Slow drivers, get out of our way
11-01-11, 11:22 AM
#1
Slow drivers, get out of our way
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/opinio...ane/index.html
Slow drivers, get out of our way
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- There is a place for people who enjoy soaking in the beautiful colors of fall and all the other amazing scenes of nature as they drive down the open highway.
It's called the right lane.
If you're sightseeing or rubbernecking in the left, get your butt over.
Why is that rule so freakin' hard to follow?
As drivers, we do a lot of things that irritate each other.
We signal but never turn.
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson
We turn but don't signal.
We forget who is supposed to go next at a four-way stop sign.
But nothing comes close to the level of irritation that comes from being stuck behind someone doing 55 in a 65 in the far left lane. Drive the speed you want, but why infringe on the rights of those in a hurry? To me, that's giving the rest of us on the road the finger in the most passive aggressive -- "Who me?"-- way possible. In fact, I would much rather have someone pull up beside me, roll down their window and flip me the bird as they go driving by than be trapped behind this vehicular anarchist.
And you know they see you.
They see all of us -- bobbing and weaving in their rearview mirror, trying to find a gap between the lanes big enough so we may be able to slip through and go on with our lives. But nooooooooo -- these offenders don't feel obligated to go any faster and they refuse to move over to the right because in their sanctimonious minds, they're going fast enough for all of us.
That's why they go through great lengths to ignore the high beams glaring in their eyes. And they don't look over at you when you do eventually pass because they can't stop being prickly, not even for the three seconds it takes for us to look at them with our signature, highway glare that says:
I.
Won.
The thing is there are about 312 million people in the United States and roughly 250 million registered vehicles. There will always be somebody somewhere driving faster ... it's easier for everyone to just let them.
Besides, think of all the harm caused by slowpokes?
For example, how are cops going to hand out speeding tickets if no one can speed?
And what about all the coffee shops that are losing money from the customers who don't have time to pull into the drive-thru before work because they've been trapped behind "Speedy" for five miles.
Essentially, slow drivers in the left lane are like job killers, and if elected president I would seek a constitutional amendment making lane hoarding illegal.
And not just on the highway, but in every facet of life.
The folks who like to walk side-by-side chatting on the track at the gym. You know who you are -- move it.
The people who stand on an escalator in such a way as to take up the entire step should be assessed a property tax, especially in airports where they know everybody around them is trying to get somewhere else.
Really, is it so hard to stand to the right so those people who need to run up the stairs to make their flight, likely because they were trapped behind a slow driver in the left lane on the way to the airport, have a better chance of doing so?
If you're visiting a new city, don't stand in the middle of a busy sidewalk to look up or read a map. Step off to the side so those who live there can get to where they are going. This is especially true for the too cute newlyweds who like take up 75% of the sidewalk holding hands and staring into each other's eyes.
You don't have to get a room, but you do need to get the hell out of the way.
This week we celebrated the 7 billionth person being born, and the first thing I thought about was who is going to teach that person how to drive?
How to share the global common space that is slowly becoming more crowded, requiring us to be more aware of the needs of the people all around us? Because at the end of the day, that's what the left lane is really all about. It's not about how fast someone is going. It's about having an agreed upon space where we let each other pass on by.
A space we agree upon to let each other be.
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- There is a place for people who enjoy soaking in the beautiful colors of fall and all the other amazing scenes of nature as they drive down the open highway.
It's called the right lane.
If you're sightseeing or rubbernecking in the left, get your butt over.
Why is that rule so freakin' hard to follow?
As drivers, we do a lot of things that irritate each other.
We signal but never turn.
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson
We turn but don't signal.
We forget who is supposed to go next at a four-way stop sign.
But nothing comes close to the level of irritation that comes from being stuck behind someone doing 55 in a 65 in the far left lane. Drive the speed you want, but why infringe on the rights of those in a hurry? To me, that's giving the rest of us on the road the finger in the most passive aggressive -- "Who me?"-- way possible. In fact, I would much rather have someone pull up beside me, roll down their window and flip me the bird as they go driving by than be trapped behind this vehicular anarchist.
And you know they see you.
They see all of us -- bobbing and weaving in their rearview mirror, trying to find a gap between the lanes big enough so we may be able to slip through and go on with our lives. But nooooooooo -- these offenders don't feel obligated to go any faster and they refuse to move over to the right because in their sanctimonious minds, they're going fast enough for all of us.
That's why they go through great lengths to ignore the high beams glaring in their eyes. And they don't look over at you when you do eventually pass because they can't stop being prickly, not even for the three seconds it takes for us to look at them with our signature, highway glare that says:
I.
Won.
The thing is there are about 312 million people in the United States and roughly 250 million registered vehicles. There will always be somebody somewhere driving faster ... it's easier for everyone to just let them.
Besides, think of all the harm caused by slowpokes?
For example, how are cops going to hand out speeding tickets if no one can speed?
And what about all the coffee shops that are losing money from the customers who don't have time to pull into the drive-thru before work because they've been trapped behind "Speedy" for five miles.
Essentially, slow drivers in the left lane are like job killers, and if elected president I would seek a constitutional amendment making lane hoarding illegal.
And not just on the highway, but in every facet of life.
The folks who like to walk side-by-side chatting on the track at the gym. You know who you are -- move it.
The people who stand on an escalator in such a way as to take up the entire step should be assessed a property tax, especially in airports where they know everybody around them is trying to get somewhere else.
Really, is it so hard to stand to the right so those people who need to run up the stairs to make their flight, likely because they were trapped behind a slow driver in the left lane on the way to the airport, have a better chance of doing so?
If you're visiting a new city, don't stand in the middle of a busy sidewalk to look up or read a map. Step off to the side so those who live there can get to where they are going. This is especially true for the too cute newlyweds who like take up 75% of the sidewalk holding hands and staring into each other's eyes.
You don't have to get a room, but you do need to get the hell out of the way.
This week we celebrated the 7 billionth person being born, and the first thing I thought about was who is going to teach that person how to drive?
How to share the global common space that is slowly becoming more crowded, requiring us to be more aware of the needs of the people all around us? Because at the end of the day, that's what the left lane is really all about. It's not about how fast someone is going. It's about having an agreed upon space where we let each other pass on by.
A space we agree upon to let each other be.
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11-01-11, 06:12 PM
#9
I don't think I've ever seen anyone drive 55 in a 65 in the left lane on a highway.
Usually, I'll see a car drive 75-80 in a 65 in the left lane while frustrated people behind occasionally pass at 85-90+ MPH.
This brings up a point worth discussing. Just how fast is "fast enough" for the passing lane? Is it an absolute figure based on the legal speed limit?
I'm actually not quite sure. I used to drive rather fast in the passing lane some years ago and so this never was an issue. I comfortably exceeded the acceptable passing lane speed limit threshold as I sped by at 85-95 MPH.
A couple of speeding tickets later, I now drive exactly the speed limit in the slow lane at all times.
Usually, I'll see a car drive 75-80 in a 65 in the left lane while frustrated people behind occasionally pass at 85-90+ MPH.
This brings up a point worth discussing. Just how fast is "fast enough" for the passing lane? Is it an absolute figure based on the legal speed limit?
I'm actually not quite sure. I used to drive rather fast in the passing lane some years ago and so this never was an issue. I comfortably exceeded the acceptable passing lane speed limit threshold as I sped by at 85-95 MPH.
A couple of speeding tickets later, I now drive exactly the speed limit in the slow lane at all times.
11-01-11, 07:48 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Be glad you weren't in my state (VA), where that is a serious-offense. Anything 80 or above, or 20 MPH over the posted-limit, is considered reckless driving (in addition to the speed itself). And the use of radar-detectors is strictly outlawed, and detectors can be impounded (VA State-Troopers have devices in their cruisers that can tell them when detectors are in operation).
I now drive exactly the speed limit in the slow lane at all times.
11-01-11, 07:55 PM
#11
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I don't think I've ever seen anyone drive 55 in a 65 in the left lane on a highway.
Usually, I'll see a car drive 75-80 in a 65 in the left lane while frustrated people behind occasionally pass at 85-90+ MPH.
This brings up a point worth discussing. Just how fast is "fast enough" for the passing lane? Is it an absolute figure based on the legal speed limit?
I'm actually not quite sure. I used to drive rather fast in the passing lane some years ago and so this never was an issue. I comfortably exceeded the acceptable passing lane speed limit threshold as I sped by at 85-95 MPH.
A couple of speeding tickets later, I now drive exactly the speed limit in the slow lane at all times.
Usually, I'll see a car drive 75-80 in a 65 in the left lane while frustrated people behind occasionally pass at 85-90+ MPH.
This brings up a point worth discussing. Just how fast is "fast enough" for the passing lane? Is it an absolute figure based on the legal speed limit?
I'm actually not quite sure. I used to drive rather fast in the passing lane some years ago and so this never was an issue. I comfortably exceeded the acceptable passing lane speed limit threshold as I sped by at 85-95 MPH.
A couple of speeding tickets later, I now drive exactly the speed limit in the slow lane at all times.
11-01-11, 08:21 PM
#12
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Mar 2011
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Technically, the right-lane is for those going slower than the limit, like, for example, big-rig trucks climbing hills, just as the left lane (legally) is for those going the limit. Of course, that is the ideal situation, but you and I both know that unless traffic is congested, average speeds in the left lane are usually faster than the posted-limits. It's not legal, but it is what many (if not most) left-lane drivers do anyway.
11-01-11, 08:40 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Right lane is for traffic going slower than the limit?!? Where did you come up with that? That's completely false. "Keep Right Except to Pass". That's posted everywhere on the highways, about as often as the speed limit. That's what the right lane is for - not passing. It's completely legal to exceed the speed limit in many situations, including passing that big-rig in the right hand lane that's doing the speed limit. Does anyone think its safe to drive next to a big-rig for any amount of time? The only way to get past them is to exceed their speed and considering they're paid by the mile, chances are 99% certain they are at or slightly above the speed limit. It's just as illegal to be holding up traffic in the left hand lane as it is to exceed the speed limit (both are moving violations, nothing more.)
Another difference betwen Europe and the U.S. is that, while speed-limits are generally higher in Europe (and some sections of the Autobahns have no official limits), when you DO have speed limits, they are MUCH more vigorously-enforced than in the U.S. In Europe, they don't kid around with traffic-laws. So, over there, in the left-lane, you generally don't get the mixture of people going over and way under the limit that you sometimes see here (and what Henry was talking about). The left lanes move more consistantly, at a more constant speed.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-01-11 at 08:55 PM.
11-01-11, 08:49 PM
#14
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You don't have to get a room, but you do need to get the hell out of the way
Funny, I put this as my status today on Facebook.
It is annoying driving on 285 everyday and the people who are constantly just sitting in the passing lane holding up traffic. It is funny how these people don't realize, they are the reason that traffic jams up when it isn't rush hour because people aren't using the lanes like they are suppose too.
Drives me crazy. Today, one person was cruising in the passing lane on her phone and the other idiot behind her was jamming to some song and just rolling along not giving a damn about anyone else. It is so annoying. I have no problem with folks who want to do the speed limit but check your damn rearview mirror and get the hell out of the way.
11-01-11, 09:01 PM
#15
Lexus Test Driver
I generally drive 5-10 over in the hammer lane. It really grinds my gears when I'm passing a long line of cars, and some ***** is doing 55 in the left lane. What the hell are you doing? They can't get a hint for nothing. Even worse is when you're rolling along, passing a line of cars, and somebody pulls out in front of you, doing 55, forcing you to slow down. Usually they don't speed up either, except maybe to go 60.
When I do get an opportunity to pass these people, I generally do so at 5000 rpm, accompanied by sign language.
When I do get an opportunity to pass these people, I generally do so at 5000 rpm, accompanied by sign language.