I've notice this, in big Cities, all of the drivers DO NOT know the concept of passing lane, they stick there while driving at 70mph which drives me insane when I"m in a hurry, they wouldn't move after high beams, honking, and yet they wonder why there's such a thing as road rage? I live in a fairly large city, and I do my internship in a small town of 130 000, everyday I commute, so by the time I leave the dumb city drivers' territory, I notice everybody understands the concepts of passing lane, other than drivers from NY (the state), which I've come to conclusion they can't drive on hwys.

So is this a local thing only in Toronto or same thru out the world?

 

You say that you are doing 70 on this road. What is the speed limit on the specific road you are talking about ? Without knowing that, I cannot answer your question if it was a road rage issue or not. If the posted limit is 70..... or close to it..... you may have a point.
However, if the limit is 50 or 60 like it is in some parts of Canada, you cannot expect to drive 70 MPH and not have people in your way....even in the left lane. The question in the poll about "doing the speed limit and getting the hell out of my way " does not apply in North America. This is not Germany...... where drivers in the left lane can legally drive as fast as they want and where drivers are EXPECTED to move over to allow others to pass.

 

here's hwy speed limit is 100km/h, but 80% of the time the traffic flow is at 120km/h, except traffic jam which is 40km/h.

That's the part that drive me nuts, if you are not passing other cars in other lanes, don't use passing lane, I only use it to pass other cars and move away for cars which are travelling at higher velocity than I am. The Hwy Traffic Act clearly stated passing lane is only reserve for vehicles traveling at greater speed than traffic in right side lanes. So it means even if the dude is doing 140km/h, and I'm doing 160km/h, he has to move out of my way and they just don't seem to understand the idea.

 

This is an issue that has been debated many times, and I understand your reasoning here, at least to an extent, but most judges don't see it that way. In most places you will be ticketed for going substantially over the limit, whether it involves the left lane and slower trafic or not. However, most police these days don't bother with much below about 10 MPH (15 KPH) or so over the limit....they pretty much look the other way unless you are really moving.

 

Still slower traffic to the right, left lane is for passing only.

 

Does the driver doing 90mph have more right to give the driver doing 70mph on the left lane of a road where the posted speed limit is only 55mph the finger?

 

No one has a right to give a finger to anyone... .

 

Ummm.... what happens if you are going 50 mph and this gimp makes a right turn right infront of you and decides he wants to go 20? That earns him just 1 middle finger, but a middle finger from all the people in the car!

 

OK...how bout high beaming them or honking and other rude gestures?

 

It really doesn't have anything to do with city vs country or Canada vs. New York drivers. I've found that EVERYWHERE I go people like to park in the passing/fast lane which is one of my biggest pet peeves. Then when you try to pass them on the right they want to speed up and pace you.


One thing I have noticed in regards to upstate NY vs downstate NY drivers is the general driving pace. Upstate drivers tend to be more lax when starting, stopping, turning, etc. We (NYC) tend to be in a rush to get to where we have to go, all the time. Pausing for a few seconds at a light that just turned green upstate won't cause much attention. In the city though, you'll get two or three horns and sometimes more than that if you hesitate.

 

I hate to admit it but I think my state has the worse drivers in all of america. After they cut you off or did something stupid(hitting the brakes when they see a cop pull someone over in the opposite direction where the highway are blocked off by 4ft wide concrete meridians). You catch up to them to give them the finger for causing unneccesary jams or show them parts of your body to let them know that they've %^&$ up. What you find behind the wheel is either some old lady or dude that looked like driving is already scaring the crap out of them, or some immigrants from somalia that still has their veil on and can't see to the side and don't really care to make an effort to, or sneaky suburban folks with convincingly naive and innocent looks that you end up feeling bad by trying to give them the finger. SO you end up just suking it up.

 

Combination? City and country? Eat, drink, talk, watch movies, horseplay, WHATEVER, while going down the highway flashing the highbeams, honking the horn, saying "GET THE F*** OUTTA MY WAY!"

 

Are most of you saying that 'high-beaming' the car driving on the left lane in order to pass is not a couteous move?

I've been driving around from NYC, to PA, MA, MD, and I regularly flash the high-beam twice after getting 'stuck' behind him for a few minutes.

Usually, I would wait about 3-4 minutes, and see if he has a safe area to move over to the right lane. Usually at this time, 99% of cars would signal right and move away. However, if he still doesnt move, then I would high-beam him.

If he still doesnt move after a few high-beams, then I would go on the right lane to pass him.

Is my procedure acceptable to most americans here?
This is how I usually drive when I am in Singapore / Indonesia.

 

In most countries a quick flash of the highbeams is usaully not considered ignorant and accepted but that is because many countries do not have strictly enforced highways or no speed limits at all like the autoban in Germany. I lived in South Korea and nobody really got mad at anybody no matter what they did but just waved like they were sorry. It is different in America and flashing your highbeams pisses most people off. I really don't do it because I find it annoying if someone does it to me and when I am riding with other people they get very mad if it happens to them. Often times people do not just quickly flash their highbeams but leave them on blinding the driver ahead and do it to be ignorant. Many of these people who give people the highbeams are going way too fast and need to slow down. If someone is in the fast lane going slower then traffic it is better to keep a safe distance and pass them in some other lane or just slow down. If someone is in such a hurry all the time that they have to grossly exceed the speed limit and give slower drivers the brights then maybe they need to allow more time to get places. I used to get extremely angry at slower drivers but lately found it is not worth getting in such a bad mood and causing a dangerous altercation and there was really no need for me to be in such a hurry in the first place most times.

In other countries a quick flash of the highbeams is like saying hey can I get by, thanks.
In America giving someone the brights is pretty ignorant and like giving them the finger and saying ***hole get out of my way. So generally no you should not give people the brights in America because it is usaully interpreted differently.