VVT-i

As a 20 years Atlanta resident I always drive on the far right lane because its faster. You will see 5 cars stopping on the left lane at the stop light on the 2 lanes road,but no car on the right lane....
Yes, the driver education is very poor and very annoying.

The center lane is for passing, and/or turning, and/or cruising if you don't want to deal with another idiot, so just use the center lane to avoid all of the problems...

RX_330

I was driving from Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids today and I happened upon about 20 cars hanging in the left lane...with absolutely NO cars in the right lane for about 1-2 miles on up. Needless to say, you can guess which lane I chose to drive in.

mmarshall

So then, if you want to do 20 or 25 (or more) over the limit (which, in some states, legally, is reckless driving), and a person in the left lane doing THE speed limit (or slightly above it), as the left lane was meant for, he or she is required to pull over and allow you to do so?

I understand what you are saying, in principle (and there is some truth to it), but laws like that were developed in Germany, on the Autobahn, or in states like Montana where there are very high speed limits (or no limits). How well something like that would work in the U.S., where, in most places, speed limits on Interstates vary from 55 to 80 MPH, remains to be seen. I still think that once judges see that a law like this may only encourage more speeding, they may toss it out (which judges have the power to do) unless speed limits are increased correspondingly to compensate.

So, I'm not necessarily against the proposed GA law (or something like this in other states), but, if it is passed as is, it may create other problems that also have to be addressed.

montgb

iTrader: (7)

Yes, absolutely. It's defensive driving.

Not doing so often encourages aggressive behavior by the overtaking vehicle (tailgating, flashing hi-beams, etc). Best idea to get out of the way and let the highway patrol do their job.

It is not the slower driver's job to enforce traffic laws or impose their speed on the rest of traffic.

IS-SV

All that stuff doesn't change the fact that good driving technique involves lane disciipline, no matter what country or state a driver is in. Lane discipline improves safety, with slower traffic keeping right. Yes in CA on open freeways it's not uncommon to move at 80-90mph even when posted speedlimit is 70mph, that's the reality of vast open roads in sparsly populated areas.

IS-SV

Exactly the point. So often "Johnny come lately/wannabe a cop when he grow up" thinks he knows what the correct amount to speed is like 5-10 mph over the limit, but it's really more simple than that, just move over when safe to do so.

But you said it better "defensive driving" involves lane discipline amongst the better educated and skilled drivers.

<VENOM>

Having lived here since October of 09, that is exactly what I do, and pretty much how my brother drove when he was here for 5 years, I find using the middle and right lanes to pass weird, but the state troopers do it so it must be acceptable

I always speed on highways, I go way over the limit, but within respect to time of day and amount of traffic, speeding should be allowed, talk to anyone who enjoys driving, or someone from europe, speed does not cause accidents, it's just an easy ticket, here in the Atlanta area, their are many unsafe cars that should be pulled over and ticketed

jadu

iTrader: (42)

I wonder if cali is going to adopt this

mmarshall

That's true, but it is also not the job of the speeder to blame those driving the speed limit (even in the left lane) for the fact that the state HAS speed limits.

Like I said (and I've repeated it several times), the fact remains that if a law like this is going to be passed, speed limits will HAVE to be raised to allow for faster speeds in the left lane. If they are NOT raised, the bill could be declared unconstitutional by the court system.

mmarshall

Agreed....I'm not debating that point. Obviously, if you have a guy that's determined to tailgate, the best thing is to move aside, no matter how fast he is going. What I'm saying is that you can't have both speed limits and a law that allows those speed limits to be routinely exceeded at the same time. One or the other HAS to change....it's that simple, and is a fact.

IS350jet

Exactly, they should be required to move out of the left lane so the speeders can get their tickets. What's wrong with that? It's an unwritten law called "etiquette"

mmarshall

Again, I'm not denying that, and there is some truth to your statement. The problem is that, often, speed limits don't allow the higher speeds in the left lane that the tailgaters want to go.....even if someone is blocking them. So, THAT is what also has to be changed, also, along with the new pull-over law. Otherwise you simply have two conflicting laws for the same stretch of pavement (and lane).....and the judges are likely to toss it out as unworkable.

That's where the issue of radar detectors come in.....which, apparantly, is also being debated in the VA thread.

Here is a good website on the subject, BTW.....it shows that there seem to be different policies in just about every state. Some require you to pull over even if people behind you are speeders, others do not. Some allow left-lane use, at the limit, even if there are speeders stacked up behind you.

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

IS-SV

I don't see us legislating this problem away. Better educated and skilled drivers will have a more positive benefit than new laws that like many are haphazardly enforced. I've observed drivers in Europe with a better understandling of lane discipline. American drivers with lax licensing and low driver skill levels are something else.

LexFather

After just driving to and from N.C and literally passing half a dozen cars over and over in the fast lane I say it should be legal to run them off the road.

There should be no reason someone going faster has to manuever over and over and go from the fast lane 3/4 lanes over to the slow lane to come back over to the fast lane.

It is beyond pathetic.

IS-SV

^^ Agreed, what is wrong with those incompetent road boulders. Where did they learn that the fast lane is the equivalent of a freeway parking lot for half awake drones, coffee-sipping, nose-picking, cell phone chatting, that have no idea what mirrors are for.