will change. But that is not possible, because everyone has to have a license in the states (at least according to the underpriviledged).

On top of that, it is easier to get a ticket for blocking traffic then for speeding (maybe not, but at least as easy).

Sorry to vent, but the lack of curtesy ticks me off every day.

jdb8805

Just make sure you don't pass me in the emergency lane or you will end up in the wall. Not only is this dangerous (could be a stopped car you don't see at 80), but it also will throw rocks on the car you pass which is downright sinister.

There may be several reasons the person is going the speed limit. I find that very often a cluster of cars going the speed limit is caused by a cop car that is or was in front of them.

Maybe after you end up in the way you "is going" to learn proper english.

chill_dog

I agree...it's amazing the number of maneuvers I have to undertake to get around drivers with no courtesy. And while the schools/drivers ed are a joke, they do teach "slower traffic keep right" and that you should move over for vehicles going faster than you...it's also in the drivers handbook and on signs on the side of the road. I think the problem is the attitude of people today: after me, you come first...you see it all the time with how they think and act, and it clearly extends to their driving.

F23A4

Although I'm now one of those "f--king dads" now and was taught by another "f--king dad" 21 years ago, I'd be glad to pay a grand or two for the license if it clears up the cholesterol on the freeways. But of course, the ACLU, NAACP and every other leftist group would cry (insert _____ism here) at the prospect.

Back on topic: while that person in the left lane at/under the posted speed limit is legally permitted to drive in the left lane (most highways, from my exp.), it's when they match the speed to the vehicle to their right that tends to get on my nerves.

Make the pass on the person to the right and then get back over.

Now, it's also my experience that NY drivers (particularly those from the NYC area) tend to make a bee line from the onramp right to the left lane only to proceed at WELL UNDER the speed limit on NJ highways EVEN when the right 2 or 3 lanes are perfectly clear.


NJSP will RARELY give someone a ticket for blocking OR going too slow.....they're only interested in speeders!!

NoRespect

If I'm not mistaken... Here in Texas there is a law that say the left hand lane is for passing only... Please correct me if I'm wrong. So you could be doing 70 (the limit) and get a ticket for not getting out of the lane.

I'm not a really big fan of this law since it seems to be mostly ignored and can be applied rather arbitrarily. Alot of the highways around here have really bad right lanes, due to the semis. If the road is clear, I will usually travel in the left hand lane rather that get my kidneys pounded by the right lane. I will move when I see people coming up on me for the simple reason that they will run interference for me with the potential cop up ahead and give me and my radar detector a reasonable chance to detect... So just for the sake of self interest let the faster cars pass and get the tickets for you, and you get a good chuckle at their expense.

mickey3c

Well I would agree that it is the accepted signal... yet not in any rulebooks that I see and when you get someone in front of you who has had a bad day, and you do that...well... You know how it goes. Why I do what I want and move when it is safe. And yes, the left lane is technically for people doing at least 10 miles over the speed limit. That to me is the unwritten law. People who pull into the left lane doing the limit because they want to have a clear view in front of them are just inconsiderate and usually breaking the law since they are simply traveling there and not passing.

When I am doing 80 on my ride to work and passing everyone and some gear head wants to do 90 I generally ignore them till it is safe to pull over. I would imagine if a state trooper saw someone flashing and tail gating they would pull the flasher over.

kwelling12

Just as a note the light you speak of is called a "rear fog light." It comes on with the fog lights. Its not at all telling people to back off.

gurneyeagle

Honestly mick, I've seen the cops flash cars to get them out of the way for traffic on the Causeway. Last year, they officially announced they would be writing tickets for "left lane bandits".

Up until Hurricane Katrina, it was making a difference. After the storm, half of the outlying cities around New Orleans moved north, so there has been a tremendous influx of "refugees" who have no clue how to drive on a limited access highway.

Because of the sheer number of these folks, and the hope that it is temporary, the Police have backed off. My 45 minute drive now takes up to 90 monutes some days.

Imagine following trailers overflowing with junk that drop debris all over the roadway. I'm sure the guys down in Florida have similar stories.

gurney

afici0nad0

ya...

that, i think, is what pisses me off the most.

if you want to pass, pass. but, for some reason, the driver does not want to lead, in case he/she gets pulled over for speeding. hence, just match the speed of the other car. but no, he/she must match the speed of the other car by driving side by side on the passing lane...

mark 3M bra man

The fact that you teach your kids, does not make you a f-king dad. What I meant, that the people who themselves do not know how to drive, teach others how not to be able how to drive. There is a lot of those that do and you maybe one of the few. I was harsh, but did not intend to offend anyone.

There is a lot of those, who speed down the on ramp and then slow down once they get to the fast lane

True, they teach in drivers ed that slow traffic keeps right, but then the kid goes home and mom and dad tells them to drive in the left lane so they do not have to slow down for people getting on, etc since the parents do not know how to drive. And, we are back in the circle.

BiggyMcWang

I was in Europe and went through 14 countries in the month over there. With the exception of Russia+Italy .... I would say everyone else over there rocks us. My father has a license in Europe, so he totally mocks the system over here. After seeing the habits over there, I like it. The left lane is almost always empty. People only use it to pass, then get back in the right lane again. That is common courtesy we lack in the states.


BTW, did you know you can phone in to DMV that you spotted a bad driver, they will call the guy in and retest them. If they fail license gets revoked. Heard it on the news last night.

acuranewbie

I don't think siccing the DMV on them would do much good, the driving test is a joke to begin with, if it was hard at all you wouldn't have all 16 y/o teenagers driving big SUVs with one hand while talking on the cell phone

mark 3M bra man

Believe it or not, but I was travelling in Russia and we were going in the left lane in a Russian vehicle (so noone knew we were not Russians). Wide open highway, bit up right lane, so were were in a left lane. All of the sudden, we get pulled over for being in the left lane. It is for passing only, and one is not supposed to be there otherwise. A bribe later, we were on the way.

I saw a guy all over the highway one time, looked like a total drunk an accident waiting to happen. He was going beween two lanes, no signals, random moves. I called the police, they started transferring me from one jurisdiction to another, finally go State Police. I told them what was going on, followed the guy for almost 15 miles and noone showed up. MO State Troopers really care, I suppose.

bluenoise

Wow, it's interesting to see my old thread bumped. Here's something I found on another forum...

California does have a law about left lane use, but it's poorly written. Its section 21654 of the vehicle code <http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displa...le=21650-21664>, which says you only have to move right if your speed is "less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time". You can travel at the same speed as everyone else and block the lane. It doesn't say anything about passing only or anything similar.

The only good thing about that paragraph is the "Notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits" at the beginning. It doesn't matter if you're doing the speed limit or not, if everyone else is travelling faster than you, you should be in the right lane.

Nonetheless, I nominate this law as California's most under-enforced traffic law.