Good
Looks like some states are cracking down on the asshats who drive slow in the passing lane. Get out of the way.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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December 11th, 2008 at 10:11 am
I used to live in Memphis where I would get irate at the people who didn’t gtfo of the left lane when people were trying to pass… then I moved to Omaha, NE. It is worse x10 up here. No one has a freakin’ clue about the left lane rule. People will camp out there all day long, even where the interstate is 5 lanes wide. Seldom have I ever seen anyone get right here. I’ve taken to passing them on the right and then slowing down in front of them – Probably not the wisest thing to do, but I’ve never claimed wisdom…
They tried to pass a law reserving the left lane for passing here a couple of years ago. It was defeated for some reason. I’m not the type to call for a new law to address anything, but I probably would have enjoyed the benefits of that one.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Wisconsin and Oklahoma are the worst places I’ve ever been for that.
A couple of decades ago, my father-in-law got ticketed in PA for failure to yield for left lane hugging, even though he was going 10 mph over the limit. He was in the left lane, and didn’t move out of the way for people who were going 15-20 over. No speeding ticket, just a failure to yield.
December 11th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Forget that. How about we enforce the law and actually ticket the people who speed? If I’m going 65 in a 65 zone and I’m in the left lane there’s no legal way you can pass me, or even catch up to me. If we’re not going to obey speeding laws, let’s get rid of them: they make a mockery of the law and they are capriciously enforced. I’m 100% against penalties for people who obey the law.
December 11th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Wolfwood,
Considering that the enforcement of speed laws is the easiest to actually accomplish and prosecute, there really isn’t a lack of speed enforcement on our highways. Heck even lazy cops can do it.
But this is about people ‘parking’ in the left lane and hindering traffic. A common precursor to road rage incidents. Your point about a left laner speeding is relevant – but not valid. Claiming that one is already traveling at the legal limit and therefore nobody can legally pass you is a bit vigilante. Why don’t we let the ticket writers enforce the speeding laws as well as the left lane hindering laws?
December 11th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
The problem is that we don’t enforce speeding laws consistently. If the speed limit is 65, I assume that going 74, or maybe even 79, keeps me in the gray zone where I won’t get pulled over. That I see the cops sitting there on the side of the road, not pulling people over when they see them breaking the law, lends credence to this. However, every court in the country would support me being pulled over for going 66mph. I see cops speeding all the time, doing the exact same thing they’d ticket me for if our positions were reversed. Forget that. This is an invitation to selective and capricious enforcement. Cops and their families already give “courtesy” to each other when they discover who they’ve pulled over; why should a regular citizen have to pay when they don’t?
Hogging the left lane doesn’t cause harm; it keeps traffic moving at the speed the government has determined is appropriate for that stretch of road. If a faster speed is appropriate, raise the speed limit. If there’s an emergency, there’s a reason that emergency vehicles have lights and sirens.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Wolfwood:
Not sure about your state, but in many states (e.g., Michigan, Kentucky) it’s illegal to be in the left lane at all unless you’re actively passing someone in the right lane. The left lane is reserved for passing only. And that, to my mind, is as it should be. They call it “the passing lane” for a reason.
Your point about lack of enforcement of speed limits isn’t a bad one, it’s just irrelevant here.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Wolfwood:
The law is not the arbiter of courtesy. If you are in the left lane doing 65, and the other 4 lanes are also doing 65, it is courteous to move over. If you are in the left lane doing 180 mph, please move over for the person coming up behind you at 200 mph.
December 11th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
tgirsch
I agree; my point isn’t directly relevant. At the same time, though, I’m torn. On the one hand, I want all (constitutional, which this is) laws enforced properly. At the same time, though, how the other traffic laws have been enforced makes me doubt that this one won’t be enforced capriciously and corruptly as well. I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather have a law not enforced at all if the likely alternative is enforcement which itself may be unconstitutional.
Maybe I’m alone in this, thinking that the current state of enforcement of traffic laws increases danger on the road and invites contempt of our entire legal system. I’m fine with fair enforcement of the law, but I don’t like extending an inconsistent policy.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Okaay dorks. SPEED DOESN’T KILL. Hitting things does. What is more like to make you hit something? Going 75 mph? Or going 75 mph over a hill in the left lane and coming upon a jackass going 50?
I was watching Top Gear the other day and they did some research and found out the int he UK accidents cause by speeding accounted for only 7% of all accidents. I’m sure that it’s very similar here. But because the Nervous Nellies have a stranglehold on everything these days, If you hit a deer going 2 mph over the speed limit they say that “speed was a factor”. So all you “enforce the speed limit” people can suck it. I got places to be.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I’m fine with higher limits, but there’s a reason it’s called a “limit.” Speeding causes problems mostly because it reduces predictability and this is what increases the danger. In your example, ATLien, the problem occurred because one person was breaking the law while the other expected the law to be obeyed. Keep in mind that, say, 65 is the limit, not the minimum requirement. If someone wants to do 55mph, they’re free to do so as long as it’s not in the passing lane. If I want to pass the guy going 55mph, the proper thing for me to do is to pull into the passing lane, accelerate to 65, and pass him. I have no right to go 75mph, even if I feel like passing.
Rather than cracking down on people doing the legal maximum in the left lane (which, if everyone were obeying the law, would mean that they would be pacing or passing everyone to the right of them), it is speeders and those who juke in and out of traffic who should be pulled over. If I pull in front of you and you have to slam on your brakes or even slow down then I’ve disrupted the entire flow of traffic behind you as they do the exact same thing.
The argument that everyone is breaking the law isn’t an argument for breaking it yourself; it’s an argument for either reforming the law or actually enforcing it as written.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Wolfwood,
In ATLien’s example one could argue that the problem was that while one person was breaking the law (speeder) the other person was breaking it as well (slow in passing lane). If either one of the violators was following the law the accident would not have occurred. So while the enforcement of excess speed is important for traffic safety, so, in equal measure is the enforcement of left lane usage.
As for this:
And
Due to some past associations with law enforcement I can tell you there are plenty of reasons for cops to go to calls without lights and sirens.
Some are bad reasons (i.e. residents complain about noise at night and politicians tell cops to quiet down)
Most are good. Sneaking up on certain types of calls are better than broadcasting your imminent arrival. But the primary reason is that most motorists do unpredictable and idiotic things when they see police lights in the mirror.