One of my biggest pet peeves on the road is the left-lane highway cruiser. If you’re a compulsive reader of my articles (Why would you do that to yourself?), you may remember that I have written on this very issue before.
I don’t care how fast you are going. The leftmost lane on the highway is for passing. That is basic road etiquette, but, not surprisingly, few people here in Georgia follow it. And it is frustrating.
Well the Georgia State legislature is here to save the day. They are currently enacting a bill (dubbed the Slowpoke Bill) that would make lollygagging in the left lane a misdemeanor. That’s right. All those people with their left blinker still on … going 62 in a 65 … in the left lane … pacing the car on their right … with ten cars piled up behind them … Johnny Law is coming for you.
The reaction to the bill is hilarious. Some lady (armygirl1974), who probably has no idea how bad she is at driving, responded, “What if the speed limit is 65 and I am going 65, am I supposed to move over and let someone going 90 pass[?] Give me a ticket, I dare you.” Are you supposed to move over? Yeah. That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do. I mean, seriously? Is that a real question? Who made you the hall monitor of safe driving speeds? I’m looking forward to seeing you on the side of the road getting ticketed for just that.
The rules are there to allow everyone the maximum opportunity to drive the way he wants. The speed limit is an arbitrary suggestion, and that’s a fact. Depending on the police officer and the stretch of road you’re on, you can go as much as 15 over the speed limit (and maybe more in some cases) without having to worry at all about a police officer pulling you over. So the more likely scenario for the Slowpoke Bill is a person going the speed limit and someone else who wants to go even ten miles an hour faster pulling up behind them. Neither driver would be ticketed for speeding, but under the Slowpoke Bill, the person in front would be ticketed for blocking up traffic.
This is not just a hypothetical example. Here in Georgia, we have a loop around the city called 285. The posted speed limit on 285 is 55 miles per hour. No one, and I mean no one, goes 55 on 285. The average speed is a little under 70. If you went 55, you would be a danger to society. If armygirl1974 decided to go 55 in the left lane to keep everyone legal, she wouldn’t be doing a public service. She would be (and probably is) a public nuisance at best. The Slowpoke Bill would see her ticketed for those shenanigans.
So … Well done, Georgia legislature! This may be one of the only times I ever congratulate you. So savor it.
What a great law… We have a lot of idiots in Illinois that just drive where every they think they want to be… You have to pass people on the right side all the time because I think the average person does not know, slower traffic to the right so others can safely pass you on the left side. However, Chicago is also know for its 5 lane change in one movement. It’s a required skill if you plan to make it to your destination…
Oh, they know all right, it is just that the fast lane is their entitlement. How often have I seen on an otherwise empty freeway ahead of me, someone screaming up the on ramp straight into the furthest left lane, sometimes nearly clipping my nose if I’ve moved over to let him onto the now empty right lane
It’s in the DMV hand book and in the Written Test you take for your Drivers License.People are either Stupid or Don;t think the Law means them or they do it to hold up Traffic to be a Ares behind the wheel of their Big Car
On those “Slower traffic keep right” and “Keep right except to pass” I’m convinced these folks hallucinate an extra line which reads “Except you, because you’re special”.
Don’t ya just love “special” people. Right!
. . . you mean people who want enforcement of their chosen set of laws, while feeling NO OBLIGATION to obey any other laws?
I want to attach missiles or lasers to my car, just so I can show them just how special they really are…is that wrong?
Probably, but tempting. LOL
Or maybe they saw the sign 100 feet earlier that says “SPEED LIMIT 65.”
Not by a long shot. Open Interstate highways in Colorado have a 75 speed limit. If you are to squeamish to drive 75, then stay to the right or drive surface roads. Don’t F it up for the rest of us. And the speed laws are reasonably enforced for the most part. Ticketing fools who think the entire road belongs to them, not so much.
I’m not at all “squeamish to drive 75” if that is the posted speed limit (it isn’t, on the part of the interstate that I drive). IF the posted speed limit went to 120, then at that time I would make my own choice to either find an alternate route, or drive within the posted speed limit range.
I’m not “squeamish” at all, but it must make you feel good to find a name that you can call me to make me look sissified. Is that your security blanket?
But all that denigration aside, “Don’t F it up for the rest of us . . ” You mean it’s OK for me to pay the taxes that help build the highways, but unreasonable to expect people to obey the laws that make those highways safe and keep traffic flowing smoothly? And if I can’t drive like the average lawbreaker, then I shouldn’t be allowed to drive on the roads I helped build, because they have a right to be there breaking the laws, but I don’t have the right to obey them? As for “F-ing it up for the rest of [you],” well I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but YOU are “F-ing it up” for yourselves, if you can’t submit to a few simple, reasonable, well established rules. If everyone obeyed the posted laws without having to see a cop in their mirror or on the side of the road, then there wouldn’t need to be a gazillion cops out there (and the tax burden to pay for them and their fancy cruisers)! If everyone slowed down approaching an intersection, and stopped for lights BEFORE they turned red, there wouldn’t need to be red-light cameras. If everyone obeyed the laws and drove responsibly and attentively, there wouldn’t be 40,000 highway deaths every year (not to mention the permanent disabilities) – and all of the financial burden that puts on taxpayers and insurance premium payers. If everyone willingly obeyed the laws, and drove responsibly and attentively, several people that I have known and cared and cried for would still be alive.
If everyone obeyed the posted laws and drove responsibly and attentively, THEN, no one would be pissed off at you for driving the speed limit in ANY lane, and all lanes could be fully utilized . . and when someone behind you flashed their lights at you, you could reasonably assume they had a genuine emergency (not that they were 3 minutes late getting to work – or to a friend’s house for a football game on TV), and GLADLY move aside for them.
If everyone obeyed the posted laws and drove responsibly and attentively, there would be far fewer accidents happening on the freeways, and turning a 15 minute commute into a two-hour event. Granted, that 15 minutes might, after slowing down, become SIXTEEN minutes (wow!), but that is EASILY scheduled for by anyone who is not a complete idiot.
When people are rebellious against simple, reasonable laws (which most existing traffic laws, so far, have been), it screws EVERYTHING UP for EVERYONE! And when that rebellion kills thousands of people, including children, every year, it even necessitates a big, powerful, invasive government, making a gazillion NEW laws (that people are still not going to obey) – giving “them” even MORE power.
“…….but unreasonable to expect people to obey the laws that make those highways safe and keep traffic flowing smoothly?”
First of all the signs say in coherent English “Keep right except to pass” and “Slower traffic keep right” . If you don’t do those two things YOU are breaking the law.
Secondly, if you are passing a vehicle in a 75 (or for that matter 65) mile per hour zone traveling for example 70mph, and you are traveling 70.000000001mph to pass it, all the while letting multiple vehicles stack up behind you whose drivers are trying to go the actual 75MPH speed limit, then you are the jerk who’s keeping traffic from “flowing smoothly”. If you really can’t see this point of view, then it’s you and others like you that deserve a little “road rage” from people like me who do obey the law. I regularly set my cruise control at the speed limit. But all to often I have to deal with inconsiderate Bozos who think everybody else’s world has to revolve around them.
And if somebody is doing the things you mention SO WHAT!!! Just get out of their way! Like you are going to teach them a lesson? More likely you’ll cause a worse accident, or get yourself shot by some loon. And how do you know the person speeding doesn’t have an emergency? Are you going to stop them and ask them? Do you think yourself somehow clairvoyant enough that you can tell the difference between someone who’s in panic mode and someone just being a prick? Wow, that kind of super power must be nice.
I worked at a Los Angeles Hospital that was a trauma center for a decade. You learned to be extra careful coming or going from work as there could be folks coming in with loved ones who were already on death’s doorstep. And speeding in and of itself isn’t the problem. It’s talking, texting, shaving, curling eyelashes, having sex, reading newspapers and books, and on and on. People who don’t pay attention to the task at hand are a far bigger threat than someone going 5-10 miles over the speed limit who is watching the road. And that’s a fact.
I am NOT breaking the law – that is until this idiotic and ambiguous rule becomes LAW here. THEN I will have to decide how to respond.
I met an 11 year old boy a number of years ago. He lived in a wheelchair, controlled by his facial movements, which were the only muscles he could still control. Seven years earlier, a man was running late to work, and I don’t know the details – and doubt the kid did either – but the guy was driving hard and fast, and ran into the car this boy was riding in. It killed his Dad, and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. FOUR years old! And you will stand up for the speeder’s rights, apparently . . .
As for “People who don’t pay attention” where do you EVER see me saying that that isn’t PART of the problem?
I said (quite clearly, I believe) that “If everyone obeyed the posted laws and drove responsibly and attentively” (that word “attentively” is from the same root word as your [don’t pay] “attention”).
But the real problem here is you are still standing up for the breaking of one law (actually, there are several laws that are reasonably consistently broken by the same basic mindset), while trying to make others abide by another, ambiguous law. Sorry, but that is hypocrisy, plain and simple.
So I guess from reading your response, that only speeding accidents hurt people. Bet if you checked, that more people are hurt from non speeding accidents. But you can be one of those “Its my way or the highway” type of person. “I’m always right and the rest of you are wrong if you don’t agree with me”. Does that about cover it?
That would appear to be “Rockman’s” problem. I find it much more dangerous to be locked in to a “cluster Fu*k” of cars all going the same speed than going a few miles per hour faster to get out of the situation. But according to Mr. Rockman, now I’m “driving hard and fast”, and am certain to cause unnecessary carnage by doing so. What he fails to realize is that it’s the folks merrily humming along like lemmings, not thinking at all about the task at hand that cause the problems. I’m convinced that besides driver education classes, anyone who wants a license should be required to take a short class in basic mechanical physics. Folks like Rockman feel all so smug and safety-minded traveling at 65, but somehow believe it’s deadly to travel 70 on the same road. They are the ones who need the reality check. But like Ron White said, you can’t fix some things.
Most people killed in auto accidents, are killed at less then 40 mpg within 25 miles of home.
No – I never said “only speeding accidents hurt people.” (it amazes me how people love to put words in my mouth!)
As for “its my way or the highway” . . Again . . NO! It ISN’T >>MY<< way, it is the LAW – to which I choose to adhere, and apparently many here choose to ignore – So, interestingly . . . , you accuse me of a "my way or the highway" attitude while telling ME in essence, to adhere to YOUR way.
"Does that about cover it?"
driving hard and fast
“But the real problem here is you are still standing up for the breaking of one law”
What law was this? I never advocated “driving hard and fast”, nor have I condoned actual speeding. Please re-read my comments. They were referring to folks trying to simply, legally go the posted speed limit without other drivers ahead of them intentionally or inconsiderately preventing them from doing so. And going 77 in a 75 zone is a lot different than you’re example of blatant excessive speed.
“I am NOT breaking the law – that is until this idiotic and ambiguous rule becomes LAW here. THEN I will have to decide how to respond.”
If “the one law” you are referring to is the one that will give out moving violations for those who insist on ignoring other drivers who wish to go the speed limit, or otherwise fancy themselves some kind of speed regulators, then you are the one who is (will be) picking and choosing which laws you want to obey. As for the new law, I’m all for it. It’s about time these inconsiderate nincompoops got cited for making highway travel an unsafe pain in the arse. You can ask yourself whether or not you belong in that category. Just keep the passing lane clear while doing so.
Woa! Back up a bit – You are not advocating for people who ignore the speed limits? You believe in the limits? If so, then yes, I may have misunderstood and apologize. But likewise, in that case, I think you misunderstood me, I NEVER drive LESS than the speed limits in the left lane, and usually keep it a couple of mph above, unless I can’t avoid it due to traffic in front of ME, or if traffic in the next lane is congested and so notably slower that it would be dangerous to “fly past” them at 65. Hence the ONLY people who I “impede” are those who are breaking the law. And as stated earlier, I am GOING to be “in their way” (“impeding” them), no matter which lane I choose to drive in – because they don’t feel constrained to drive in one lane or another – like they and this law press on me to do. I ALWAYS have people tailgating me on the highway (while doing the FULL, speedometer/stopwatch checked, speed limit), no matter which lane I am in!
So you see, the law “that will give out moving violations for those who insist on ignoring other drivers who wish to go the speed limit” doesn’t apply. I don’t impede them. If anything – and here is where the hypocrisy of the law in that case comes in – I WISH TO DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT (the full speed limit and nothing but the speed limit . . ), but people are always on my tailgate PUSHING me to go faster. Why doesn’t the law actively address THAT? I don’t know of ANY tickets that have been given out for tailgating, unless associated with another violation. Do you? So, again, two people in the left lane, both driving the full speed limit (because the car in front is driving the speed limit), but the second car is TWO FEET off the bumper of the first car . . . and so, OF COURSE, it is the FIRST car that is “driving dangerously” (by doing the speed limit) and needs to be given a ticket? By what INSANITY has this come to be? I can tell you – It is the insanity of self-centered legislators who make or otherwise bring laws down on others, while they themselves feel above any obligations to obey the laws. They get slowed down (TO the speed limit) by someone in front of them (whom they are tailgating), and it pisses them off. Ahhh . . . the birth of an idea for a new law – that other people who are as impatient, aggressive and unrestrained as they (which is becoming the majority of this “generation of entitlement”), will LOVE. Voila!
I see we’re finally making sense to each other. No, I don’t think it wise to go 25mph over the limit with other traffic around. But 2.5mph over to pass? No big deal to me. And as for tailgating, I do not, nor have I ever engaged in that. Even if the forward car is blocking the fast lane going considerably below the speed limit. I figure if they are already selfish enough to block the lane then they’re not going to suddenly get religion if I pull up on them. And if a tailgator pulls up on me they are libel to cause my foot to slip off the accelerator pedal (I NEVER hit the brakes, it’s a dead giveaway).
Just so I fully understand, you say that if you are going the speed limit in the left lane and another car pulls up behind you going over the speed limit, then you don’t feel obligated to pull to the right to let them pass? If my assumption is correct, the you are still (unfortunately) wrong. Your responsibility (as well as mine) like it or not, is to assess the speed of your own vehicle, not the car behind you. Though you and I may not like it, even if that car is coming up behind you like a proverbial bat out of hell, it is our responsibility to pull to the right and let it pass. Nowadays there are phone numbers to report aggressive drivers, so I suppose that would be the second responsibility for us. But insisting on refusing to yield at best will prove you can block the car, and at worst will get you run off the road, shot or cause an even greater accident without teaching the driver one single thing. One law I distinctly remember from California was that refusal to yield the right of way for any reason, in any situation was a moving violation for the very reasons I just stated. The Highway Patrol doesn’t want you to be a hero, or prove a point, or try to do their job. I believe these laws will help make that clear to folks who grasp the danger of refusal to yield. As well as the aforementioned folks who drive in a state of enchanted bliss ignoring anything and everyone around them. Again, I support these laws if they are applied wisely (a big if I’ll grant that).
You should NOT be in the left lane except to pass. What do you not understand about this? I am 67 years old, and while I was in the Air Force way beck in 64 through 68, so many airmen were being killed in traffic accidents that he AF decided to give a mandatory driving school. That school was so superior to your typical civilian driving school that it was a joke. They started with physics. A typical automobile traveling at 50 miles an hour develops something like 300,000 lbs of force. They then went on to teach us how to drive, as if we had never had any instruction. For all intents and purposes, we had not Here are some of the main things I learned:
1. Aim High, and plan ahead. You can see problems developing way ahead of time. This has saved my life on numerous occasions. This is why I drive a Pickup which sits up high.
2 Use the middle lane on a three lane highway. Make sure you are clear right and left at all times in case you need to move right or left.
3. Leave at least one car length for each 10MPH of speed.
4. Stay out of the left lane except to pass, and if you find yourself in the left lane with someone approaching behind, get out of their way. As someone else said, they may have an emergency, and you are not the judge.
The worst drivers by far are the ones that hesitate, do not drive with conviction, and do not drive, merge, and exit at the speed of the traffic.
If you think you are going to enforce the law by driving the speed limit in the left lane, you are eventually going to get sideswiped by a tractor trailer into the median, and I agree with the tractor trailer.
It is not you job unless you are a policeman. Keep to the right. Problem solved.
You have to drive the speed of the traffic. Anybody with a brain knows this. Additionally, traffic tends to move at 8 MPH faster than the posted limit. If you want to stay right at the speed limit, you should never be in the left lane playing king enforcer, just stay to the right.
Again, Sounds like Obama Changing the rules to suite his way of thinking; not that the laws of the Constitution already exist.
Yeah, they are special alright. Special enough to ride the short bus.
“People are either Stupid or Don;t think the Law means them . . . ”
Are you talking about Speed Limits here? Do you think “the [SPEED LIMIT] laws means YOU??”
Sounds like Obama Changing the rules to suite his way of thinking; not that the laws of the Constitution already exist.
If you speed you are breaking the law look it up .
And that is the policemen’s job not yours.
” idiots in Illinois that just drive where every they think they want to be… ”
Have you ever noticed that speeders don’t seem to feel limited to staying in a particular lane or two? They just “drive where every (sic) they think they want to be!!” . . . with or without turn signals . . . 2 feet off the rear bumper of the car in front of them . . .
You have to pass them on the right side, all the time? If they are driving the full speed limit (which I’ll bet most of them are), then if you “HAVE TO” pass them at all, AREN’T YOU SPEEDING (uh, breaking the law, while advocating a NEW law for THEM to obey . . .?)?
Got news for you rocky, a friend of mine was breakin the speed limit on a secondary road and a guy misjudged his speed. he pulled out in front of my buddy and they met real hard. When the cops got there, the other guy started yelling that my buddy was speeding. The cop told him it didn’t matter, he was at a stop sign and he had a obligation to let the other guy pass if he couldn’t safely proceed. the cop said even of my buddy had been going 100 miles per hour, if he couldn’t safely proceed then he is required to YIELD RIGHT OF WAY!!
OK – that is an interesting scenario, and can get a bit complicated. A car is sitting at a stop sign, and pulls out in front of another car . . . well, that can call for a justified ticket for the driver pulling out . . . BUT are you willing to consider a question? How long did that driver have to calculate the speed of the on-coming car, and his own car’s acceleration, and where the two would be, relative to each other, once the gas pedal was pressed? Did his car “sputter” when the gas pedal being pressed caused the accelerator pump to put too much fuel into the air mixture in the carburetor? Perhaps in this case it was just sheer stupidity, BUT not every brain functions at the same level as yours or mine or Bobby Unser’s.
Doesn’t it make sense that if traffic is EXPECTED to move at 35, and actually DOES, then it is far easier for people to make an accurate judgment call when they are pulling out from a stop? ESPECIALLY when there are several cars coming. The 35 here is pertinent . . . I was in an accident 20 some years ago – I pulled out from a traffic light when it turned green, as did the car to my left. Then I was broadsided by a car, after it totally demolished the car next to me. The car that hit me was driven by a young man who was speeding, in a 35 mph zone – probably going 70 or more when the light started to turn in front of him. So he did what any good driver on this thread would probably do, he stepped on the gas! Unfortunately for all of us, his sense of timing wasn’t too good, and he sent two people to either the hospital or morgue, totaled four cars in all, and, had I been 5 feet farther into the intersection, WOULD HAVE killed myself and my two children in the car with me, no doubt in my mind.
Could I have seen him coming? Maybe – but immaterial! I didn’t, and neither did the car next to me. So, I pulled out . . was the accident therefore, my fault? What WAS the “cause,” and how should things like this be dealt with in the future? Just tell everyone to “get out of the way of the person who wants to ignore speed limits?” Will that eliminate such accidents?
Race tracks are good venues for the speed thrill, but city streets and highways are where moms take their kids to school, or schools take kids to the zoo. We have an OBLIGATION to obey the laws that keep our streets safe, and SPEED LIMITS are about the most fundamental and reasonable of those laws!
In the case of your accident, did you look both ways before proceeding or did you just assume you could proceed? I have sat at an intersection waiting at a stop sign to pull out, had a car approach me with his turn signal on but I waited to make sure. Many times it is a good thing I did. They didn’t turn. you have a duty to make sure that you can SAFELY proceed. I have done this since 1966 and haven’t gotten a ticket.
It’s no other drivers business how fast I’m driving. Obey the damn law yourself and get the he!! out of the way. No one appointed you or any other driver to serve as pace cars. You drive your car, I’ll drive mine. Mind your own business and worry about your car!
Oh yes it is! 40,000 deaths a year on American highways makes it EVERYBODY’S business how fast you drive!!
Not to mention your DOUBLE STANDARD . . . you don’t want people to tell you how to drive, but you don’t even HESITATE to tell me how to drive! You don’t want to obey laws, but you want to force a law on ME.
HYPOCRITE! Plain and simple!
I’ll bet next to none of those deaths were caused by someone attempting to go the legal speed, or even 5-10 miles over while paying attention to what they were doing. It’s the folks who constantly find distractions instead of watching the road that cause the majority of problems.
And I know what I’m talking about. I have over 30 years of experience driving in downtown LA, a lot of it during rush hour. Situations I’ve had to deal with in split seconds would make some rural drivers wet their pants. But I have never had ONE accident EVER in over 30 years, because I PAID ATTENTION. Like I now tell my 17yo son, you have to drive like everyone else on the road is a blithering idiot. I don’t react. I observe. And then I act accordingly. I can tell when people are going to change lanes before they even attempt to. I can see potential safety threats way before I’m in a situation. No it’s not a sixth sense. It’s experience in major traffic and observation. So when I say this I say it from an experienced point of view. Speed, in and of itself, isn’t the problem. It’s distracted driving, inconsiderate driving, and people who don’t understand the laws of mechanical physics.
No, speed, in and of itself isn’t the problem – especially in the range of 5 or so mph over the limit – BUT those situations you had to respond to in a “split second” are COMPOUNDED by speed. Higher speed means LESS of a “split second” to respond in. I’m sure you won’t argue with that! Less of a split second to respond in, means MORE of a likelihood of an accident. I’m sure you won’t argue with that! Increased likelihood of an accident means MORE danger to everyone in the vicinity. I’m sure you won’t argue with that! Increased danger to everyone in the vicinity means there is a problem that should be addressed —>> back to the issue of higher speed (AND yes, distracted driving) !
“People who don’t understand the laws of mechanical physics” . . . You mean like how increased inertia and momentum increase the devastation of impact in a collision . . . thus making higher speed collisions statistically more deadly than lower speed collisions?
I don’t know where you’re at, but those “split second decisions” I had occurred 98% in Downtown Los Angeles back in the 80s and 90s. And speed? To an extent, but mostly at or slightly below the speed limit (50-55mph back then). Pretty much every encounter out there results from folks who think a blinker (or just thinking about it) means they can changes lanes immediately. Just have a look at the East LA interchange and the 101 through Downtown LA on Google maps, it doesn’t get much more exciting than that (Except driving in downtown Boston :(.). And then there was the time my wife was driving and I spotted the Mercedes about 1/8 mile ahead with 2psi left in it’s back left tire. I told her to slow down and get to the right, she hadn’t even seen the car. Less that 10 seconds later and boom! The tire blows out and the car is suddenly all over the road. Fortunately we were just spectaculars,.
And most of those killed was not from speed.
Its not speed that kills, it is stupidity. Ask a Nascar Driver
Cliffystones, it’s useless to debate this with Rockman. The highways are filled with Rockmans, and most of them have a stupid phone stuck in their ear.
I know. I thought others with a little more hope might read my comments and finally get it. I was even able to explain to a male homosexual co-worker once why heterosexual men were creeped out by it. And he actually understood! So i figured anything was possible 🙂
Most driving instructors will tell you you have to drive for your self and others because they that are speeding are breaking the law so go ahead speed all you want this is bad law period but just go on and do 100 if you do get caught they will take your license for a long time and you will spend time in jail for a felony . no one should impede traffic it is also against the law . and it may become a felony but the 100 plus is going to be one no matter what so go on maybe you will get caught and you will be in jail for awhile and also off the road ,. That would make all the roads you drive on much safer .
Read my other comments. I’m not advocating 100 plus. Or for that matter weaving through traffic regardless of how fast it’s going. The original article (which I wish more folks would ponder) was about slowpokes blocking the passing lane and not letting other driver who want to drive the speed limit pass. Nothing more. If there are two cars on a two lane road (one direction) both side-by-side and traveling below the speed limit, and another car comes up in the l/h lane to pass, then the l/h lane slower driver is supposed to either speed up a little or slow down a little and move to the r/h lane. This isn’t rocket surgery, it’s common courtesy. But by some of the comments here it’s becoming obvious why the original stated law needs to be passed and enforced.
I stopped at a stop sign one time in my life and waited for the sign to change . had something else on my mind. I figured I better insert some levity before we start eating each other LOL . Yes I am for this law if that is the purpose of the law to restrict those who want every one to go slower than the speed limit but I do think thelaw is not for some one to do 30 over and expect those doing maybe 2 miles over to step aside . I would get out of the guys way if he wants to do 90 slow drivers are every bit as dangerous as the fast ones we just did a good thing here in Ohio , we let the semi’s go the same speed we do . It was like having stopped objects in our path. Impeding traffic in Ohio is against the law .
What amazes me is that they actually had to make a law to accomplish this.
I thought they could already ticket you for “impeding the flow of traffic”. Maybe that’s not an option in GA.
Having driven in Georgia several times, I was astounded what a pervasive problem this is there. Finally, someone is addressing the passive-aggressive drivers who make it necessary to move three lanes to the right to get around them, if it can be done at all, when them just moving over would have cured the problem. On a two lane road, this behavior is a recipe for a confrontation. The utter self-absorption is mind-numbing.
Did you notice the license plates on the slugs in the left lane? They were all from Michigan and Ohio going to clog up the roads of Florida.
Hey guy, I’ll compare my record to yours anytime!! Not even a parking ticket. Been driving since 1966! I don’t drive foolish! I happen to be originally from Michigan and have lived in Ohio for the last 34 years.
So what is it you are trying to say? Maybe you think you represent all the drivers from both of those states. I lived in Michigan also but that doesn’t qualify me to defend the dumb drivers from that state.
What I’m trying to say is what state you are from has NOTHING to do with whether you are a bad drier or not. I’ve driven in almost every state in this country except Hawaii and Alaska and I’ve seen dumb drivers in them ALL!
That may well be true but I live in Florida and most of our bad drivers come from Ohio, Michigan and New York. How do I know that? They still have their license plates on from their states.
Hell, I used to go to Florida every year and I saw a good share of idiot drivers there as well. we have a few of them here with Florida plates, does that mean all Florida drivers are idiots? NO! It simply means ALL states have their share of idiot drivers!
I’ve driven through Georgia and every time we had to go through Atlanta, around the loop, every one was driving 70 – 75 + in a 55 zone. Zipping in and out of every one. It was like playing freeway roulette. I have no intention of ever going through there again. They are crazy.
You’re lucky traffic was going that fast in Atlanta. I run into traffic jams every time I drive there. I have driven across this country at least twenty times and there is no place free of idiot drivers.
We always tried to hit it way before rush hour (rush several hours), or wait until it was over. We did hit it during the rush and it took a couple of hours to get half way around the loop. Not fun. And you are 100% correct about idiot drivers everywhere.
You are correct. idiot drivers everywhere … who do not observe what is going on around them. And do not value my life.
One of the top ten worst has to be the bypass around Chicago during rush hour!!!! WHY THE HECK DO THEY NEED A TOLL BOOTH EVERY COUPLE OF MILES????
if I am not mistaken, California has had this type of bill in effect since the late 60’s. Although, they have different speed limits for different lanes, if you were holding up 5 or more cars, they would ticket you.
Yep, when I lived in CA the law was if you were even driving on a single lane road if you had 5 cars behind you it was your duty to pull off and allow them to pass! Good law. If you are a slowpoke get the F out of the way.
Same law applies in WA State. The only exception is a vehicle pulled over by Police/State Trooper or an Emergency vehicle. Even if they are off the road you must pull into the passing lane to pass the cars pulled over. Also there laws here that all public transportation has the Right of Way at all times, Buses have the Right of Way and can pull out in front of you at any time. They force you to pass or slow to a crawl as they pull out without clearing the roadway before they pull out. I believe this is to keep a schedule more than to be safely driving. They also rarely use turn signals when on I-5 moving from the driving lane across three-four lanes of traffic to get to the diamond lane. These bus drivers here believe in the law of I am bigger, therefore I am correct style of driving, the same as South Korea
Yes, you are correct. When I was a kid, I remember teasing my mom that she was going to be pulled over for driving slow (not that I knew what the law was) and she use to tell me that that would never happen. Well sure enough one day she was driving 45 in a 55 while in the fast lane and she was pulled over. As the CHP officer was walking up I told her that she probably was pulled over for going too slow. And sure enough I was right. To add to wally1266’s post, I believe California also has a law in the books in regards to 2 lane roads. Something to the effect that if you are on a two lane road and have 4 or more cars backed up behind you, you are supposed to pull to the side and let the cars behind you pass. It has been awhile since I reviewed the DMV manual so the law may be slightly different than I am stating. Anyway, kudos to Georgia!
Georgia truly is a Peach!
A few problems in Texas: I’ve been in court before and argued about “slower traffic keep right” They said there is no such thing and used it against me.
The second problem is you are very likely around here to get a ticket for going 2mph over even when everyone else is going 10 over. They just stop whoever they don’t like. The judge won’t care that you were only going 2mph over you still have to pay the fine. The problem is you are attempting to use logic with a government official. Logic has no place in the world of government from the police to the judges.
The police will give you a ticket for going over the speed limit to get out of a situation where you are next to a car going the same speed as you are with someone else behind you wanting to get around. Your only choice is to risk a ticket or hit the brakes and really make the guy behind you mad. It’s easy to get in that situation because the guy on the right going under the speed limit that I’m attempting to pass will often accelerate up to the speed limit when I start to pass.
I firmly believe speed limits are a violation of our rights and 99% of what police do is a violation of our rights. I’ve only had a police officer be helpful one time 30 years ago and that was probably only because he was stoned out of his mind. His car reeked of pot. Every other encounter I’ve had with police officers has been bad. Try driving an older car in Keller or Southlake TX.
I would move out of Texas if I were you.
And go where? Cayman Islands? There isn’t anywhere in the US I’m aware of that has logic in government.
Texas IS a left-lane-is-for-passing or “move over” state but they haven’t been very good at enforcing. However, recently they have been enforcing this in many areas.
They enfoce it on Big Semi-Trucks say they should know the law but Car drivers can be Dumbareses
On a rare trip to Texas, I was on a two lane highway traveling at speed when a pickup truck came up behind me and tapped my bumper. My passenger, a Texan, informed me that proper road etiquette was for me to pull over to the break down lane and let the truck pass. And hurry. He’s armed. I cut my Texas trip short & have never returned…
I will pull over on the shoulder to allow people to pass if there is only one lane. Not a problem. Just because some people are irresponsible with driving does not mean it’s ok to take away other’s freedoms. I should be able to go 150mph if I choose. I would definitely be a safer driver at 150 than the speed limit. It’s very difficult to stay awake at legal speeds. Should we outlaw scissors because people cut themselves or even kill people with them? Freedom has a price. Safety is not worth giving up freedom. Don’t go 45 on the highway if you have a problem with people going 150.
If you can afford a car that will do 150.
I paid $800 in 1984 for a car that would do 150 on the autobahn. Lovely little car.
Forget about etiquette ….. survival dictates that you get out of the way of a guy like that. He could have honked or flashed his lights. ( or did he ? )
Well your a Yankee and not a Damn Yankee! A Yankee comes and Visits and a Damn Yankee Stays!!
Texas has the law of move over. It’s a state law and some cities also are involved in it. Doesn’t make any difference what speed you are going, if you are holding traffic, move to the right. There are speed limits here that are 70 to 85 so be prepared to move your butt to the right if you are holding up traffic. As for being ticketed for 2 mph over, I’ve never seen it, but as some officers say, it’s just like fishing, you can’t catch them all. If you are ticketed, and the judge doesn’t know the law, show it to him. Pisses them off, but the law is the law.
Hit the brakes for someone “pushing you” to go faster, get tail-gated, find a whiplash doctor and sue the crap out of the tailing offender. Works for a lot of Mexicans in southern California…
The speed limits are there to try and protect us. Can you imagine no speed limits and some people going over 100 MPH and some going 45 MPH…..a disaster waiting to happen. It was that way in Montana for a while and they had so many accidents, they changed it back. There are just too many vehicles on the road for no speed limit. If you must drive 100 MPH, go to the race track.
The problem in Montana was not the Montana drivers with the ‘safe and prudent’ speed limit. On interstates most people ran 70-80mph. It was the out of staters treating the highway like the autobahn and running 100+
There are no limits on the German autobahns except near urban areas, where they are about 85 MPH. They have very few accidents there. They are just better drivers because they EXPECT each other to be. And because their driver training is far superior to ours. And, finally, they have seriously strict drunk driving laws.
I also understand that they have one overriding “law” that takes the place of speed limits – a law that most Americans would be crying over . . If you cause an accident, you can expect EXTREME consequences, like huge fines, loss of license for a long period of time, and very possibly going “to jail before passing GO.” OK. That works, there, it seems. But don’t you know that it “wouldn’t fly” here?
You forgot to say ..” It’s for the children” Sounds like you should definitely stay in the right lane at all times.
I read a article about Texas raising the Speed limit to 85 on some Highways From 60,65,and the DPS – Department of Public Safty- The Highway Patrol said that their Safty Study Showed that the Higher Speed Limit Roads had less Accidents on them then the Slower Limits Roads and on your No speed Limit Check Out the Autobathn they have Less Accidents then in America,I guess they have enough sense to get out of Peoples way or stay off the Highway if the can’t drive with the flow of Traffic.
Toll road 130 has an 85 mph between Austin and San Antonio I’m told – I’ve only been between Austin and points north where it’s 80. I can say that going 80 on it is slow traffic and best keep right! There isn’t a lot of traffic for the most part on 130 or 45 (also a toll road) into Austin so a lack of traffic accidents along there might be due to that.
Yeah and if you must drive while texting, talking on the phone, putting on your makeup, reading the newspaper or watching a movie, ANY mph is to fast. Speed limits are there to protect you like cops are there to protect you cowgirl. People need to be responsible for themselves and their actions and be held accountable when they are irresponsible. Distracted dimwits in the left lane are the same distracted dimwits in the right lane
Cops are not there to protect you… That’s just silly,,
cowgirl20. Don’t go to Europe and try to drive on their Autobahns. No speed limits on most of them. If you see lights flashing at you in your rear view mirror, you had better move or it could really be bad.
I have no intentions of going there or anywhere out of the USA.
Actually, the law in Texas is: “An operator of a vehicle on a roadway moving more slowly than the
normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place under the existing
conditions shall drive in the right-hand lane available for vehicles, or
as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.” (545.051) Technically, this means that we should drive in the right lane unless we are passing or avoiding some situation. Some (me included) tend to move over to pass slower vehicles and “forget” to move back. The law is largely ignored. There have been a few instances recently in Montgomery and Ft. Bend counties that the Dept of Public Safety has been cracking down on left lane drivers. Kudos to GA, but TX already has a similar law….doesn’t always work.
Besides, if I move over, then the faster cars can get on down the road and allow the DPS to stop them instead of me.
If I see a car coming up be hind me while I’m in the left lane and there is plenty of room in the right lane to pull over and let the them pass with out having to brake; I usually let them pass, because I’m usually 5 mph over the speed limit anyway and I agree with you; let them run the front door and get the ticket. I’ve run at 90 in the posted 85mph speed limit between Junction, and San Antonio, Texas and was still passed by others, but this doesn’t bother me as much as those road hogs; who block the road by going the same speed as the car on their right and not getting in front or behind that Pace car for them.
A Southlake Cop pulled me over for nothing I told him I did nothing wrong He said we pull over every 3rd or 4th car period.
That sounds about right. I got a ticket several years ago in Southlake for turning right on red from the shoulder onto White’s Chapel. It’s not illegal. I took a copy of the “law” to court and they offered to reduce the fine. It took 30 minutes of arguing with the prosecutor to get her to finally dismiss a ticket that wasn’t even legitimate. Again – no logic in government.
My Sister got a Ticket for no seatbelt she had on but when pulled over she took it off before the Cop came to window She fought with him on it still got it the Cop said he saw she did not have it on threw the back window She showed the Judge Pictures that the Back window was so Dark you could not see trough it The Judge said Why would the Cop lie and she had to pay the Ticket.Big “F”in Joke.
I got tossed in jail in Lewisville TX supposedly for “exhibition of acceleration”. It was a downpour and the cop was facing me from across a bridge. He testified in court that he “heard me rev my engine in his rearview mirror” He has some special talents for sure. 1) How can you hear anything in a mirror? 2) How does a mirror help to observe something in front of you? (he did tell the truth about where he was) 3) How do you hear someone on the other side of a highway bridge in a total downpour? 4) Even if I revved my engine what does that have to do with anything?
He even demanded that I remove my contacts to prove that I was wearing them. There was an 80+ year old lady in jail that same night that he tossed in there earlier.
I still lost. The judge let every other person go. Guilty, not guilty, guilty, not guilty. What justice. Guilty until proven innocent.
I get pulled over when I am driving a rental car or a car with out of state plates. I get to donate to the state that hates visitors.
If you Think you have any Rights in City Court on Tickets Your Crazy or Stupid! The City pays the Police,Code Conpliance,Dog Catcher,The Lawyers and the Judge and Charges you Court Cost that are pay by City Taxes.It is a Kangaroo Court They are all being Paid For By the City and Is a Big Conflict of Interest.If you were to Sue someone,a Company or The City They would not By Law have to Go to a Court You paid for the Judge,Lawyer,Police or any other Paid Witness “Employee”and They would discredit your Employee’s(Cops,Lawyers and Judge) By saying your their Boss and Pay their salary and Ask for a Dismisal or a fair unbias Court,Judge,Lawyer.and unPaid for Witness (The Cop) ! Come on People Think If Your Neighbor was sueing you and He paid the Judge,Lawyer and Witness,Would you not cry Foul and demand a fair trial!
!
What’s with all the caps? I’m curious, how do you decide which words to capitalize?
We have a law like that in MS and they will stop you and give you a ticket.
I have an even better idea. Left lane for motorcycles only. Keep those 4 and 18 wheelers to the right.
Better idea yet. All lanes for 18 wheelers, the rest of you can use cow paths! I’m tired of truck restricted lanes! We’re the ones getting stuck behind effen grandpa Mosey.
Why give that lane to motorcycles when (at least here in California) motorcycles are permitted create their own lanes by riding the line between lanes. As far as I’m concerned that’s much more of an unsafe condition than slowing down in the left lane. But I do agree that Georgia has done a good thing. When I was in Germany way back in the early 1980’s it was considered very seriously against the law to drive in the left lane unless you were actually passing another driver. This was especially true on the Autobahn there was no speed limit outside of city limits.
I just returned from Germany a few years ago. The law is to stay in the right lane ONLY. If you pass another vehicle, you MUST move back to the farthest right lane as soon as it is safe. They also have a “Clear to the Rear” law that states that if you see another vehicle moving faster than you are, you MUST move to the right lane and clear the Autobahn passing lane. It used to be when approaching from the rear that you would have to flash your lights at the vehicle when approaching from the rear. That law was rescinded and it is the responsibility of the vehicle driver to stay in the right lane unless passing.
I was in an accident on Autobahn 3 and the problem was that I was passing going about 110MPH and a young driver who had just gotten a license pulled around two cars right in front of me, not staying in the right lane on a 4 lane Autobahn. I changed lanes from the right lane twice before I was about to go around all three cars and this young driver pulled out right in front of me while going about 65MPH. I had two choices, one to hit her, two to hit the concrete center divider, I chose #2. If I would have hit the tiny box of a car this young person was driving, she would have been killed at that speed. I was driving a Chevy TrailBlazer, she was driving a SEAT two door coupe. When the police showed up she gat about 5 tickets and I was given none. I totaled my TrailBlazer and she drove away. At least she was alive, while I was stranded 200 miles from where I lived.
The Law in WA is that you must stay in the right lane unless you are passing and if it is a two way single lane highway and you get 4 or more vehicles behind you, you must pull over and let them pass.
Sorry dude but lane sharing in CA is illegal.
Leave the truckers alone unless you want to bring a load of Twinkies in on your bike!
In many states the left lane is given as a priority to emergency vehicles, some of which are moving at over 100 MPH. If your doing 62 while flying in formation with the guy next to you, you might not be able to get out of the way in time. Then, you would be restricting an emergency responder. You cannot fix stupid.
Simply “flying in formation” is asking for trouble IMO. I find my own space if possible (harder in urban traffic, I know). If you’re just cruising along in a pack, and one person in that pack violently sneezes or succumbs to the usual distractions now there’s an even bigger mess.
What’s the big deal. I drive in the left lane as long as there is no one behind me and I want to go faster than the center or right lane. If someone comes up behind me I move over and let him pass then fall in behind him and stay with him as long as he isn’t going way over the speed limit. There are a lot of A holes on the roads but has it ever occurred to you that you are more than likely in the eyes of others one of them. As far as breaking the speed limits, we all knowingly do it, most of us anyway. So when you get caught shut up, man up and pay the fine.
What’s the big deal.? Re-read the original article. And when you are doing the above, how often do you check your rear-view mirror? Sure, if the road is lightly traveled it makes no difference. But you could as easily fall into your A hole category if you drive like everyone else’s world revolved around you. When you are behind the wheel, are you concentrating on the task at hand? Are you driving in the moment? Or are you thinking more about your end destination? There have been numerous studies that show the real problem to be the latter.
About time…I stay out of the left lane except to pass, and if I am in the left lane and see someone coming up fast behind me, I turn on my right blinker and get over as soon as I can. I’m amazed at how ignorant some people are of this simple safety precaution and who think it’s their job to somehow enforce the speed limit.
Just TRY that in my city. It takes an AVERAGE of 1.5 miles for me to move right in that manner. Unfortunately, I have to ENTER the Interstate via the left lane, so I CAN’T merely stay out of that lane.
What I do not understand is why engineers were allowed to build on ramps and off ramps to the left lane. People have to slow down to get off, and are going slow to get on. It is a real danger, and a hazard to driving. All roads can be built for the condition of the land; it just might take more cement to make it safer.
In fantasy land, all lanes must enter on the right. sometimes engineering and cost dictate a left hand entrance. Just learn how to drive, or stay off the freeways.
I do know how to drive. I’ve had an international license that allowed me to drive all over Europe, and I did, even in England – and Japan and the Philippines, not to mention almost every state in the Union. I’ve driven on the German Autobahn at speeds over 160 MPH because I legally could – no speed limits, and in Germany, no entrance to the Autobahn was on the high speed lane, and the slow speed lane had much shorter (some near nonexistent) acceleration lanes, so don’t tell me to learn how to drive – I have MUCH more experience than you will ever have, and that’s a fact.
If our government can waste money on welfare and food stamps, it can well afford to build safe roads.
If you feel insulted, good. You insulted first, and payback is *****.
On Interstate 95, there are left hand merges because of the “Hospitality” dumps in the middle of the north and south bound lanes. I dont think it is as much “where” the lanes are, as “How” you merge that matters. You find a gap, get up to traffic speed on the ramp, and slide in. Some people think that the entire world is supposed to slow down and let them merge, or their turn signal is a traffic eraser.
I agree with you about inconsiderate drivers, but the center hospitality centers you speak of could be made with a simple flyover on both sides. Bridges and flyovers are part of road construction, so why not use them?
Cost. We had to use the money for B-2 Bombers that we will never use, and did not need in the first place. They will be parking them in the aircraft graveyard in a couple of years, mark my word. Oh well, whats a lousy $ 50,000,000,000.00 dollars.
Think about this, if we bring home all of the troops we have all over the world, and put them to work re-building our infrastructure, like roads and bridges, when they get their paychecks they will spend them here in the USA so we keep our money here, get a new highway system, and boost the heck out of all the small service economies around the construction. The workers buy lunch, concrete companies get rolling, steel companies increase output and on and on. We need to get out of ALL FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND FIX THIS ONE! This is a win, win, win, and our kids don’t get shot in some crummy muzzie sheit hole by a back door goat packing rag head.
So, cut back on the military, but continue payments to people who contribute NOTHING to society? That’s your plan? And when enemies decide to attack the USA, our troops will be trained to dig ditches and pour cement, but not to fight, and all the while being paid LESS than minimum wage.
Oh, I’m sure that will REALLY be an effective use of the military (sarcasm). A better idea is to put those welfare kings and queens on the repair work gangs in order to receive their payments after being drug tested (unless they are truly disabled), and those who have been out of work for at least a year on the same details, because they have had more than enough opportunity to look for a job. In other words, “No work, no pay.”
I would bet lots of “unemployed” and “unemployable” suddenly find acceptable jobs very quickly.
The military of the United States is deployed
in more than 150 countries around the world, with 164,227 of its active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories and an additional 118,966 deployed in various contingency operations. US troops are spread across the globe: over 66,000 are stationed in Europe; over 51,000 in East Asia and the Pacific region; over 4,500 in North Africa, the Near East, and South Asia; over 1,600 in the Western Hemisphere; 332 in Sub-Saharan Africa; and less than 100 in states of the former Soviet Union.[1] Of those in Europe, most of the military personnel are located at installations activated during the Cold War, by which the US government sought to challenge the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II
You really think that we should have our military deployed in 150 countries throughout the world?
I agree with you re the lifetime welfare recipients, however. Put their sorry axes to work. No work, no eat.
If you care to check, the military of our potential enemies are also employed around the globe. To pull back would allow them to take over where we were. That has been proven again and again in the past. Every time the military might was cut (after every war, as an example), the next war found the USA far from ready to wage the war, and a scramble, along with major expenditures to “catch up”.
Besides, those in the military work very hard for their pittance of pay. I know – I was in the USAF for 25 years.
An entrance ramp is designed for you to speed up and then merge into the flow of traffic!
I know Seabee, Thanks for your service. AF Vietnam Vet here.
160 MPH (Miles per hour) in Germany, are you sure about that. 160 KPH (Kilometer per hour) sounds more like it or don’t you know the difference.
I certainly do know the difference between 160 MPH (240 KPH) and 100 MPH (160 KPH). Driving above 100 MPH takes a lot more skill. Been there, done that. Even been on the Ontario race track (California) in 1971, driving a souped up 1969 Dodge Charger.
There are still places in Germany, though sadly not as many as before, where there is no speed limit at all. And the average speed of cars “going with the flow” of traffic can be around 120 MPH (180 km/h). I have often been doing that and had a Porsche or something roar past me making me feel like I was standing still.
Yeah, that Hitler could really build a road couldn’t he? LOLOL
Well, although the concept dated from before the war, the autobahnen were mostly built under the post-war U.S. administration of the country, as part of the Marshall Plan.
The concept of the Autobahn…what are you talking about. Hitler built the Autobahn to begin with and nobody else. It crisscrossed Germany already when I was there during WWII and after (1936-1952). That was one of Hitler’s projects to put people back to work after the Great Depression. Unlike Obama and his attempt to rebuild our roads and bridges to provide jobs Hitler succeeded. Come to think of it there is another similarity, Hitler also instituted all kinds of social programs like free Healthcare etc. How is that working out for? Looks like Obama can’t do anything right. The Marshall Plan was to get Germany economically back on its feet not build roads. They had an excellent road and railroad system already in place.
Well, the concept dates from before Hitler though he was an enthusiast. But only about 25% of the autobahn network was actually completed during the Nazi era.
You DID NOT have an international license. There is NO SUCH THING. Your license issued by your home country is valid in every location you mention. The SO CALLED international license is NOTHING more than a multi-language TRANSLATION of the license issued by your home country, and is legally WORTHLESS if the underlying license is not present.
Your attitude is most commonly found in people that are LYING through there teeth. If you feel insulted by that, don’t be. I actually insulted liars by lumping them in with you.
The international license I had was issued in Germany in 1975, when I was stationed there. It allowed me to drive in any country in Europe, and in fact was valid for 90 days in the USA, when I returned from Germany in 1978. Just because you don’t believe it and never have seen one doesn’t make it false. Ask any European about the international drivers license, or even check Wikipedia. Yes, my stateside drivers license was also part of that, but the license itself was not a translation, it was used separately. At least, I do not recall ever having any policeman ask for my stateside license. And it did get shown to a lot of police, crossing borders, etc.
Oh, too bad. Did I just PROVE you a liar?
You just proved YOURSELF ignorant. Ask the agency that ISSUED the license. A driver’s license issued by your home country is valid in any country that excepts that countries licenses, but it is NOT a international license. Your stateside license was NOT ‘part of that’. It WAS your license, and the document issued in Germany was NOTHING more than a translation of that license. If the officers didn’t ask to see the underlying license, it was because they didn’t feel the need to confirm the ACTUAL document.
For the record, the following is the FIRST sentence of the Wikipedia entry for the document you had:
An International Driving Permit (IDP) is an identity document that allows the holder to drive a private motor vehicle in any country that recognizes IDPs. To be valid, the IDP must be accompanied by a valid driver’s license.
The IDP, which is slightly larger than a passport,
is a multi-language translation of the driver’s license from the issuing nation, complete with photograph and vital statistics.
Oftentimes, short term visitors do not need an IDP since their driver’s licence suffices.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Driving_Permit
You didn’t notice that the information on the license, as reported in Wikipedia, is as of 2011, I take it. Besides, why would anyone take Wikipedia as a super reliable factual site when ANYONE can modify it? I trust Wikipedia only as far as getting basic information, not for verification of facts. I have found too many errors that I could PROVE to be false on that site.
I DON’T consider Wikipedia a reliable source. YOU suggested consulting Wikipedia. I merely pointed out YOUR suggested source said you were wrong.
Changing YOUR position only makes you look less informed.
Definitely true, I did suggest Wikipedia. Did you ever suspect I was BAITING you?
Hook, line and sinker – you took it all.
NO, you were NOT baiting anyone. You where PROVING you have no idea what you are talking about. If you were baiting me, you would have stated as much in you PRIOR comment when you stated you didn’t trust Wikipedia. NOW, you are trying to cover your rear by LYING.
Note: If you bother to name the organization that issued the ‘permit’ you had, I will point out where THEY confirm I am right. We BOTH know that won’t happen, because you are not INSANE enough to provide the opportunity.
The term “baiting” is used when setting a trap. Only a fool tells someone he is setting a trap before it is set, and I’m no fool.
NOTE: Organizations don’t issue international driving permits, but by the governments in Europe. Mine was issued in Germany, as I previously said. Now you’re trying to suggest that it was issued by an ORGANIZATION? I thought you were a dummy before, but you proved yourself even less than that.
Proving your OWN ignorance is not setting a trap.
NAME the government agency you THINK issued you a international driving permit. A government IS an organization. YOU are a ignorant liar.
You may call all the names you want, but that will not change your image as being better than I. As I said, I got the license in Germany many years ago. You expect me to remember the name of the bureaucracy that issued it more than forty years ago? Grow up little fool.
NO ONE thinks I am better than you. I am simply better INFORMED on this issue, because you REFUSE to inform yourself. If you can’t even remember the agency that issued the document, you just ADMITTED you don’t know what you are talking about. I DEFY you to cite ANY source even as unreliable as Wikipedia that agrees with you and not me. You CAN’T because I am right and, at some level, you KNOW you are wrong.
YOU obviously think you’re better than me. You doubt that I drove throughout Germany, Holland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, etc. on one license. Fine. Be a doubter; but I have NO obligation to prove anything to you despite your demands – you are neither judge, jury, nor Congress, so therefore have NO right to demand anything. End of BS conversation with you, troll.
YOU obviously REFUSE to understand ENGLISH. I specifically stated I am ONLY better informed on ONE issue. Only a FOOL equates that to being ‘better than you’. I have NEVER made a statement that IMPLIES you can’t drive through EVERY European license on a SINGLE license. I merely ACCURATELY stated that that license is the license issued by ONE country. The SO CALLED international license is NOTHING but a translation of that license. If you didn’t BELIEVE you had an obligation to prove something, you would have stopped responding to me several exchanges ago.
The reason you continued this long is you KNOW I am 100% correct, but can’t stand to admit YOU are wrong.
I’m not sure what the agency was, I remember it was issued at an office on base.
I just looked up international driving permit. This is not what Steven and I had. You don’t need to take a test for an IDP. The test I took, was at least a hundred questions if not more. We had classes and then had to study. I believe it was the German govt. who gave us the license. Maybe it was just a German driver’s license, I don’t recall, but I could drive anywhere in Europe with it, except for East Germany, East Berlin and the Soviet Union.
In other words, you were issued a GERMAN driver’s license, which is 100% consistent with my statement that an international license has NEVER existed. An IDP, often FALSELY referred to as an international license is merely a translation of the license issued by ONE country.
And 160 mph is very close to the land speed record of 171 mph. Doubt a regular car can do it. 130 is the best I ever did and the car was a 60s GTO that went to the stock races also and was upgraded from the floor model.
Well, it depends – if you are in those countries on vacation, yes. If you are going to live there for a while, no. I was in the Air Force and had to pass a pretty extensive test (not quite as hard as what the natives did, though) before I could drive in Europe.
And, I didn’t have to show my California Driver’s License either.
By YOUR statements, you had to get a LOCAL license. If anything, that demonstrates MY point that an international license doesn’t exist.
I just looked at the wiki article and under the Original 1968 convention it lists as usable ‘any international driver’s document’ conforming to the provisions of Annex 7 to the Convention. Meaning, they DID EXIST.
Try reading the ENTIRE description instead of picking out PART of one sentence. It is VERY clear that the phrase you MISREPRESENT refers to a license issued by ONE country.
You are wrong on both getting off and getting on. You merge with highway traffic at or above the speed of the traffic. You should get off at the speed of the traffic, not slow everybody behind you down, because you want to get off. This of course assumes that there are runup, and runoff ramps on the highway. The moronic civil engineers they hire in MD dont always include these lanes in their design. The lane to occupy on a three lane highway is the center lane. This gives you an accident avoidance lane to the right, and the left, and leaves the passing and merge lanes open. I cant stand tailgaters, and do not even understand them. You need at least one car length for each ten miles an hour of speed. I leave more to give me time to react. There are Morons that tailgate at 85 miles an hour. If I was a state trooper, I would give out tickets like candy, and most would be people that swerve in an out of lanes, second would be slow morons in the left lane.
I am also a tailgate hater. Got hit by one of those idiots back in 1968, so know well your disdain for them. Rather than know ‘car lengths’ and try to calculate that, I just use the two second rule: If the vehicle in front passes an object, and you take less than two seconds to pass the same object, you are too close. Works at any speed, too.
ooo – I was just about to click the ^ on your comment until I read the last comment. “Slow morons in the left lane.” Define “slow” please, because the term is ambiguous, in and of itself! If the speed limit is 65, and a person in the left lane is driving 66, is that a “slow moron?”
I really did appreciate your comments about keeping the right lane clear, which underutilization of the other lanes (by “slow” drivers who obey the speed limits) makes difficult. I was even instructed, by a Colorado State Patrol driver’s ed instructor, to stay as far left as possible, SPECIFICALLY for the reason you state, until you are within a couple of miles of your exit, THEN to work you way to the right, being in the right lane only for about a half mile or so before exiting.
Makes perfectly good sense to me!
Again, you should not be in the left lane other than to pass. That’s why it is called the “Passing Lane” Like someone else said, maybe someone has an emergency, like they have to get there before a family member dies. It is called courtesy and consideration.
You are not the traffic judge of the world.
“You are not the traffic judge of the world.”
In another words as a speeder, the laws don’t apply to you, because the road IS all about you . Why should anybody bother with such a speedhead ninny?
I never speed, and I have never received a speeding ticket. I have also never cruised along in the left lane with a caravan behind me holding people up because I think I am Barney Rubble. I agree that some people speed, but blocking the left lane gets the nutcases swerving in and out of traffic, and that is much worse than just letting them whiz by in the left lane. The troopers will get them there anyway. Again, I do not speed, and the most I will go is 8 miles over the speed limit, like 73 in a 65 as long as the road conditions allow this. I adjust my driving to the conditions, like any sane person would. The worst, in my opinion, is fog. I drive an F-150 4×4 and it can handle pretty much anything else. You go ahead and do what you want, because you are going to anyway, but you ought to think about the old adage that states if three people call you an axe, buy a saddle.
” Again, I do not speed, and the most I will go is 8 miles over the speed limit,”
You make it so easy. LOL
Are you sure you are not really Lois Lerner?
To state the obvious, even 1(one) mile over the maximum speed limit IS speeding. That is why it is called a m-a-x-i-m-u-m.
It ISN’T officially called the passing lane. I DEFY you to cite a LEGAL reference that uses that term.
Note: YOU are not the traffic judge of the world either, but your first sentence presumes to be just that.
leave your basement and driving simulator. Here in Pittsburgh you can’t get on the Parkway smoothly. The entrance lanes are right before the exit lanes. Some entrance lanes have a stop sign. Forget getting on at highway speed. And you will need the left lane just to drive in many times. The Parkway was very poorly designed.
We used to have a left-lane exit, from one Interstate to another, with a MAJOR curve, as soon you get off. I was in the left lane preparing for that exit (exit only, no less) when a semi came up behind me, doing an easy 25 or more mph over the speed limit. He waited until he was almost on top of me before he slammed on his brakes and started to jack-knife. Then he moved into the next lane and TRIED TO RUN ME INTO THE CEMENT WALL!!
Too bad I didn’t just forfeit my exit, and let him come face-to-face with that sharp off ramp curve instead! No – actually it is a good thing I WAS there, or he and probably several other people would likely have been killed. I did end up forfeiting the exit anyway and followed him for several miles, getting info off his truck. I called it in to his dispatcher, and I would guess that he lost his job – which he should have!
In Mpls.MN we have a stretch of road (speed 55) where the on ramp is in the “LEFT” lane and about a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile up the road is an exit ramp in the “RIGHT” lane. In spite of signs to the contrary people still try to make the cross over—some make it some don’t!
We have similar roads. I have yet to see anyone that pays attention to the signs.
Yes, it is tough in the midst of the city (I did the L.A. commute for many years) — I was thinking more of the travel between cities.
That used to be called courtesy of the road……
Ummm. Where has this auther been? Writing a 10 novel sequel to “1984” or “Atlas Shrug”? The speed limit is now 65 on 285 and been that way for awhile. But it is more of a mockery due to the traffic than a limit or even a suggestion.
Same around Dallas. If you are doing the speed limit, you will get run over by the rest of the traffic.
Go with the Flow or Stay Home!
If you are in the left lane of a highway that has more than 2 lanes YOU MUST pull out of the way of anyone who approaches from behind you! This lane is for passing and it matters not what the speed limit is. If you are in the left lane doing 120 mph and a car comes up behind you, YOU MUST get out of their way! Simple! Now, if the cops catch you slowing traffic in the left lane you should go to jail, have your car impounded and lose your license for a year! Only real dummies and idiots do not know this! You learned in it drivers ed you took a test on it to get your license and the law is still the same! Get out of the way you idiots!
Some folks never take drivers ed. They get their license from a Cracker Jack box. Like the ones who pull into the intersection to turn left on green. The when the light turns red and they haven’t made their turn, they think they are supposed to put the car in reverse and back up out of the intersection. yes, I’ve seen them do it.
Yes and be hung by the neck until dead…. come on ….. I am joking… let’s stop feeding the prison system. #PrisonWorldakaAmerica
Sitting in the left lane while cars back up behind them seems to be one of the fads in Texas. Texas passed a “Left Lane For Passing Only” on October , 1998, but the signs haven’t shown up. I drive 14 miles one-way on State Hwy 155 below Tyler, Texas and there are no signs advising the idiot(s) sitting in the left lane doing 60mph in the 70mph zone that they are to get their butts over to the right.
I travel a bit in Florida and if I sit in the left lane doing the speed limit, a FHP Trooper is going to pull me over. It only took once for me to get the message. “Keep Right Except To Pass” means exactly that in Florida and it IS enforced.
The law in Georgia-not the expressway-is that it’s illegal to excede the speed limit when passing. The people that you are passing should be below the speed limit
If I’m on I-285, no matter what lane I am in, and someone tailgates me, they will get a brake check and if that doesn’t work, I’ll slow down to the minimum speed limit. No one can give me a valid safe reason for tailgating!!!
It takes 3/4 second to get your foot from the accelerator to the brake in an emergency stop. If you are doing 45mph, you will travel over 16 yards in that 3/4 second. When you tailgating me, you’re threatening my life and I don’t appreciate that!!!
If you mean by brake check , gently press the brakes to light the lights…. fine…. if you brake hard …… you are a lizard
We found the areshole that likes to Hold up traffic and thinks their in the Right to cause a Accident that could hurt someone or Many,You DD are the Big Ares and have little Person Syndrome !Out of your Big Bad Car a little Girl would Kick Your wussy Ares
We have signs, (slower traffic keep right), posted here in UT and people ignore them. I wish the police would pull people over that are going slow in the left lanes, they are a traffic hazard.
That depends on what part of Utah you’re in. I seen people pulled over many times for that very thing in the southern part of the state.
Gee, too fast you get a ticket. Too slow, you get a ticket! Hmmm. How to steal from the general public????
It’s not “too slow,” it’s blocking the passing lane that gets you a ticket. There’s no conspiracy there Hoss.
I love this law!!!! should be a national interstate law.
I have observed that you never see many ( if any) “obama” bumper stickers. When you do see them on the highway they are always on cars that drive slowly in the LEFT lane. Is this a liberal thing?
Usually it’s a Prius or some similar type vehicle.
Complete with a “coexist” bumper sticker 🙂
Not to mention an Obama-Biden election bumper sticker, too.
I thought most of those were turned in during cash for clunkers…..
The 2008 version?
Could be that and a reelect in 2012 one, too.
@Destry – Excuse me – I drive a Prius. The response would also all ply to ANY energy-saver car. It’s not that it’s a “Prius” – it’s because the DRIVER is an JERK. And watch out as a Tesla S blows by you at 100, and I pass you at 85 in MY Prius. You’re an IDIOT.
Typical liberal-progressive meathead, when you have no cogent argument with which to reply, you start name calling. F*** you and your stupid Prius. Is 85 it’s top speed? My Dodge Ram 2500 turbo charged Cummins diesel pick up will pass you and your green machine like it was standing still.
Teslas and any other all electric cars have a huge limitation, range between recharge and the time it takes to do it. The Tesla has a range, under ideal conditions, of about 225 miles before it needs to be recharged, recharge time takes many times longer than to fill a fuel tank with petroleum based fuel. I can drive my pick up from where I live to Missoula, MT, a distance of nearly 500 miles and still have a reserve of over 6 gallons of fuel. A Tesla would have to stop twice to recharge to do the same distance. Your Prius might just make it that far before refueling. So, who’s really the idiot here? For the answer, look in a mirror. Sheesh!
Prius driver is conscientious of the need to burn less carbon based fuel and create less pollution and climate change…but I wonder how they will feel when they have to buy a new set of batteries and how much energy/waste will be created by the manufacturing and waste disposal of those batteries.
Dodge Ram owner . Are you measuring your worth by the size of your large pick up truck? Unless you are a contractor that actually need a large pickup truck, you are a wasteful pig that love to increase the profits of the oil companies and their Arab,Osama loving friends. Know in the comfort of your oversize truck that some of your gas money is going to fund Muslim fundamentalists and Arab sheiks importation of white women slaves to their pleasure.
Electric engines will deliver more speed that internal combustion at a lower cost (eventually), just the battery development is not quite there yet.
So, a hybrid car doesn’t ‘fund Muslim fundamentalists’ at all, eh?
At all??
I do not deal with absolutes. A Hybrid still burns a little gas
And what makes the electricity it uses?
I know that Prius drivers like to think and believe that what the drive makes big difference. It’s like a religion to them.
What I drive is my business and I have a large diesel pickup because it suits my needs for hauling and towing. As to the oft cited mostly false attribution that we are enriching Arabs and funding Islamists, we get most of our petroleum domestically and import it primarily from Canada. When the cost of technology gets to the point it becomes viable, the best alternative will be fuel cell powered vehicles which will supply electrical power to drive efficient electric motors. The primary fuel will be hydrogen and driving ranges will be extended considerably. Electric vehicles relying only on batteries as a power source is likely not going to ever be practical enough to be common. The reason for this is that electrical power derived from onboard batteries are used not just to drive the vehicle, but all of the components that are required and those that we have come to be accepted as part of the driving experience, from the lights, horn, turn signals and windshield wipers to the heater, a/c, radio, power windows and seats, GPS, etc.
Now do your part to reduce carbon emissions… stop exhaling.
Hydrogen cell fuel is long way from helping us as I fail to see the infrastructure needed to support filling up your car….but it would be nice when it becomes PRACTICAL.
Yes Canada has become our key supplier of oil, followed very closely by the Persian Gulf countries from where we still buy about 2400 barrels of oil per day, But of course, you are still missing the BIG PICTURE
By our consumption of oil disproportionate to the size of our population (our DEMAND) we make the price of oil more expensive to the rest of the world and more profitable for the oil sheiks, Venezuela, Russia and all these people that do not really like us. Even our demand for cheap plastic stuff from China enrich people that would rather see us eat dirt.
Learn to live frugally and I will stop farting methane gas…I think is a good deal, take it
Here’s a suggestion for you… keep your mouth shut and just appear stupid before you open it and remove all doubt.
That is per day and I have a good life since I learned not to take suggestions from narrow minded self righteous people unable to understand facts if they bite them in the A$$
If you feel that burning stuff is good for the earth and air, go take a ride to Beijing and smell the roses. maybe a little smoke there will clear your mind enough to understand that NOT everything preached by the talking heads paid by the coal and oil industry are true.
Yes, that’s right, it’s per day and it’s still a small percentage of what is consumed in this nation; in gallons it’s less than 200k, still a mere drop in the bucket. It’s does my old heart good to see that you’re getting your shorts so bound up.
I’m afraid it’s you that lacks understanding of the facts, is narrow minded and self-righteous. Do you have any real idea of how much crude oil used for all purposes in this country? In 2011 it was nearly 19 million barrels/day, so you can easily see that 2400 is virtually nothing. It is the self proclaimed tolerant class of liberal progressives that are, in nearly all cases the least intolerant of other viewpoints and you have done well to illustrate that very truth. They also are the last to take the admonishment, usually attributed to Mark Twain, about keeping their mouth shut, seriously, thereby proving the truth of it. You’ve succeeded quite well in that respect.
Gee, I wonder where electricity comes from?
As the Tesla sits at a charging station, I will blow by on my bicycle, or my tennis shoes, or my bus ticket.
I’ll blow by that charging station in my 37 mile to the gallon Hyundai. it’ll go 90 as I’ve tried it.
You might like my ‘other’ vehicle. (I have two) Suzuki B-King motorcycles, which is a ‘naked’ Hyabusa. I sit upright, do 0-100 in 5.5, can go 156 in 4th 5th or 6th (governed at 156) and if I don’t crank it on all the time I get over 50 MPG. People have not believed my 50 plus MPG claim but when we take rides together and fill the tanks at the same time, then they see the proof. The secret? The bike has so much power and torque that it is not necessary to keep it in the lower gears. I can cruise in slow city traffic in fourth, fifth or sixth.
Oh, I believe it. I’ve owned six bikes from a 125 kaw to a sportster. Can’t ride now due to bulging discs with one with a tear in it. I miss it something awful!!!
I feel for you 5live5. Last summer I was taking a non-stop ride (830 miles one way) all the way to Kansas City to visit my daughter and her family. It was July and hot so I started out at night. (On my B-King with a small shield) I stopped for fuel around 11 PM in Athens, Alabama and there was an open McDonald’s next to the station, so I rode across the parking lot, parked and pulled off my helmet. Some guy jumped out of a Nissan Maxima and looking at me asked: “How old are you?” (he had seen my white hair and beard) I replied 75. He looked sad, then said, “Sh**! I’m 41 and my wife says that I’m too old to ride.”
I ride and will be 71 in April.
John, I would be riding still if not for my back n I’m a youngster at 63!! Been considering a trike.
Not trike, try a Can Am Spyder. They just came out with the latest version, three cylinders and of course more power. I have a friend plus a daughter in law that ride the two cylinder versions. My wife, older than me, still rides her Suzuki M50, which is a 805cc cruiser. I have been talking putting her on the Can Am.
Yeah, I thought about the Can Am but the rear suspension is about the same as a normal large bike and that’s the problem. My back won’t take the bounce and compression. A trike, on the other hand can be built with a smooth riding suspension. I’ve looked at a couple made from a VW drive train.
Have you ridden a trike? I rode a Victory trike, with two wheels on the rear, and I was very aware of how hard I had to pull against myself to resist the centrifugal force on curves. Now, I know it is a matter of getting used to, because I only rode the trike for a total of five miles out and back, but your back might not like that. The Can Am for some reason, did not require as much resistance to the sides on my part. Again, only rode a Can Am a few miles too. I don’t know if the Can Am rear suspension can be adjusted, but I would bet that the makers of Can Am would come up with something if they haven’t already. The VW trikes sound good but always seemed so…second hand cheapo to me, like some guy built it in his barn or something.
Yeah, I put about 50 miles total on two. the last one I looked at was a VW drive train and it was about a 9000 dollar build. nice bike n the guy did a good job of building it. I don’t think it turned over three times before it started. well tuned. rode like a three wheeled caddy.
Skateboard
Tesla, $89,650 cost for 84 mph, 225 miles driving range with 5 hour charge. It would mean I have to stop for a 5 hour charge twice to go visit my daughter. No info on how many gallons in gas tank.
Can you really reach 85 in a Prius? On the Cajon Pass near where I live, I’ve never seen one going over 65, and that’s on the down grade.
This “should be national interstate law” . . . like SPEED LIMITS, you mean? They ARE “national interstate law!”
Funny – if you obey the speed limits, you won’t mind me driving the full speed limit in the left lane. But if you don’t, then you don’t “have a leg to stand on!” You are a hypocrite for forcing a law on me, while refusing to obey the other laws!
Tell that to the emergency vehicle that comes up behind you at 90 to 100 miles an hour and the lane next to you is blocked. YOU will be the law breaker! Approximately half of the states have laws making cruising in the left lane illegal!
Oh, and BTW if that emergency vehicle happens to get your plate or it’s a cop car with a dash cam? YOU’RE BUSTED! Same as passing a school bus loading or unloading. They get your plate, you will receive a ticket in the mail. Seen it done.
I have no problem, whatsoever, moving over as quickly and safely as I can, when I see flashing lights in my mirror. That argument however, is kinda like the arguments for abortion. Like the number of abortions where the mother will die if the baby isn’t killed: Probably less than .01% (that is a hundredth of a percent) of the cars that come up behind me, pressing on my tail, are emergency vehicles.
If they turn on lights, or sirens, I’ll move in a heartbeat! Then I will take THEIR license plate number, and call it in, to see if it is a legit “code call”, or if they are either impersonating an officer, or an officer abusing his power!
This law is for jerks like you.
“This law is for jerks like you.”
Well, gee, thank you very much . . . actually the law is, interestingly enough, “FOR” people who have no regard for the law. If you really look at it, with your own self-interests aside, you find – for other than those very FEW times when you are actually talking about a real emergency vehicle run – that what this law does is RESERVE, by law, the left lane, for people who have zero regard for the law. Why should the Law do that?
Like I said before, if you are law-abiding, and thus obeying speed limits, you will have no objection with MY obeying the speed limits in front of you, regardless of what lane we are in – if such were the case, you might even “RESPECT” me for following the law. If you don’t want a “jerk” like me obeying the law in front of you, then it is because you are breaking the law yourself. What right then do you have to cram a new law down MY throat? Call me a jerk if you will – that is subjective name calling that many would disagree with you on; and besides, I am used to it.
But a HYPOCRITE is a hypocrite by definition – and if you don’t obey the most prevalent and well established laws (Speed Limits), but you want to force me to obey your new (ambiguous) pet law, then you fully qualify, by DEFINITION, as a HYPOCRITE!
You sure got a lot out of a one sentence comment. Delusional much?
No, this law is for people too ignorant to realize that the fast lane is for people who are going fast.
What ever gave you the idea that I was ‘law abiding’? If you think it is your right to try to control my driving choices by blocking a lane I’ll put you in a ditch.
OOooo . . . so the gloves come off! You’ll “put me in a ditch.”
Well now, we can see what we are up against . . . You hate my driving the speed limit in front of you so much, that you will KILL me? Threatening to “put me in a ditch” at 65 mph is a DEATH THREAT!!
So, aren’t you the epitome of safe, conscientious driving!! You think that I have no right to drive the posted speed limit in whatever lane I choose, but you have the right to driver however you want, WHEREVER you want, and to THREATEN MY LIFE if I’m not driving the way YOU think I should??
Your choice, d’bag.
Move it or lose it.
I don’t mind the ones doing the limit. It’s the jerks doing 50 in a 65 mile zone that pizz me off. those idiots are a dime a dozen!
It is certainly not your place to try to single-handedly enforce an asinine speed limit that even the police generally have the good sense to not stringently enforce.
I am a bit surprised, I really am!.
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I would have supposed that most patrons of this site would understand something that I consider to be reasonably simple.
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1) People have a responsibility. Freedom comes with responsibility. To be free does NOT mean that there are no laws to govern a populace, or responsibility to obey those laws, but only that the people have a say in what those laws are, and are free to speak their mind concerning laws, either extant or proposed, whether or not their opinions are shared with the majority or the status quo.
First Amendment.
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2) And secondly, If you give people who feel entitled to benefits that have not been earned (such as by obedience to existing laws), they will always want more. Give an inch, they’ll take a mile. Isn’t that one of the common complaints about the Obama administration’s socialist agenda voiced on this site and others like it?
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. So – after expressing my opinions and concerns in generally thoughtful and reasonable ways, hoping to inspire thought and consideration of the points offered (Freedom of Speech), and reaffirming a citizen’s responsibility to obey the reasonable and non-repressive existing laws (Speed Limits), many of YOU have responded with comments about “jerks (or idiots) like [me]” or “stupid moron” or “we flushed one out . . .” (a phrase a group of hunters looking to kill an animal might use), or even “I’ll run you into a ditch . . ,” which at highway speeds is tantamount to a blatant death threat – and even confirmed as such!
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After the nasty backlash I get from my comments, I had to question: “Gee, AM I really wrong in what I think (and was my Colorado State Patrol driving instructor wrong in his advise to stay as far left as possible – driving the FULL speed limit – until you begin to approach your exit, in order to keep the merging lane as clear as possible and minimize danger there)? Am I wrong to take a strong stance against the speeding epidemic that has become so prevalent?” (in a country where 40,000 people die every year in traffic accidents. .)
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I really had to wonder, and I did – honestly! Am I wrong? I KNOW I’m in the minority here!
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But it didn’t take more than 5 seconds as I merged onto the Interstate this morning to get my answer: NO!
A semi, riding less than 10 feet off the tail of the car in front of it at 70 mph answered the question. If you enable the lawbreakers, and give a sense that they have the right to break the law, and are entitled to continue their wanton practices (“entitlement”), you WILL have even more problems in the future as a result. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about illegal immigrants, welfare recipients, or lawless drivers. Give them a sense of empowerment, and you will pay for it in the long run – and that is exactly what this law does:
. . It allows those who refuse to let anybody, including the authorities, tell them how to drive, tell OTHERS how to drive. Tailgating is exactly that to begin with – telling the person in front of you to “GET OUT OF MY WAY!” The message is sent, and the message is heard. You don’t care what the law is, you don’t care that the person in front of you is obeying that law. It doesn’t matter. This is an “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME” generation of entitlement. You want to save ONE MINUTE (do the math – that is all it often boils down to), and that “stupid moron” is in your way, driving the way they (and YOU) are supposed to be driving (which includes moving out of the way of Emergency Vehicles as quickly and safely as possible).
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All I can say, as I permanently sign out from this blog is “have it your way! You probably will in time anyway – just like all the Gay-rights stuff. Push and push and push, and all those who try to hold to the ‘old standards’ will eventually cave in!”
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You obviously don’t care to consider opinions that don’t agree with you, so have it your way!
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P.S. You deserve Obama – all in all, you’re really not that much unlike him!
And if it’s a legal call and you can’t get over? you might be the cause of someone’s death. In some emergency calls, seconds can make the difference of life or death.
Actually, not even CONGRESS claims the Federal government has the authority to make speed limit laws. That is why they BLACKMAIL states by tying highway funds to STATES passing such laws.
Rockman, you are an idiot. Who’s breaking laws here? Getting out of peoples way and not driving in the fast lane except for passing is a common polite thing to do. Lingering in the left lane is a liberal thing” I paid for this lane, so I will stay here”. We’re not talking about speed limits, you aren’t talking about speed limits, you just want to be the sphincter police and do what YOU want to do. Get a job, get out of the way, butt head
My latest favorite bumper sticker reads “Of course you don’t see any Obama stickers, I’m going to work!”
I suspect I will be forgiven if that is not an exact quote, but it is close enough.
I sure hope Florida passes that law.
Florida has the law. It became effective July 1, 2013. The left-lane provision is part of the 226-page House Bill 7125. It states that drivers on any road with two or more lanes in the same direction may not drive more than 10 mph slower than the posted speed limit in the left lane if they know they are being overtaken. It does not apply to drivers preparing for a left turn at an intersection.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-06-27/story/left-lane-slowpokes-face-fines-under-new-florida-law#ixzz2uenXyGOO
We have the same problem in Michigan. I think I will mention this to my state representative.
I know several people that have received tickets for this in MO.. Un fact this is the ONLY thing i can appreciate that the mo Highway patrol does. It is a great idea and should be done everywhere
It’s not just in Georgia. It’s like that Alabama also.
Some people think the left side is just another lane for their convenience.
An instant cure for road rage!
I think New Jersey has had this law for a long time. NJ says the left lane is for passing only. Drive right and pass left. California posts some signs that say: Slower traffic keep right, but I doubt anyone is ticketed.
“The rules are there to allow everyone the maximum opportunity to drive the way he wants. The speed limit is an arbitrary suggestion, and that’s a fact. …”
Funniest thing I’ve read all day!! That gave me a nice deep belly laugh, and I really needed that!
Sad that so many people actually believe that garbage! If it were true that the speed limit is “… an arbitrary suggestion…” you would never have to pay a speeding ticket, ever.
And THAT’S a fact. They’re not rules, they are laws!!
You break the law, you pay, case closed. If you want to speed then don’t try make it somehow an OK or cool thing to do. It’s wrong when everyone else does it, and it’s wrong when you do it too…
Do the crime and pay the fine, but NEVER try to fool yourself into thinking you’re righteous when all you are is another deadbeat driver expecting everyone else to keep our highways and residential streets safe…
James
Actually speed limits are NOT laws. Look it up – they are statutes.
And God I wish we had that law in Mass and New Hampshire. They should add to it that anyone who gets passed on the right should pay an even higher fine. Being passed on the right is prima facie evidence that you DID have enough room to move over to the right but chose not to. Nothing is more annoying then someone too rude (or dumb) to move over. Left-lane bandits DEFINITELY cause more accidents then speeders.
The definition of “statute” is: a written law passed by a legislative body. Now, how is a statute not a law? Consider the definition of “statute law,” which is: the body of principles and rules of law laid down in statutes, as compared to common law or case law. Can you really explain how speed limits and other “rules and restrictions” on the operation of motor vehicles on streets, roads and highways are NOT governed by laws, because they are really statutes?
For a more detailed definition of “statute” you can refer to Black’s Law Dictionary; it’ll be very educational for you, Bob, you might learn something.
I don’t know about Boston, but the body of laws in Arizona are call “Arizona Revised Statutes” (you use the ARS numbers to refer to them). This makes sense because if we look up the definition of “statute” we find:
stat·ute /ˈstaCHo͞ot/ – 1. a written law passed by a legislative body. “violation of the hate crimes statute”, 2. a rule of an organization or institution. “the appointment will be subject to the statutes of the university”
So I’m not sure what you are referring to when saying speed limits are statutes and not law, given those two terms are pretty much synonymous.
Now in most states there are usually misdemeanor speed limit violations which are usually just fined, and felony speed limit violations which can result in larger fines, jail time and/or license suspension/revocation.
Either way you end up in court, or you just mail in the fine and the bail amount which is forfeited since you don’t bother to show up. In most states showing up to traffic court is actually cheaper as you don’t need to pay the bail, only the fine.
You may be thinking of the difference in how the two are handled as a felony speed limit violation is much more severe.
James
Laws, statutes – you are nitpicking. They are rules that are enforceable.
” Left-lane bandits DEFINITELY cause more accidents then speeders.”
You sound very confident. You must have plenty of evidence to support your claim then. Can we see it?
Slow pokes on the right unite!
Thank God and the state of Georgia for small favors. I hate the jackwagons that piddle in the left lane and hold everyone else up.
You left out a very important point. What if that car doing 90MPH was racing someone to the hospital? I twice saved a life rushing them to the hospital and had to pass some cars along the fence/guard rails since they would not move over.
Just what we need – more laws
Now, normally I agree with stuff here. But, who made the Legislature the “hall monitor of safe speed” [to use your own words, Mr. Minkoff], if they are NOT going to enforce the MAXIMUM “by law” speed limit? If the Legislature and its minions in “law enforcement” are going to let people “do 90 in the left lane”, then why post 65 as the limit? You cannot have it both ways. When the “law enforcers” fail to enforce the laws, then it is up to the “militia” (the entire populace) to make sure the laws are enforced. Otherwise, stop passing stupid laws – BTW, I stay at 65 or under if so posted because I cannot afford tires or extra fuel that the higher speeds require… And, no, it is not “unlawful” to exceed posted limits to pass someone poking along at 55 in a 60 zone (or whatever it is), but once passed the obdurate one, at least on two-lane roads, one MUST move over. The hypothetical of someone doing 68 in a 65 zone, in the left lane, begs for a court challenge by anyone ticketed for being “pokey”.
A law like this should be passed in NM ,we have the worst drivers in the country ,especially on I 10 from
Las Cruces to El Paso Texas..
Arizona also says the left lane is for passing only unless someone is pulled over then you better be in the left lane. I have discovered that the left lane is in much better condition because it is used less. I also observed on many occasions that cops prefer the left lane as well because of the better ride.
The Lane is Better Because Most States make the Semi’s use the Right Lane
This is a good start but they need to add the people that think they own the road and think they can go 45 in a 55 or 65 mph zone they are a bigger hazard than someone going over the speed limit, slowpoke’s here in Oregon cause more wrecks than speeders.
In NJ we call them Left Lane Dicks, mostly old farts going 10 to 15 mph under the limit, ya know no where to go and all day to get there
Most are Areses Doing fit or Kicks and like pissing people Off
I love it that should be a no brainer law in every state. I drive a fast car but not fast, admittedly I do run at the posted speed +5-10 depending on conditions. When a faster driver gets in my mirror I have plenty of time to move over. If someone says they can’t move over either the traffic is too heavy or you are not watching your mirrors. Get out of the way and let the bear bait go by!!
I’m usually not one to advocate for more government intervention, but IMO, this ought to be a national law for all Interstate Highways and all major highways for which a state receives federal funds.
Slow pokers and mouth-breathing droolers who dawdle in any lanes left of the far RH lane ought to be ticketed and fined – big time.
Let’s get the damn national government out of it!
Inviting gov intervention … you will be sorry
That is already in the Federal Statutes on ALL Federally Funded Interstate Highways. If you need to check it out, go to a Truck Drivers/Commercial Drivers Handbook. Federal Law states that you MUST move to the Right Lane unless you are passing. This includes ALL vehicles on an Interstate Highway.
The left lane is the PASSING lane. You are only to be in the left lane if you are passing or if traffic is congested otherwise make your move and move over.
If you’re doing 90 & the guy coming up behind you is doing 100…PULL OVER. Same rule applies in city driving – although I hope no one is driving that fast in city traffic!
If the dawdlers and droolers tried their stunts in Germany, they’d wind up with a Beemer or a Merc’ climbing up their backside.
Traffic laws are interesting in that they’ve helped create generations of law breakers that think it’s ok to break the law. Think about it.
So what’s the point of having a speed limit, that is the law by the way, if no one is going to obey it? Why not just remove all limits and turn it into an American Autobahn? And if you aren’t going to obey that law, why obey any other?
Well, that seems to be the mindset of the Obama Regime. Don’t like a law, ignore it. And the US Attorney General just advised state AGs to do the same. So I guess none of us show worry about obeying the law since law the government no longer does.
I agree, “About time…” A few people never know what the rear view mirror is for but to put their make-up on like those living in Castro Street, SF, Kalifornia PDR.
If you hate Disqus’ new ‘down’ voting restriction, vote ‘UP’
What restriction is that?
They just changed it so that no one can see who votes them down. You can only see who votes you up.
Oh, in that case, thumbs up for me! If they’re going to allow a vote down, it should be public. No weasels!
You can no longer vote ‘down’ – ‘down’ votes are no longer recorded.
See other comment above.
Actually, that’s not true. The identity of ‘down’ votes was NEVER disclosed; only ‘up’ votes. What they’ve done is no longer showing the number of down votes. Go ahead, try it. Try to vote ‘down’ – you can’t.
You can only see your vote down and it only shows up as a RED arrow.
It’s a mere instantaneous indicator that disappears after you’ve ‘voted’ – it doesn’t register for anyone else to see – not even yourself.
Go ahead, look through all of the comments – you won’t find any ‘down’ votes registered. Not only for this article, but for any of the articles where Disqus is employed.
OK
From DISQUS website.
How voting works
Recent Updates to Voting
Downvotes are still counted but will no longer display the total number of votes. This action will still be denoted by the voting arrow turning red.
Right. I’ve seen this. Pitiful.
What’s the point of recording down votes if you’re not going to show them? It’s like the “everyone wins” mentality that pervades youth sports and elementary school. No red pencils; no bruised feelings, no one is superior; no wrong answers; no hurt feelings; everyone is equal; no losers, only winners.
It’s even paying out in Obama’s ‘equlity’ politics and the notion of equal outcomes for all, regardless of effort. That mentality is dangerous for manifold reasons.
If you disagree with DISQUS then I suggest you contact DISQUS directly and state your opposition to their new rules. I have nothing to do with their rules.
I have. All you get is a useless form letter regurgitating the synopsis above. They’ve taken a page from the federal government.
Well, I suggest you reread your Georgia Driver’s Code. It does say that slower traffic “should” keep to the right. But that does not give it the teeth of the law. And with all the left turns in Georgia, you just might not be able to get back over when it is your time to turn. If they pass this new law, it still will nave no impact, and it will allow law enforcement to selectively enforce the laws at their will. That is never a good idea.
Police should pull you over and give you the driver’s handbook and then let you go.
The irony is that this behavior is not what puts my safety at risk. It’s those that change lanes within 500 feet of an intersection, those that pull right out in front of you and expect you to change lanes because they are not moving fast enough, and those that have no clue as to how to merge on an on ramp.
Aren’t these the things that should be addressed?
We have the technology now. Let’s give drivers a driving simulation with realistic traffic, and see how they handle all these things. If they can’t, that’s why we have MARTA.
EM What is MARTA ?
Public transportation….
In Pennsylvania you have 1 mile to stay in the left lane and pass then you have to move back into the right lane. They advertise it on the turnpike every once in a while. Problem is it’s rarely enforced and if you ask people if they know about the law, most don’t.
Oh Really? They have these laws in Germany since I can think and it works great.
thats one law that should be past in all 50 states. we need that in TN.
Being my comments are not being posted,, BABABOOEY!
very good the same law resides here in ohio.
TEXAS passed that law – what – 20 years ago??
When someone drives like they are the only person on the road, they deserve what they get. I say, yank the wheel and run them into an abutment! BAMMM!
As much as those slow drivers in the left lane annoys me I am reluctant to applaud “another law” that allows cops to increase their collections of fines.
Flash your lights, honk but do not give the police any more excuses to avoid going after “real crime” instead of padding their retirement income with fines collected.
In Washington State it is a violation to use your headlights or horn for that purpose; the fine is $124. The higher level of violation for failure to keep to the right except to pass is appropriate if enforced. In WS that requirement is only haphazardly enforce even after there was an announcement from the WSP that there was going to be an enforcement emphasis placed on it.
Well, I am sure in every state are stupid laws created by legislators with nothing better to do.
And I think that is the point I am trying to make…..
Is it not scary that in the “land of the free” we have the highest per capita percentage of incarcerations and the 2nd largest jail population in the world (2nd only to China which have 4 X our population).
If we are to create a law/penalty for any minor annoyance we experience, where is whatever freedom we have left going to go?
Some of the worst offenders of this are truckers! In Indiana the speed limit on I65 is 65 for trucks and 70 for cars. I think the truckers are mad about this so they play a game I call “leap frogging”. Mile after mile two or three trucks will ride side by side with the one in the left lane verrrry slowly passing the truck in the right lane. As soon as that truck passes and pulls back into the right lane, the truck he passed will immediately whip into the left lane and then repeat the process. I can’t begin to count the number of times I have been cutoff by trucks on this highway that are playing this stupid game of theirs!!!! One of the worst cases of road rage I ever personally witnessed was caused by a trucker doing this on I64 in 2002 that ran a pickup truck off the road into the median. Dirt mud and rocks were flying everywhere as the pickup driver fought to maintain control and prevent flipping in the median. After he regained control and got it back on the road the fun really started. Two of the three guys in the pickup began reaching through the sliding back window of the cab retrieving from the bed and then throwing rocks, bottles and anything else they could get their hands on at the windshield of the semi. The semi driver then began deliberately hitting the pickup knocking him off the road. After at least 4 separate incidents of trading paint between the semi and the pickup, they pulled off into a rest area to go knuckle city. I didn’t stay around to see what happened next but I did call the state police with a description and license numbers of both vehicles. It was like being in the middle of something out of an old episode of Starsky & Hutch or The Dukes of Hazzard!
I have a theory about this. The “left lane” problem seems to be worst in states that are mostly liberal. On a recent cross-country trip, I noticed it was worst in Illinois. Here in Mass. it’s pretty bad, especially during rush hour. People can be stopped in the far left lane, yet we are moving 50 MPH in the right-most lane. It’s probably something about entitlement: “I deserve to be in the passing lane – I drive an expensive car!” Or it could be what drives most liberals to do what they do. Someone told them that the left lane is the fastest, so they get in the left lane. This is like someone telling them that Obama is a great choice for president, or the health care law is a good thing. They don’t think about the fact that they are sitting still while the 49% of us on the right just drive on past them.
No. Here in Texas it is a HORRIBLE problem and I have thought about starting a campaign myself to get something done. More people are killed and injured because of this and it is soooo simple to remedy!
GeneP54 I feel ya. But isn’t it true that a lot of libs have moved into the Great State of Texas lately? Didn’t I hear that they are trying to turn the state blue? That certainly fits. They bring their bad habits with them when they arrive. Same thing happened to New Hampshire – they ruined Massachusetts in every conceivable way, then moved into beautiful NH and started making it to be like where they left. And call it progress.
Yes, but not here in the Dallas area. Most are moving to Austin and San Antonio, and south.
Gee, I hope they don’t turn Texas blue! I don’t think they will be very successful at it, too many people here who like the USA the way it used to be. There also has been talk for years of Texas secession, so don’t believe everything you hear. But, should the blue thing happen, I’m leaving! Should the secession happen, I’m gonna get rich selling land! lol
Progress, my rear!
I agree those people are a hazard – and they think they are the self-appointed enforcers of speed limits. But a MISDEMEANOR? Isn’t that a little overboard? I think it should be the same as any other moving traffic violation, but not a crime.
Most traffic laws are misdemeanors. look it up under your State’s Traffic laws. 99% of moving violations are misdemeanors.
In Washington State most traffic violations are classified as “infractions,” not misdemeanors. Refer to RCW 9A.20.010 for the classification and designation of crimes. Crimes of are classified as either felonies or misdemeanors, infractions are not crimes therefore not classified as misdemeanors.
Keep to the right except when you want to get around traffic . Also, can anyone explain why people don’t use directional signals? Nothing could be easier. Why wouldn’t you want other drivers to know where you’re going? The height of laziness and stupidity is NOT using directional signals. There, I finally said it. Now I feel better.
I told a person one time that I was sorry that they spent all of that money on their fancy new car only to learn that the turn signals don’t work. lol
I am not sure that most drivers in our area are even aware that cars have turn signals.
Glad to see I’m not alone. Read recently that 35% of accidents can be traced to people not using directional signals.
I am also amazed that in a blog of Libertarians we are enthusiastic about ANOTHER law to limit our freedoms
If a 70 year old grandma wants to drive 55 in the left lane, she may be cursed by me if I am behind her, but I defend her right NOT to be harass by a cop for forgetting to drive in the right lane
Then she should Obey the Driving/Traffic laws or have her license to drive revoked.
Taking the license away from a grandma because she is driving 55 in a left lane? Really Dude?
Remember Karma also read the blog comments.
One day you will slow down as well and some heartless dick will suggest you lose your license and consign you to a couch to polish your medals and tell stories about your old days when you were fixing B52 engines.
Get real, You really are making an A$$ of yourself. If Grandma cannot drive safely anymore then Grandma needs to use public transportation or a Taxi. I have seen way too many of them driving 35 on Interstate Highways in the wrong lane. They are becoming a hazard to the roadways and a DANGER to all other drivers. I never worked on B-52s I was a TACP…look it up.
Look, I know you “lifers” are used to have the military tell you what, how and when to do things and how to think? A totally controlled life BUT
Grandma driving a little slower than speed demons in the right lane does not necessarily makes her an unsafe driver, just a clueless one.
If you are comforted by lots of rules and laws to guide your life, it gives you more in common with Liberals than with TRUE Libertarians.
Give police more excuses to stop you and harass you is not an idea I would like to consider
Well then, just look up the statistics of elderly drivers causing traffic accidents on the roadways. I know there was one here where I live that just recently drove on the WRONG Side of the Highway and caused three people to DIE as she slammed into them head on. She was 73 years old and had been driving for 45 years, still she drove down the wrong way on a very busy roadway and killed others. You need to understand that many of these elderly drivers are a Hazard on the road. They should never be given permission to drive on our roads without tightening the rules on their licensing. I am just saying that All people need to follow the laws on the Highways, Period, That includes all older people.
I’m from Michigan. I drive 80 on all interstates here. What gets me is if the roads are great, free and clear, but there’s a snow flake in the air and all the drivers are driving 55 all of a sudden and they ride side by side blocking both lanes and in some cases up to four lanes. You people have NO business being anywhere near the roads let alone shouldn’t have a car. And what ticks me off is I have a good driving record but they got better insurance rates then me because there getting senior discounts. And Igguarantee you the little ole lady in the Buick has triple the money I have. Why should they get breaks? And they leave a path of destruction behind them and don’t even know it as they drive.
One correction, Michael- The 55 on 285 you’re referring to is not MPH; that 55 is the maximum allowed lap time around ATL in seconds before being disqualified. LOL!
The posted speed limit is irrelevent. The left lane is for PASSINGand emergency vehicles, not flying. Find cars your speed and stick with them or use the left lane to pass everyone, but please don’t stay there just because you can!
I personally believe that the max speed limit should be 65. I mean a firm 65 mph. If you go 66, you should be given a ticket. That is never going to happen though and allot of people ,particularly young people, will die in crashes . A minimum speed limit is important and a passing lane should only be for passing ,as it is in Pennsylvania . You can’t stay in a passing lane past what is needed to get around another driver. The three and four lane roads are a different matter . If I want to drive 50 miles an hour in the slow lane to save gas , pass me and leave me be . I will always give you room on a two way two lane road , to go around me if you think I am going to slow.
Hear hear! One of the biggest dangers on the road are the idiots who think it is there job to enforce speed limits and therefor drive for miles neck to neck with someone else also doing about 2 mph below the limit.
In England, where passing on the “wrong” side is an offence, and slower drivers are required to move over (never seen it enforced), you get the same idiocy. One of Farmgirl’s cousins wrote to a motoring magazine complaining bitterly about someone overtaking him on the “wrong” side when he, the writer, was doing exactly the speed limit. I would have loved to have seen his self-satisfied face turn red when he read the editor’s scathing reply telling him, in no measly mouthed way, that if he was driving so he could be passed on that side, it was him who was the unroadworthy idiot.
Georgia wouldn’t have a problem with my mother because she really had a lead foot and I would often have to ask her to slow down because she would have gottena ticket driving on the Palmetto Expressway.
But if there are signs on this road everyone should drive the speed limit or that could cause some serious accidents and that is a fact.
If you want to have a little fun driving, spot a car going down the highway with one of those large “handicapped parking” placards dangling from the rear view mirror. I will almost guarantee that within less than 5 miles they will commit multiple traffic infractions. When I see that placard I avoid them like the plague! As Bill Engvall so aptly noted “There’s your sign”! As a little side note, those placards plainly, in very large print, tell the driver not to drive with them in place. If they can’t follow those instructions you can’t really expect them to follow anything other instruction.
Colorado has had a similar law for a good number of years.
The HP is no longer interested in ENFORCING laws that may cause themselves paperwork.
FINALLY!!! It’s about time. All state have keep left laws but the cops don’t enforce them. Hope GA stateies finally pull people over.
I think you can look at how someone drives and figure that is also how they handle a shopping cart and you can look at how someone handles a shopping cart and figure that is how they drive. To get a license it would be cheaper and safer to just see how people handle a shopping cart instead of taking them driving on the streets and highways. I hate shopping!!
I guess no one in Georgia has heard “Infringing the Flow of Traffic” being a ticketable. If you’re not reasonably driving with the flow of traffic, you’re infringing the flow. Most cops will turn on their lights and motion the driver to the left. When the drive is in the far left lane, the cop turns their lights off and continues down the highway. Or I should say, that’s how they do it here in Texas. 😉
I lived in Italy for a number of years; lollygagging in the left lane is not a problem there, especially not after some ignorant, rude driver in the left lane (usually an American or illegal immigrant) is bumped from the rear at a high rate of speed. Italians, especially males, do not tolerate such rudeness. When your rear view mirror indicates lights signaling from the distant rear, that means get out of the left lane, quickly. This dangerous, ignorant rudeness of the rules of the road is a particular American problem.
Several years ago, when visiting relatives stationed in Germany, I drove on Autobahns. When passing, slower than others approaching from the rear, I rarely got flashing high beams, and perceived less aggressiveness than thirty years ago. I mentioned it to German folk, who explained that flashing high beams had been declared illegal, and was subject to being fined. I guess that the drivers who flashed high beams were Americans who had not been informed, and other foreigners in Germany.
In the U.S., flashing high beams at homesteaders in the passing lane has not worked very well for me. Nor has any other tactic used against hoggers of the passing lane.
This is a good thing in our overly legalistic society, but is truly unnecessary. In the national driver compact laws, to which every state is a participant (that’s how you can drive in Georgia with a Texas license), the various sign styles are defined. A red octagonal sign means you must stop. A yellow backed sign means to exercise caution. A green backed sign is announcing destinations. A blue backed sign is informational. And, in every state of the union, a sign with a white background, a black border, and black letters means you MUST do as the sign says. It is a moving violation subject to a fine if you don’t. The police are taught this. It has been on EVERY driver license exam I have ever taken. It just needs to be enforced uniformly.
It’s a MIRACLE!!!! Someone, somewhere finally notices! Your comments on these self-centered dip-s#its express my feelings exactly. Folks who think the left lane is their personal cruising lane are the absolute worst. They are quickly followed by people who pass a car going 65 in 75 zone going 65.00000001 miles per hour, thus taking 5-10 miles to get by and get over. And then there’s people like “(armygirl1974)” who think someone appointed them pace car driver! They can make my once-a-week, 20 mile trip down I-25 here in Colorado a pain instead of a nice drive. I hope all the other states catch on soon.
Yeah I love it. People don’t care about the guy behind them they are the same people In The check out lane waiting till the clerk has rang up their 100 or so grocery bill before they start filling the check out. They don’t care whose behind them. They are Inconsiderate a holes. So good Georgia. Now enforce it. Good luck on that one.
yes indeedy …. another law ….. another chance to pay a fine … why don’t ( instead ) … they post signs indicating the law and cops can pull someone over and give them warning tickets ? I am sure that a warning will be sufficiently annoying to stop left hand pokemons. 99guspuppet
I say if they move into the left lane without using a directional and do not accellerate after doing so they should be pulled over and removed from their car. At which point a tow truck would be called to remove said car from the scene and donate it to charity. License is then revoked and perp is forced to walk the rest of the way. I hate people who cant perform the simple function of using their directionals before making a move. These are the true road hazards
USA Lover? Hardly.
You are as extreme as the dictators in 3rd work countries. Yes people need to signal turns, yes they need to drive safely and move over. YOU would sentence them to seizure of private property. Obama and Joseph Stalin would no doubt agree with your way.
Well you see beedog I am forced to drive in and out of Manhattan every day so you have to understand that I am surrounded by braindead Obama supporters with their I Love Obamacare bumper stickers driving aimlessly while I try am make my way into work. So I stand by what I said
You have to remember, when you are going through a myriad of small towns on a highway (Highway 17 from Georgetown SC to Myrtle Beach SC – a distance of over 50 miles) you HAVE to allow for people to stay in the left lane to make their correct turn into business. So discourteous and dangerous for someone to ride your a_ _ when you are looking for your turn. And most of the time you are going the speed limit and above.
Good move Georgia. I would love to have that here in California.
There is a law in CA that states that. Read the white ROAD SIGNS They state, “KEEP RIGHT unless PASSING”. Did you know that there is also a CA State Traffic Law that says roughly that you cannot drink anything in your car without a straw in it? There are many laws that many in CA do not obey. Did you know that if you have more than 4 cars behind you that you MUST pull over and let them pass you?
You only see that on the state highways not on the interstates. And I think it is 5 or 6 vehicles unless they changed that in recent years.
That is because in CA the same Laws apply on ALL roads. All Interstate Highways follow Federal and State Laws when it comes to the usage of those roads. The laws apply the same.
Armygirl1974 is an example of how completely dumbed-down our military has become. It does not matter what speed you are driving, if someone else is driving faster then you are the slower traffic and you must move over. Something overlooked is the fact that road rage never happens, it is always caused. Some idiot has intentionally done something intended to piss off the people behind them. I suspect armygirl1974 is one of those people.
KANSAS HAS THAT LAW, BUT NOT STRICTLY ENFORCED.
Interesting that the majority of comments reflect the idea that “slowpokes” are the ones acting like they own the road. Obviously at extremes this is true but more often than not it’s the idiot that didn’t have the good sense to leave for their destination on time that acts the arrogant SOB. When there’s two lanes to choose from and one is full of 18-wheelers going their slower posted speed limit and you’re going the average 5 miles over the posted speed limit for your vehicle why is it ok for someone to blast out of nowhere doing 20 or 30 over the speed limit? How is it justifiable that they cut through traffic narrowly missing other cars while flipping people off while flashing their lights or honking their horn? Sure if it’s an emergency with hazard lights on heading for a hospital but 99% plus of the time it’s just a self entitled moron putting everyone in danger because they can’t manage their time correctly. The theory that only those going a reasonable speed have to share the road is absurd whether someone’s going too slow or too fast.
Who ever wrote this is an idiot. Traffic sucks. Get used to it.
Traffic sucks because idiots and self righteous turds like you block the traffic flow. Move to the right when there is traffic behind you.
Could you be more of a fool? Probably not. Oh look there’s a big F turd in the mirror. How does that feel. Just passed cha!
Then OBEY the Traffic laws and Stay Right unless you are passing, then return to the Right lane after passing. This is Federal Law on ALL Federally funded Interstate Highways!
Dear retired from thinking- Wow. What a concept. Duh.
I like their bill/ too many go “the speed limit (I’m going to keep them legal)”. With people on the road going faster, it’s inviting an accident. The cops are sufficient traffic enforcement.. If one comes up behind you are you going to enforce the law for him,her too?
If I am not mistaken, there is probably already a law on the books in all 50 states that can be used to cover this. It is called creating an impediment to the smooth flow of traffic. Just how the law is labeled varies from state to state, and even from county to county. You are creating a situation that can lead to serious accidents. In fact, you are just as dangerous as the idiots that think 80 miles an hour is to slow on an interstate.
this new law will cause more accidents and give the revenuers more money in their pockets.
xD … I love it ! … remember the track “move b-itch, get out the way” … soon it will be law. Florida needs to do the same thing. We’re tired of being held up by those who really shouldn’t even be on the interstates – or even have licenses any more … oops, that will be me someday (in about 20-25 years). xD it’s all good.
The unintended consequence is license to tail gait (talk about hall monitors) both slower and faster vehicles. No law is going to change a moron’s IQ, but it will empower the jerks to be even worse.
Inconsiderate pukes holding folks up NEED to be fined. Speed limits are really only a kind of happy medium between the white knuckled no talents and super-drivers.
Some people have the “I’m going to do what I want to do and to Hell with you” attitude and it is going to be hard to break them of it. I hope the State makes a lot of revenue from this law though. Now I just wish it would start enforcing the law that says to TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON WHEN IT’S RAINING!!! (or foggy)
Do you mean the “I’m going to do what I want to do and to Hell with you” attitude, like the “I’ll drive as fast as I want, in any lane I want and the Hell with you and the laws! DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DRIVE!! (just get the @#!! OUTA MY WAY!)” attitude?
Is that the attitude you are talking about?
Now all we need is for the police to enforce it. If that doesn’t happen all is for naught
The Ones Holding Up the rest of the People Are Aresholes that get a Kick out of doing it!
Good lots of blacks will be getting even more tickets now! Fantastic!
Gee – what color is YOUR skin?
Not to mention that those who refuse to obey the Speed Limits are, most often, the ones who tailgate, make rapid lane changes without signaling, etc.
You won’t obey the laws, but you want ME to obey YOU!
Double standard?? YUP!
I was born and raised in Chicago. I learned how to drive in a high school driver ed class at the closest Chicago Public High School to O’Hare, such high school located right on a frontage road to the Kennedy Expressway. Heavy traffic is not a big deal to me. However, when I’ve driven thru Atlanta, and on I-285. Those Georgia drivers are just as nuts and crazy as they are in San Diego. Which is NOT a compliment.
That said I do agree that slow pokes need to pull over to the right.
Chicago drivers and much more polite and sane and predictable.
Atlanta and San Diego are two most dangerous spots to drive in the USA.
I’ve been to 43 of our 50 states.
FASCINATING!
Here we have a post on a site that is often affiliated with people NOT wanting government intervention – especially where the rights of the “law-abiding citizen” are being infringed upon by those who are NOT law-abiding; a site for all of the anti-gun control people who are “up in arms” because those who obey gun laws are being penalized for the sake of those who do not (I understand and agree).
BUT in THIS case, it seems to be OK – even preferable – to have the government FORCE the law-abiding citizen to stay right, speed up, slow down, adjust for merging traffic, drive in an area of higher risk, where it is impossible to “cruise” at the posted speed limit, because “them @%! SLOWPOKES get in [my] way when I want to BREAK THE LAW!”
Double standard, again.
You are correct. They are not the police. It is not their job or responsibility to decide how fast someone else should go, even if they don’t like it.
old news Pennsylvania has keep right except to pass. and it does not work the alpha idiots do as they please. will be the same in Georgia. there should only be minimum speed laws. that is progress.
Here’s another point to ponder “SLOWER TRAFFIC STAY RIGHT”. . . uh, slower than WHAT exactly? Slower than you are driving? (Aren’t you breaking the law to be driving over the speed limits?) . . slower than someone else COULD be driving? I don’t care how fast you are driving, SOMEONE out there will make you look like a “slowpoke!”
HERE’S the PROBLEM (well at least one of them!):
That law is ambiguous – it leaves too much room for interpretation, AND in the process, it opens the door to something that I would expect most people who patronize this site to HATE . . .
With this law in place, ANYTIME you are in the left lane, you can now be ticketed.
Drive at or below the speed limit . . TICKET! You’re impeding traffic. Drive above the speed limit . . TICKET!! You are speeding!
So now it boils down to . . If you are in the left lane (and I THINK it was put there to be used . . silly me!), and a cop WANTS to pull you over, he now has EVERY LEGAL RIGHT TO DO SO! (You just gave it to them!)
OK, it looks like we have flushed out one of the “highway speeding monitors” traveling in the left lane impeding the flow of traffic and intentionally pizzing people off. Just a little warning, Rockman, don’t be a dumb azz; there are some dangerous people out there, and it is best all the way around not to intentionally mess with folk. If someone needs to slow people down, you will do best to let law enforcement handle it.
Gee – shakin’ in my boots!
Excuse me, but at least where I live (for now), I have every RIGHT to obey the laws in whatever lane I choose to drive. Yeah – I know “there are some dangerous people out there,” and this law empowers them, BIG TIME. They think they have every right to break every law they choose, but they think I have to obey their chosen laws!
Ain’t gonna happen!
It’s only common courtesy to move into the right lane if traffic behind you wants around. The left lane is commonly called the “passing lane” for that reason. My son was driving in Indiana, using the left lane due to the poor condition of the right lane, and he was almost the only car on the road. EXCEPT for the State Police car. The officer pulled him over and warned him that he MUST use the right lane unless passing, although he did acknowledge the poor road condition of the right lane. He didn’t give him a ticket, just warned him of the Indiana law.
It’s the same everywhere.
We need the same law here in Virginia. I’ve lived in and driven through many states and the people here think it’s their God-given right to Sunday-drive in the left lane. What’s even worse is when people behind these Magoo’s choose to follow them at that speed and trains develop…that’s the pits!
I like it in Florida here you are allowed 5 over posted except in school zones and construction zone when workers are present and as far as the left lane thing as long as you are doing the max speed limit you do not have to get over except for emergency vehicles the reason I like the left lane is because the log & other trucks have not beat it to pieces
On a similar topic, I can’t stand it when I’m in the right lane and someone comes up behind me flashing his lights.
Hmm… never seen this tactic, however I’ve done this while traveling in the left lane, and the moron ahead won’t move over. I can’t count all the times that I’ve had to use the right lane to pass.
“Army Girl” would get her stupid little butt run over doing something like that in Phoenix.
support this bill 100%! Every sunday, go down Rt 2 between Eastlake and Painesville Ohio. It is mostly three lanes and INVARIBLY there is a jerk (male OR female) going 55 miles per hour in a 60 zone. Always in the left lane. I do 60 on cruise trying to save a little gas. Well I come up on a couple of cars doing about 58, go to pass, and there’s the idiot, 55- maybe 57 in the passing lane!!! There are times I can just picture him doing a bank shot into the ditch. All by his own, of course!!! If you don’t want to pass, STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!!!!
New Mexico has a law: “It is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle at such a speed as to impair the smooth flow of traffic.” I’ve never seen it enforced- once I was even in a line of about 20 cars on a two lane behind Grandma and Grandpa poking along at 30 in a 50 mph zone with the next passing zone several miles ahead. Two of the 20 vehicles were Sheriffs’ cars and they didn’t do a thing about Grandma and Grandpa! Georgia’s law sounds good but it HAS to be enforced once passed!
Bob, Grandma and Grandpa have just as much right to use that two-lane road as you do. The posted 50 mph is the maximum speed for that road. There is NO MINIMUM speed requirement. Each driver has to determine the maximum speed, he (or she) feels comfortable and competent If you do not want to be troubled with slower traffic, you should plan your routes to use only “limited access roads” that have a posted MINIMUM as well as a MAXIMUM speeds. Here in Iowa as well as most rural agricultural area in the US have farm tractors, combines, high-boy sprayers and other large farm implements that use the hard surfaces two-lane roads to move between fields. Those have just as much right to use those roads as me.
I just returned home after driving 30 miles on a two-lane federal highway. The posted speed limit is 55 mph. However, the road was periodically covered with an inch or 2 of snow, a 10-20 mph crosswind, frequent curves and hills and no passing zones. For the road conditions, my speed varied from 25 mph to 45. About 10 miles into this trip, I got behind another car who would not drive more that 38 mph and slowed to 20 at a few locations. I would have rather not remained behind this car but the road conditions made passing an ill-advised option until the road conditions improved – about 10 miles more down the road. Obviously, I did make it home safely with no accidents.
Driving is a full-time skill that requires all of your attention and senses. That also means obeying the traffic laws, not just the ones that are convenient for you. If you want the thrill of driving fast, get your NASCAR Racing License or a Formula 1 (Indy Car) License and join the professional drivers. Don’t drive that way on our streets and highways where you could injure or kill yourself or others.
Grandma and Grandpa have just as much right to use that two-lane road as I do as long as they’re within the parameters of the above quoted law. They were impeding the smooth flow of traffic on the ONLY road to town during commuting hours on a sunny Summer day! Grandma and Grandpa were on the way to have tea with Mildred or to spend their SS check at the casino; the 20 or so people behind them were trying to get to WORK on time!
Good. Now if we could just do something about the idiots who take ten minutes to pass you when you’re going 5 mph over the limit (on cruise control) and then they pull in front of you and SLOW DOWN. Makes me wish for some James Bond features on my vehicle like “where the hell are my retractable front-mounted machine guns when I need them.”
Try that “flying in formation” crap on the German Autobahn and see what happens to you. You’re likely to end up dead when you get rear-ended by a car traveling 80 mph faster than you are. The Germans take the “keep right except to pass” rule very seriously.
It sounds good when you say it fast but the fact is that the 2nd lane is only added when there is too much traffic for the 1st lane. Hopefully someone in the governor’s office will have a little more thinking power than those dumb legislators.
Add to that, the 3rd lane, and possibly a 4th lane, will already be needed when that 2nd lane is finally finished.
The problem I have with this is it makes criminals out of law abiders. It’s becomes tyranny of the majority to say just because everyone else does it (70 in a 55).
As it is now, you are not abiding by the law if you are not passing in the left lane. This law actually is already on the books, it is not being enforced. Slower traffic keep right, left lane for passing only.
§ 40-6-40 – Vehicles to drive on right side of roadway
(d) No two vehicles shall impede the normal flow of traffic by traveling side by side at the same time while in adjacent lanes, provided that this Code section shall not be construed to prevent vehicles traveling side by side in adjacent lanes because of congested traffic conditions.
§ 40-6-184 – Impeding traffic flow; minimum speed in left-hand lanes
(a)(1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation.
(2) On roads, streets, or highways with two or more lanes allowing for movement in the same direction, no person shall continue to operate a motor vehicle in the most left-hand lane at less than the maximum lawful speed limit once such person knows or should reasonably know that he is being overtaken in such lane from the rear by a motor vehicle traveling at a higher rate of speed, except when such motor vehicle is preparing for a left turn.
These laws attempt to address a problem that doesn’t exist, however, I rarely drive in big cities.
I can’t recall a time in all my driving where I would agree with anyone getting cited for riding in a left hand lane, because it simply isn’t a problem. Florida passed a similar law to this… nothing changed except speeders now have a little more encouragement. Like they needed it. Not only is it almost impossible enforce, usually if someone is in the left hand lane its raining and the right hand lane ruts have an inch of water, whereas the left hand is nice and smooth.
Awesome.
LOVE IT, every state should have it. Just think how many ‘road rage’ incidents would be avoided !
@ Rockhead: the law requires that you use the left lane only for passing. When you ignore the law you deserve to be ticketed. No excuses related to the faults, real or imagined, of other drivers absolve you from the consequences of breaking this law. If you believe that you can obey the laws you like and ignore those you don’t like, why do think others can not do likewise? I think that people who recklessly weave in and out of traffic at high speed, changing lanes abruptly, are a menace. But I also think that rockheads who think they can regulate traffic speed, much to the frustration of others (whether legitimate or illegitimate) are equally a menace; each deserve tickets and large fines which, with repetition, deserve the removal of the right to drive.
Virginia desperately needs a law like this. I-81 is loaded with these drivers.
Just received my second unjustified speeding ticket driving through GA between SC and FL. Beware! The I-95 through GA is a speed-trap and cash cow! GA is the only state, in my experience, where police routinely hide in the woods, under bridges, at bottom of hills, just lying in wait to pluck motorists off the road to fulfill a quota for the day. Some small towns along the Interstate must exist on this revenue.
About a year ago, heading south on I-95, I travelled at 75 mph as posted in SC. But crossing the border in a forested area, my daughter pointed out a small GA sign noting a reduction in speed, though no speed limit was posted. Thus, traffic continued as before. Suddenly, several squad cars were in the median as if in ambush. They quickly nabbed cars going south, then a squad camouflaged in the woods up & ticketed me following traffic on the right. The Port Wentworth $140.00 ticket was for driving 78 mph in a (surprise) 65 zone! If ever a case of entrapment, this was it. We passed over a dozen cars pulled over within a short distance.
This month I drove the same route on I-95 south. There is now 70 mph posted as you cross into GA. There was no barrage of squads at the same location but further south a squad hidden in a heavily wooded median flipped on the lights & came after me
you know this andu still get a tix????? WTF????
I heard this from an old timer a long time ago. Now I am an old timer (But I dont Drive like one) and it still applies.
“If somebody passes you on the right, then YOU are doing something wrong.”
Great news. Let’s hope that whatever form of legislative-itis they’ve contracted is highly contagious. Just as buckboards and carriages have no place in the left (or even center, for that matter) lane, neither do many of today’s modern roadhogs.
Las Vegas is terrible for left lane campers. Sunday morning they’re terrible, all on the way to the same church like a convoy slow as Moses. Small wonder, Las Vegas is Democrat stronghold with voters going for Dirty Harry and Obama, so as for their driving just consider the source I guess, but that’s why call them Dummycrats.
Finally…but hope they enforce it. Now if they would pass the ‘No changing lanes in the intersection or when turning left or right into a 2 lane street’! That would finally make the right turn on a real bust
The left lane is often smoother due to less traffic using it. If traffic is light, I will use it to cruise in, probably 5 to 10 over the posted speed. To be compelled to cruise in the right lane is as absurd as many of the posts I’ve seen here. Most accidents are caused by inattention, not speed. Paying attention includes watching your mirror(s) and getting out of the way before a faster car even gets close. Pacing a car next to you at any speed (unless heavy traffic compels it) is unwise as other drivers are unpredictable (or a tire could blow) and they could turn into you. When you pass, move by smartly and be done with it. Laws such as this are not necessary, but it should be unlawful (and enforced) to obstruct traffic at any speed in either lane. In some places it is unlawful to pass in the right lane if someone is camped in the left lane. That too, is dumb.
WHAT PART OF “SPEED LIMIT” DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?
I’d like to see a law for the idiots that climb up your rear end, you’re doing the speed limit (65 to 67 mph) in the right lane. They ride your bumper, then without using the turn signal, whisk over into the left lane, blast past you. And just as fast pull back in, in front of you to break off onto the exit ramp. You have to tap your breaks because they slow down as soon as they cut back in, in front of you in order to make the exit ramp. Another law is those going minimum entrance speed getting onto the freeway. You’re driving along in the right lane and out of the corner of your eye you see some idiot entering the freeway. You can’t move to the right lane because it’s packed, then you have to slow down to about 50 mph to let this idiot with his head up his (fill in the blank) crawling onto the freeway as he cuts in front of you. Lot of idiots on the road now days. Reminds me of the way people drive in Mexico. If you don’t know defensive driving your had.
Just my 2 cents worth.
I disagree with the idea of a speed limit being “a suggestion”, but otherwise, you’re correct. If you’ve seen the History Channel’s “Modern Marvels” segment on the Autobahn, you know that Germany has its “Rechtsfahren” law–drive in the right lane, use the left only for passing, and DO NOT pass on the right hand side. If we’d only obey that–with exceptions at major junctions–then we’d be fine.
As for speed limits and police, Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has a reputation for overly strict enforcement (like 1 mph over, working outside jurisdiction, etc.), so don’t say it’s “just a suggestion”…I’ve also got a CHP with whom I’d have words, because I think he was just out for quota and I didn’t speed…
What’s REALLY irritating is, where I live in Tennessee, we get tourists who poke along in the right, AND left, lanes, about 10 mph, & will dead stop just to take a picture. I don’t know how many times I’ve nearly rearended some tourist. And,unfortunately, others HAVE rearended them. Or they get on a back road, that they have no earthly idea how to drive on, & are going so slow, they’ll have 20 cars backed up behind them. Tennessee will never pass a law like that because it might ‘offend’ a tourist, & they’d hate to lose a dollar!
Yes. The individual policeman can make a huge difference.
About 1987 I departed Atlanta on an interstate and had been told that 65mph was usually permitted. Before I reached the city limit a Police car pulled onto the interstate behind me, caught up with me swiftly, turning on his blue light. I pulled over and stopped. It was Summer and the windows were rolled down. The policeman approached the passenger side of the car, and asked angrily, “didnt you see me pull onto the highway?” I responded, “Yes, but you guys usually allow 65 and I didnt slow down.” He responded rather mildly, “Well, slow down,” turned and walked back to his police car. I continued on my journey, and he pulled off a couple of exits later.
Here in commie ca it is usually some beaner or afaggot libtard on their phone….
The cops are vacant…. Off learning how to kick in doors and practice were coming for your guns…. They havnt done squat for either illegal offense….. One, the Mexican explosion is illegal , they are here illegally , and no one is doing their duty in which their pension earning ass position dictates…..the un American act of driving with your phone up yourass and not caring about anything but yourself and your phone conversations is illegal as well.. But nothing…. I am the only one who makes people respect that law…. By screaming at them to “Get off yourfucking phone” and run them off the road…soo … Georgia …. Good on you… Nice to hear that someone wrote a bill that makes perfect” common” sense
Hey, any law maker in Virginia reading this. Could sure use a law like this in northern VA. You get in the left lane to pass those that aren’t even going the posted speed and ole putts along is going even slower than the next lane to the right.
Any officers reading this, sure would be nice to see you out there pulling over these traffic hazards and ensuring they understand the laws of the road. The worst I’ve seen is a middle aged person, looked like someone from South of the border, going 35 in the fast lane. Yes, I an a bunch of other cars in the fast lane were doing a high speed slow down and quick lane changes. Some cars almost hit car in the right lane, thankfully the right lane people saw what was happening. Now officers that would be on 95 South from DC to where the HOV exits onto 95.
Motorhomes are also a pain in the neck. Are they or are they not considers a truck and not allowed in the fast lane. This is don’t know, can’t afford a motorhome.
There is another side to the issue. I often find myself STUCK in the left lane because the faster drivers won’t give me room to move to the right, despite actually USING my turn/lane change signal.
I agree that people who slow poke it in the left lane are a pain but do we really need more laws and more government interference in our lives?
Doesn’t go far enough. WE will still have people on two lane roads in “NO Passing Zones” for miles that pile up cars behind them. They too should be held accountable. There is no reason they can’t pull over someplace to let that line of traffic go by!! They too are a danger to drivers.
One thing I think could be an assist: Put minimum/maximum speeds on each lane, I.e., 55 in right lane and 65 in left lane with a minimum speed in the left lane of 60, to ensure passing.
We have that law here in Missouri but it doesn’t get enforced. We have a lot of Kansas drivers here and they are the world’s worst about hanging out in the fast lane. If you get in a snarl and finally after 10 miles or so, you see a car finally move to the outside lane, you can bet your last dollar that it will have a Kansas tag when you pass it.
The Germans do that on the Autobahn. The left lane is only for passing and motorists caught there not passing are ticketed. The Germans call this law “rechtsfahren” which means driving on the right. Three is no speed limit on about half of the Autobahn.
Most Highways the left lanes are for sustains speeds up to the limit not a passing lane for speeders why would you deny one law and use another so you could do 90 in a 70 MPH zone you are the one breaking the law . I most certainly move over for speeders because I want them well away from me as they tend to make other mistakes and at 90 it logically winds up in a fatality If you think that you will get away with doing 90 in the state of Ohio come on up and try it no on second thought stay out of Ohio../// I wonder what the law really covers I bet it does not give you or any one the right to drive 15 20 miles over the limit. It is the cowboys who have no responsibility that cause most of the deadly crashes not the one doing the speed limit. My State patrol tell me if you do 15 230 miles over the3 limit it is a felony
I wish Texas would adopt this. Here in DFW, especially on Central Expressway, the text-while-driving geniuses and the armygirls STAY in the number one lane and cause all kinds of traffic fatalities while they drive away clueless. However, blinkers are never used here and except for a few of us, traffic manners are apparently forbidden.
No one wants bigger government… unless it’s for their further OWN pet peeve.
“Here in Georgia, we have a loop around the city called 285. The posted speed limit on 285 is 55 miles per hour. No one, and I mean no one, goes 55 on 285. The average speed is a little under 70. If you went 55, you would be a danger to society. “
LOL. The writer of this article must have never driven on I-285 in Atlanta during morning or evening rush hours. The average speed in all lanes is usually 2-25 miles per hour. Glad I don’t live there anymore. The 3-4 hours daily on I-285 were bad on my blood pressure.
If you can drive any speed you like why not abolish the speed limit period. Just think of it, 180mph or if you like 250. The number of fatalities won’t make a difference because you will get there faster.
Funny thing you should mention Peter . . .
That is exactly what has been going on in Germany for decades, and the left lane on the Autobahn often see speeds of 140 and 150 + . . .
And Fatalities? Actually they have far fewer than North American freeways.
Of course they do things a little different . . . you actually have to demonstrate you can drive, before you get a licence.
If Euro standards were applied in the US to get licence, 30% of the folks would be riding on public transit.
Most of the problem is people going 95 mph. Occasionally you find a slow poke holding up the left lane but a lot of the time traffic moves left to allow cars merging on and then those cars speed up and no one gets where they need to. Oh yes, the speed limit is not a suggestion, It is a law. If you think it is too slow, work to change the law, People selectively decide which rules are important and need to be followed like using a turn signal and lives are lost as a result of their selfishness.
A bigger problem in GA is the people who race to an off ramp and stop in the middle or left lane because they did not want to merge back where the line started. They actually cause the traffic to be ten times worse and drive extremely dangerously because they feel they are more important than all those people they passed.
It amazes me how many people justify breaking the speed limit laws. If you are doing it you are wrong. It isn’t any different than cheating on taxes or illegal immigration. People have reasons for doing those also and in many cases better and less selfish rationale than speeders.
Basically speed limits are set for maximum revenue generation, not safety. Some of these speed limits were set before disc barkes were common place! It is good to see at least 1 State that recognizes this and is doing something about it. Once upon a time GA. was nothing but a speed trap to be avoided.
Back around 1960, New Jersey enforced that law on the Garden State Parkway very strictly for about 3 months. For the next 6 months driving the Garden State was a pleasure. But after 6 months of no enforcement, the Garden State reverted back to misery.
Leaving the left lane clear is de rigeur in some parts of our country, and is universal in Europe. Keeping to the right allows everybody maximum use of the roads. As in politics right is Right, and left is wrong, often DEAD Wrong..
Great idea. Bring it to NY. A hazard is a hazard no matter what the speed. Ticket them or get them off the road.
Agree – this a major problem. It is inconsideration raised to an “in your face” level.
FINALLY!!!!!!!!! It’s about darn time. Even the flipping cops do this and then they expect for you to stay behind them even though they themselves are not going the speed limit. Doesn’t people know how darn dangerous that it is to pass on the right cause then you have these IDIOTS that are tieing up the left lane just decide to come over to the right lane with no warning at all. Oh, don’t even ask the IDIOTS to use their signal turns cause over half of them don’t even know what they are used for. There is a video on you tube that shows an officer nicely escorting a SLOWPOKE driver to the right lane. The video shows the officer turning his lights on to a car that is in the left lane just cruising when lots of vehicles are lined up behind them. It plainly shows the car driver thinking they are getting pulled over and they both proceed to the right shoulder but when the car gets to the right lane then the officer turns off his lights and proceeds down the road. When I seen this then I laughed so darn hard and said to myself, Yes, You go officer. Finally someone showing these IDIOTS how to drive. The Darn Left Lane is for PASSING ONLY and when you pass then you are to turn your signal on and get back in the right lane. Have a little compassion for the other drivers and get your SLOW ASS out of the left lane. If you can’t then do us all a big favor and stay off any 4-lane roads and stay on just the 2 lane roads. I live here in GA.and I have always said that the drivers here are either TURTLES or SHEEP. Sheep stay behind the head sheep and will not do anything unless the head sheep does so with these stupid drivers here in GA. then I have actually witnessed all the cars in the left lane and the right lane is totally open. This is what I call Sheep! Get real Georgia drivers and actually drive safely, could you?
They tried this in Pa., you must be in the right lane unless you are passing someone. And if you are in the left lane for more then 1/4 mile without passing you are to be ticketed. But the State Police can not figure out how to enforce it. I hope the Georgia State Police have more brains then ours.
To have a driver poke along in the pass lane is unnerving to say the least.
I clicked “Slowpoke Bill” and expected the Pokemon.
Slow drivers CAUSE more accidents than people that go the posted speed. And, after you do pass you should return to the right lane.
We already have that in MS. Guess what…. the cops don’t enforce it. Sometimes they are the ones holding up traffic, passing the “slower traffic keep right, state Law” signs in the median. Unless and until we become a Nation of laws again, new laws are nothing more than an exercise in futility and a waste of paper, ink and time.
“The speed limit is an arbitrary suggestion, and that’s a fact.”
I want to be in court when you argue tat “fact” with the judge.
Personally I consider the left lane my personal highway. I of course understand that it is my duty to see that traffic moves along expeditiously. To that end I always drive at least 10 miles faster. If someone wishes to take my place by going 15 miles faster I have no problem in falling in behind them. At least I know someone else will be first in line for a tickets if one is to be issue
I Can’t Drive………. 55!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The silly self-righteous idiot, going the speed-limit in the fast lane (I call them “speed-limiters)” have no idea what the reason is for faster traffic. The wife may be having contractions every 15 seconds, FCS. Or there may be some other urgent reason to go faster. How egoistic it is to assume you are right, and nobody else could be. Besides, the speed laws, though ticketable aren’t made for the good drivers, but rather for the mediocre ones. The cops usually give you 7-8% overage leeway. So, get the f**k out of the way, as I don’t wish to be a formation pilot all day. (I was a life-long career pilot – USAF and Pan Am).
Wow . . impressed, mr. super pilot. Bet you had a lot of rules you had to follow. Ain’t that just the way it goes? I’ll bet if you headed from the gate to the runway without following those rules, you wouldn’t keep your license long. You even had a radio – ever try telling the pilot in front of you to “get the f**k out of the way?”
Mr. micro-intelect can’t read, understand nor interpret information worth a shit. Also we have a non sequitur used for comparison. Sounds like troll work to me. Get thee behind me, Satan. Crawl back beneath that rock, man, and attend class.
A life outside the box isn’t one which simply disregards rules and regulations, rather it is how folks find ways to accomplish that which the average person seems to relegate to the impossible. Been there and done that daily in my field, which has no blemishes, and was so damned much fun I always was amazed that they paid me to do it. The one down side to my career was that it had a maximum age limit.
It’s OK, Rocky, I’m used to it.
Not the pilots job.
That job belongs to the Air Traffic Controller and is done every day by these people.
Probably one of the reasons why there are so many fewer collisions in the air than there are on the highways every day.
The numbskulls are never given a license in the first place, the people with limited skills [lower ratings and less capable aircraft] are kept out of the way of those who know how to handle themselves and their aircraft, and everybody gets where they need to be safely and as fast as possible nearly all of the time. Which is why an aircraft accident is such a noteworthy occurrence because it is so infrequent.
Not seeing the forest for the trees…
I have a 6+ hour round trip on the interstates every few weeks. Every State needs to pass a bill like this. Tired of having one A-hole hold up 20 cars or more. Give them two tickets, one for being stupid..
I live in the mountains, we get flatlanders coming up here that must forget how to read and drive at the same time. They insist on driving 20 mph under the speed limit as they rubberneck the scenery, of course in the left lane. All I want to do is get home. Just where is a cop when you need one, we don’t have a donut shop. so they can’t be there. After 5 or 10 miles driving behind one of these jerks, all you want to do is run them off the road. Can’t do that, but it’s a beautiful thought.
Apply this same rationale to anything and everything but driving speed and you have the Obama administration. No, it is not different and special because it annoys all of us who want to go faster, and I am one of those. Remind me to not let you near my daughter in drivers training. I expect her to obey the law. Yeah yeah spare me, I already know I am no fun………..I’m the mom.
The gentleman who wrote this is a jerk, as both my grandfather and I agree. I’ve memorized traffic law and remember that the leftmost lane is the “fast lane”, and yes, passing is part of that, but itʻs not for flooring it to the detriment of others.
SPEED LIMITS ARE MEANT TO BE FOLLOWED. If you’re in that much of a hurry, someone had btter be dying.
This proposed law is dumb. If I get ticketed for going the speed limit, you bet that I would fight it!
I am a bit surprised, I really am!.
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I would have supposed that most patrons of this site would understand something that I consider to be reasonably simple.
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1) People have a responsibility. Freedom comes with responsibility. To be free does NOT mean that there are no laws to govern a populace, or responsibility to obey those laws, but only that the people have a say in what those laws are, and are free to speak their mind concerning laws, either extant or proposed, whether or not their opinions are shared with the majority or the status quo.
First Amendment.
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2) And secondly, If you give people who feel ‘everyone owes them something’ (like highways with no speed limits) privileges that have not been earned (such as by obedience to existing laws), they will always want more. Give an inch, they’ll take a mile. Isn’t that one of the common complaints about the Obama administration’s socialist agenda voiced on this site and others like it?
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. So – after expressing my opinions and concerns in generally thoughtful and reasonable ways, hoping to inspire thought and consideration of the points offered (Freedom of Speech), and reaffirming a citizen’s responsibility to obey the reasonable and non-repressive existing laws (Speed Limits), many of YOU have responded with comments about “jerks (or idiots) like [me]” or “stupid moron” or “we flushed one out . . .” (a phrase a group of hunters looking to kill an animal might use), or even “I’ll run you into a ditch . . ,” which at highway speeds is tantamount to a blatant death threat – and even confirmed as such!
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After the nasty backlash I get from my comments, I had to question: “Gee, AM I really wrong in what I think (and was my Colorado State Patrol driving instructor wrong in his advise to stay as far left as possible – driving the FULL speed limit – until you begin to approach your exit, in order to keep the merging lane as clear as possible and minimize danger there)? Am I wrong to take a strong stance against the speeding epidemic that has become so prevalent?” (in a country where 40,000 people die every year in traffic accidents. .)
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I really had to wonder, and I did – honestly! Am I wrong? I KNOW I’m in the minority here!
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But it didn’t take more than 5 seconds as I merged onto the Interstate this morning to get my answer: NO!
A semi, riding less than 10 feet off the tail of the car in front of it (MIDDLE lane) at 70 mph answered the question. If you enable the lawbreakers, and give a sense that they have the right to break the law, and are entitled to continue their wanton ways (“entitlement”), you WILL have even more problems in the future as a result. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about illegal immigrants, welfare recipients, or lawless drivers. Give them a sense of empowerment, and you will pay for it in the long run – and that is exactly what this law does:
. . It allows those who refuse to let anybody, including the authorities, tell them how to drive, tell OTHERS how to drive. Tailgating is exactly that to begin with – telling the person in front of you to “GET OUT OF MY WAY!” The message is sent, and the message is heard. You don’t care what the law is, you don’t care that the person in front of you is obeying that law. It doesn’t matter. This is an “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME” generation of entitlement. You want to save ONE MINUTE (do the math – that is all it often boils down to), and that “stupid moron (who DID the math)” is in your way, driving the way they (and YOU) are supposed to be driving (which, BTW, includes moving out of the way of Emergency Vehicles as quickly and safely as possible).
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All I can say, as I permanently sign out from this rude venue is “have it your way!” You probably will in time anyway – just like all the Gay-rights stuff. Many of the law-makers are corrupt law-BREAKERS themselves, and will gladly align with your agenda. Push and push and push, just like you do on the rear-bumpers of the cars in front of you, and you will most likely get your way.
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You obviously don’t care to consider opinions that don’t agree with you, so have it your way! I’m not wasting any more time!
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P.S. You deserve Obama – all in all, you’re really not that much unlike him!
Your Colorado State Patrol Driving Instructor ~is~ wrong, as is demonstrated by the traffic congestion causing antics of Colorado Drivers once they get outside of Colorado and driving on multi-lane Interstate Highways.
You have a lot of 2 or 4 lane highway in Colorado with reduced speeds due in part to the mountainous nature of most of the state. Your “special case” driving instruction needs to be explained as such and not taught as a general rule that causes problems throughout the rest of the country.
You may not be involved in an accident yourself but can still be the ~cause~ by making traffic slow suddenly behind you and causing a chain-reaction-accident when a line of fast moving cars, all doing the customary speed for a section of highway they regularly travel, are required to slow very suddenly for the out-of-state-Dilbert blocking the “fast” lane because “that’s the way I was taught to drive”.
Here’s a News Bulletin for you: You were taught how to operate the vehicles controls -but- you weren’t taught how to ~drive~, under varying circumstances and driving conditions or outside of your local area.
Your “driving instructor” has probably never logged over 15,000 miles in a year. The ~average~ professional driver logs over 100,000 miles a year with many logging 150,000+ safely, and in driving conditions that your “instructor” has never seen [weather, traffic, ongoing road construction with detours, roadway configurations peculiar to a specific geographical area, etc.
As to reasonable speed limits, the various Associations for Highway Engineers use a general standard of the speed travelled by 85% of those using a roadway as being the appropriate speed limit for that section of road.
Certain “Public Officials” have determined that that is an “unsafe speed”.
Their determination is driven by a predatory desire for increased revenue from traffic tickets, not from any concern for the public safety. Accident statistics will support this thesis for most situations and circumstances regardless of locality.
After you’ve logged your first 100,000 miles outside of 100 miles from your home locality you will be qualified to contribute to a rational discussion. Until then you need to keep your mouth shut unless you are asking a question and actually learn how to ~drive~ instead of just hanging on to the steering wheel and pushing the pedals.
I am a bit surprised, I really am!.
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I would have supposed that most patrons of this site would understand something that I consider to be reasonably simple.
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1) People have a responsibility. Freedom comes with responsibility. To be free does NOT mean that there are no laws to govern a populace, or responsibility to obey those laws, but only that the people have a say in what those laws are, and are free to speak their mind concerning laws, either extant or proposed, whether or not their opinions are shared with the majority or the status quo.
First Amendment.
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2) And secondly, If you give people who feel ‘everyone owes them something’ (like highways with no speed limits) privileges that have not been earned (such as by obedience to existing laws), they will always want more. Give an inch, they’ll take a mile. Isn’t that one of the common complaints about the Obama administration’s socialist agenda voiced on this site and others like it? You talk about the “Law-abiding citizen” as a hero in the battle over 2nd Amendment rights, then you refuse to abide by the law (Speed Limits) yourselves and CURSE those who do in front of you!
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. So – after expressing my opinions and concerns in generally thoughtful and reasonable ways, hoping to inspire thought and consideration of the points offered (Freedom of Speech), and reaffirming a citizen’s responsibility to obey the reasonable and non-repressive existing laws (Speed Limits), many of YOU have responded with comments about “jerks (or idiots) like [me]” or “stupid moron” or “we flushed one out . . .” (a phrase a group of hunters looking to kill an animal might use), or even “I’ll run you into a ditch . . ,” which at highway speeds is tantamount to a blatant death threat – and even confirmed as such!
.
After the nasty backlash I get from my comments, I had to question: “Gee, AM I really wrong in what I think (and was my Colorado State Patrol driving instructor wrong in his advise to stay as far left as possible – driving the FULL speed limit – until you begin to approach your exit, in order to keep the merging lane as clear as possible and minimize danger there)? Am I wrong to take a strong stance against the speeding epidemic that has become so prevalent?” (in a country where 40,000 people die every year in traffic accidents. .)
.
I really had to wonder, and I did – honestly! Am I wrong? I KNOW I’m in the minority here!
.
But it didn’t take more than 5 seconds as I merged onto the Interstate this morning to get my answer: NO!
A semi, riding less than 10 feet off the tail of the car in front of it (MIDDLE lane) at 70 mph answered the question. If you enable the lawbreakers, and give a sense that they have the right to break the law, and are entitled to continue their wanton ways (“entitlement”), you WILL have even more problems in the future as a result. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about illegal immigrants, welfare recipients, or lawless drivers. Give them a sense of empowerment, and you will pay for it in the long run – and that is exactly what this law does:
. . It allows those who refuse to let anybody, including the authorities, tell them how to drive, tell OTHERS how to drive. Tailgating is exactly that to begin with – telling the person in front of you to “GET OUT OF MY WAY!” The message is sent, and the message is heard. You don’t care what the law is, you don’t care that the person in front of you is obeying that law. It doesn’t matter. This is an “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME” generation of entitlement. You want to save ONE MINUTE (do the math – that is all it often boils down to), and that “stupid moron (who DID the math)” is in your way, driving the way they (and YOU) are supposed to be driving (which, BTW, includes moving out of the way of Emergency Vehicles as quickly and safely as possible).
.
All I can say, as I permanently sign out from this rude venue is “have it your way!” You probably will in time anyway – just like all the Gay-rights stuff. Many of the law-makers are corrupt law-BREAKERS themselves, and will gladly align with your agenda. Push and push and push, just like you do on the rear-bumpers of the cars in front of you, and you will most likely get your way.
.
You obviously don’t care to consider opinions that don’t agree with you, so have it your way! I’m not wasting any more time!
.
P.S. You deserve Obama – all in all, you’re really not that much unlike him!
Come on up to Virginia and drive 15 mph over the speed limit. It is called Reckless Driving. 81 in a 65 = reckless driving. 40 in a 25 = Reckless driving. The police usually give you 10% over the speed limit but no more. 61 in a 55 mph zone will get you a ticket. Don’t believe me. Give it a try!!!
I would agree the left lane on an open highway (rush hour traffic an exception) should be for passing. On the other hand, what happened to ‘speed kills’ as excessive speed for conditions often results in accidents and loss of control.
I always find myself in the ‘slow lane’ going 5 MPH over the speed limit and others wising past me. Sometimes I find them down the road pulled over by a trooper or even involved in an accident.
In Cali, 15 over is generally construed as “impeding traffic.” I would feel safer on the track at Daytona than driving home to L.A. from Vegas on a Sunday. 🙂
Ask any Long Haul Trucker.
Virginia has been a statewide notorious speed trap for generations.
You aren’t any safer in Virginia because of it but you are in danger of heavy fines for what is considered ~normal~ traffic behaviour in most of the rest of the US.
BTW Virginia drivers when travelling outside of the state of Virginia rank right up there with Colorado drivers for poor Interstate Highway driving skills.
How many of you knew that “Subaru” is Japanese for “road hazard”?
Never heard that one. True? Anyone out there speak Japanese?
Good idea. The left lane should be for passing only. I am a slowpoke, cautious driver and I always stay in the right lane. Unless you are driving an ambulance you don’t have to speed along.
When I was in Minneapolis, one of my friends got pulled over for impeding traffic. He was going 65 in a 55 zone, but everyone else was going 75-80.
They need a Ticket maybe they will use Their Brain to think??? Not as a Bowling Ball>>>>>>>>>>>