Who Knows That You Should Stay Out Of The Left Lane Unless You Are Passing?

[champu 1]

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The funny thing is, you can have this conversation with anyone, because no one thinks it's them you're both talking about...

With all the comedy and personal stories dedicated to the belittling of the inconsiderate and intellectually unfortunate shared amongst those more adequate in both regards, I would not be surprised to find out 90% of the population never communicated with the rest of society (except of course to each other... in traffic... using cell phones.)

[Rebecca 0]

You know, I've noticed a couple of things in the 5+ years I've been driving in Houston:
1. People don't use blinkers unless absolutely unnecessary. You need to make a turn? Just slow down abruptly, I'll read your mind from there. You're in a TURN ONLY lane? You better make damn sure I know you mean it!

2. On a multi-lane, ONE-WAY street (like Shepard or Durham), people will wait to turn until ALL the lanes are clear so they can pull into the farthest or next farthest lane instead of doing the rational thing- turn into the lane closest and then make their way over.

Ugh.

(this is a fav soapbox of mine- could ya' tell? )

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[Rebecca 0]

In this case, intellect has little to do with it - everyone, secretly or not, believes they're a better-than-average driver, regardless of the truth. A friend of mine says I'm a bad driver because I'm aggressive and I speed. But I still know I'm a much better driver than he is.

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[champu 1]

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In this case, intellect has little to do with it - everyone, secretly or not, believes they're a better-than-average driver, regardless of the truth. A friend of mine says I'm a bad driver because I'm aggressive and I speed. But I still know I'm a much better driver than he is.

You're both probably awful drivers.

/eta: I'm kidding of course, but you're absolutely right. Everyone has different criterion for quality driving. My goal is to walk that fine line where my passengers don't experience terror, and those in cars around me don't experience rage.

[Rebecca 0]

Here is why I think I'm a decent driver:

I don't do the things I bitch about, and I stay outta the way, while doing my best to be considerate of others. I get mad at people who don't pay attention, because I do pay attention.

I'm not so worried about my passengers experiencing terror - they'll get there alive and have something to talk about. I do try to avoid inciting rage in others, though. You never know who's in that other car...

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[Fast 0]

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In this case, intellect has little to do with it - everyone, secretly or not, believes they're a better-than-average driver, regardless of the truth. A friend of mine says I'm a bad driver because I'm aggressive and I speed. But I still know I'm a much better driver than he is.

You're both probably awful drivers.

/eta: I'm kidding of course, but you're absolutely right. Everyone has different criterion for quality driving. My goal is to walk that fine line where my passengers don't experience terror, and those in cars around me don't experience rage.

Thats about the same way that I am.

I do drive quite a bit more aggressive when I am the only one in the vehicle.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[BillyVance 35]

I usually drive in the left lane because I like to speed. 80 - 90 mph isn't unusual for me, unless the state troopers are out on one of their regional speed traps. On I-20 between Birmingham and Anniston, AL, however, has had major problems with drivers not giving a fuck what others think of their driving. I've seen enough road rage and aggressive driving incidents (including those that don't result in accidents) in the past 4 years to write a book about. I've been in my share of them too. My biggest peeve is the 18 wheeler that runs in the left lane for miles and won't move the fuck over, and I can't get around it in the right lane because there are enough traffic in the way. One time though, I had a hair-raising experience with one 18 wheeler. I was stuck behind one for 6 miles, then finally I saw a gap in the right lane and went for it, squeezing through ahead of the truck and went on ahead. Now all of a sudden the stupid SOB went from his 60 mph to 80 mph and tailing my ass! I did all I could, within reason, to put some distance and other cars between me and the SOB, but traffic was particularly heavy and there were times the SOB pulled up alongside me and swerved in my lane. I finally got a gap and squeezed through, hanging him out to dry, but he was stubborn. I got a wide open stretch of highway with nobody around and opened up the throttle, getting at least a quarter mile ahead. However, as I neared my exit, I coasted and had slowed to about 60 mph just as I moved on the exit ramp, and I saw the big SOB coming in the far left lane, so I rolled down the window and gave him a slow waving birdie. All of a sudden he swerves across two lanes just to make the exit ramp, and I'm scrambling to get to the end of the ramp and make a quick right down the road. I look in my rear view mirror, and he'd come to a stop halfway into the road I just turned on in a big cloud of smoke. I gave him another birdie for good measure and that was it.

Basically, I don't do anything unless somebody pisses me off. If somebody's holding me back in the left lane, I just look for an opportunity to go around in the middle or right lane and move on. However, if two 18 wheelers ride side-by-side for more than a mile or so on the highway, effectively blocking anyone from getting through, I WILL use the shoulder (emergency lane) to get around them, provided I can see far enough beyond that it's clear.
If somebody pisses me off, I'll just get ahead of them and not let them get me back, then hang them out behind slower traffic when I get through a gap that closes behind me, then I say a "yippie kye aye motherfucker!" (line from Die Hard) and I'm gone. There will be other drivers crazier than me doing things I wouldn't do, I'll let them go with a "go fuck yourself prick."

I hardly ever use my turn signals when I want to change lanes, because I've found that 90% of the time I do, somebody will move to block me. There's a "nobody cuts in front of me" mentality here in Alabama even when there's enough room to do so without disrupting their speed.

So, yes, I freely admit I'm part of the problem on the highways, but I don't want to cause an accident, and I won't let myself get boxed into a confrontation, but at the same time I won't take shit from people that piss me off... go figure... I did however, have one incident where an asshole decided to pass me on a 2 lane road in a no passing zone. I gave him the finger. He fingered me back, then I gave him a big emphatic FINGER, and he then pulls over and motions me to pull over too. I refused and kept going right by him, andright past my home too, he doesn't need to know where I live. He came after me, tail-gating me for miles at break-neck speeds and I did all I could to get away from him without wrecking or losing control, then finally I decided enough was enough and got on a major and busy county road, slowed down to the speed limit behind other cars with jackass riding on my bumper motioning to me to pull over. I headed straight into town, planning to go straight to the police. About 2 blocks away, he pulled out and disappeared. Guess he had something to hide...

So, anytime you feel threatened, do just that, head for the police. I can't use a cell phone to call them because I'm deaf. If you can, do that too.

One of these days though, I'll need to chill out and sit in the right lane and let everybody else piss each other off. You'll live longer and happier too.

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Bolas 5]

For people that don't want to read the long post above I'll paraphrase...

Hey lookee at the big, angry, unstable bear. Lemme poke him with a stick. Wow, he growled at me.
Lemme poke him again. Wow, he swiped at me.
Lemme poke him again. Wow, he tried to bite me.
Lemme poke him again and then run away...

Edited to add: Crazy people out there

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[BillyVance 35]

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For people that don't want to read the long post above I'll paraphrase...

Hey lookee at the big, angry, unstable bear. Lemme poke him with a stick. Wow, he growled at me.
Lemme poke him again. Wow, he swiped at me.
Lemme poke him again. Wow, he tried to bite me.
Lemme poke him again and then run away...

Edited to add: Crazy people out there

Sorry the post was long. But yeah, you never know who you're dealing with out there. It's like playing with fire, eventually you're going to get burned (apologies to Paul Rafferty). Like I said, there will come a time when I need to mind my own business and let the world go by in its nastiness.

Funny how people handle things differently in different parts of the country. In L.A., you cut someone off on the freeway, you get shot at. I mind my own business when I'm out there or in unfamiliar areas. Here in my backyard, I know people won't do anything that will result in an emergency call to 911, but there'll be one or two nuts who just don't care. Those are the ones you want to avoid, or hope you don't run into...

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[christoofar 0]

This is a problem in states where the no-pass on right is a rule. In Texas it is not the rule, however in others passing on the right-hand side is a big no-no so the left lane should be vacant most of the time (ha).

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

[Samurai136 0]

I thought it was a good story.

I always follow the right/ left lane 'rules'. Usually I pick a speed that allows me to pass most people over a 1 hour drive to the DZ (75-80mph). This tends to allows the really fast drivers to pass and get caught by the troopers.

Sometimes I encounter an asshat in the left lane that I've been closing a mile gap for a few minutes in the right lane only to get boxed out as they slowly pace an 18-wheeler.

I've been known to intensionally pass those drivers on the right and imeadiately change lanes in front of them maintaining my passing speed. Usually that's all it takes and they move over to the right lane.
Ken

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[BillyVance 35]

I always follow the right/ left lane 'rules'. Usually I pick a speed that allows me to pass most people over a 1 hour drive to the DZ (75-80mph). This tends to allows the really fast drivers to pass and get caught by the troopers.

I've been known to intensionally pass those drivers on the right and imeadiately change lanes in front of them maintaining my passing speed. Usually that's all it takes and they move over to the right lane.
Ken

[BillyVance 35]

Here's another road rage story -

I'm on my way home on the highway. The highway's wide open in one stretch with only a beat-up, rusted pick-up truck with a Confederate flag and other assorted and related stickers on the back of its cab window. The redneck's in the left lane all by himself, and I'm in the right lane all by myself, but closing fast. He's probably going 70 and I'm going 85. As soon as I'm about to pass him, he revs up his truck in an attempt to stay ahead of me. I'm like, "what the fuck am I doing to you?". I speed up to 90 and he's still on my left, so I floor it to over 100 and clear him, then move over to the left lane before we caught up to a line of cars in the right lane. Now the redneck's really pissed and riding my bumper. I was driving my wife's Toyota MR-2 Spyder, a little zippy car that I've reached 120 mph on a few times before (though she doesn't know it ). It took me 15 miles or so to shake off the stupid redneck while trying to work through traffic, he was so damned stubborn. I even missed my exit on purpose and kept going. Finally I found a gap just ahead of a line of four 18 wheelers in the left lane closing fast on another 18 wheeler in the right lane just ahead of me, I squeezed through, and the redneck got stuck, and I was gone. Yippie kye aye motherfucker! I got off at the next exit, got on the overhead bridge and waited, sure enough I see him doggedly trying to catch up, and I think he saw me on the bridge too late to do anything about it cuz he slammed on the brakes and wanted to get off too but missed the exit. I doubled back on local roads to home at a leisurely pace, but also with one eye in the rear view mirror just in case... Man, am I bad or what...

Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[kai2k1 0]

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Sometimes I encounter an asshat in the left lane that I've been closing a mile gap for a few minutes in the right lane only to get boxed out as they slowly pace an 18-wheeler.

AMEN BROTHER!!! I cant stand it when people do that. If a tire blew on that big truck, the concussion would but out the windows on the car.

I am a Truck Driver and a motorist. I cant stand it when im flying to the DZ after work and some asshole wants to do 67mph in the fast lane. I see it all the time.

Here is some additional info on the speeds that some companies big trucks are governed at so that you can adjust your speeds. or slam on the brakes
Roadway- 57MPH
ABF- 55MPH
J.B. Hunt- 62MPH
SWIFT- 62-67 MPH
Conway/CCX- 66MPH
Yellow Freight- 62-65 mph
Schneider-65 MPH
Werner Enterprises- 65 MPH
USA Truck- 65 MPH
Fed-EX Freight- 65-67 MPH
England- 67-70 MPH
P.A.M.- 68 MPH
Covenant Express- 70MPH

These are just a few i came up with off the top of my head.



\

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[miked10270 0]

"67mph in the fast lane"

What "fast" lane?

Surely, whatever country you're in, the nearside lane (Right lane for US, Left lane for UK) is the "driving" lane, and the offside lane(s) are "overtaking" lane(s).

Regardless of the speed You're driving at, you drive in the nearside lane, and use the offside lanes to overtake vehicles in the nearside lane.

Anything else comes from arrogance that nothing will be driving fater than you, or feeble excuses in an attempt to defend your inadequate driving?

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[usedtajump 1]

"J.B. Hunt- 62MPH"

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J B Hunt = Joe Bob, Holding Up (the) Nation's Traffic.
Any others ???

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

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[billvon 3,151]

> Ok, and I also don't understand people getting in the HOV lane only
>to go slower than the rest of the traffic.

?? The HOV lane isn't for speed, it's an alternative when traffic is really bad. Its main purpose is to improve traffic on the other lanes (1 full lane of HOV removes 2 full lanes of traffic from the main road.)

[SpeedRacer 1]

what I hate is passing 18 wheelers who start to pull into your lane (without signalling) while you're passing them. I was on this long stretch of road and there was this one truck driver who had a habit of switching lanes and turning on his signal when he was already 1/3 of the way into the lane switch. it takes awhile to pass a long 18 wheeler.

Speed Racer
--------------------------------------------------

[popsjumper 2]

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I always follow the right/ left lane 'rules'.....

Some people just don't get it do they? (not talkin' 'bout you BillyVance
It's simple. Here's the left/right lane decision process:

Step# /Action
1 Look to your right, if cars are passing you, move over one lane to the right.
2 Repeat Step 1.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239