Where I live, driving habits are irrelevant. It doesn't matter how fast or aggressive you drive, nobody wants to be behind a put-put car. I'm sorry to say, a 2008 Toyota Corolla is a put-put car. I remember driving an old Honda Civic and no matter how fast I drove (almost without limit) everybody wanted to get around me. It's the car, not how you drive.

 

If that is the case....let THEM speed and get the fines and insurance-points. You, in turn, if you drive sensibly, have little to worry about.

 

I completely disagree. The speed at which I drive rarely has anything to do with being on time for something.

It's all about etiquette. If someone wants to drive slowly, I have no problem with that. But that needs to be done in a way that does not impede the driving of the rest of us (me). Stay to the right unless passing. It's the law, and common courtesy.

 

Well....yes. Drive fast enough, and get caught and pulled over, and you probably WILL be late for your destination.

Actually, that's a common misconception. Legally, and technically, people are not supposed to be speeding, and the left lane, legally, is for those who are driving at the limit, while the center and right lanes are for slower traffic. Of course, in many places, practically-speaking, so much of the public drives over posted limits that the police usually don't even ticket for anything less than 10 MPH or so over. Most speed-cameras are set to 11 MPH over the limit to account for things like speedometer-error and slight downgrades which can add to speed.

 

Arizona law:
If the normal flow of traffic is impeded by someone in the left lane, that is in violation of the law. The way the law is written, it leaves room for interpretation. If the flow of traffic is 75 in a 65, a person could be cited for going 65 in the left lane.

And I've been pulled over for driving in the left lane when not passing. Driving late at night, no one on the road, cruising in the left lane at about the speed limit. Cop was just bored I think, but gave me a warning to stay right.

There are signs on the highways that say "Keep right except to pass, its the law".

 

Every time I'm driving a SUV, other cars just move out of my way. No one seems dare to cut me off. I think they are afraid of the size of the SUV.

 

I believe the law is similar in California. If I recall correctly, it is illegal to overtake and pass another vehicle on the right.

 

I agree......but the laws also say that speed limits are speed limits, even in the left lane. However, because of the vast numbers of cars exceeding the limit, and the inability of police to adequately enforce it (that's one reason why we have speed-cameras), in actuality, things are treated more along the lines of the way you describe it.

Police themselves are divided on the issue. Some will ticket the guy going the limit in the left lane if he or she holds people up behind them. Others will ticket the actual speeders instead....especially if they tailgate and harass the car in front of them.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. It's a PASSING lane, not a cruising lane, and not the fast lane.

 

Too many people have a license and don't know how to drive. Too many people are being given a pass when they should have failed the license test. I should know because I've witnessed people hit curbs and cones and come out of the DMV with a brand new license in their hands.

What we, as a society, have come to forget is that driving is a privilege. Not a right.

Moving and parking violations need to be enforced more. There are areas in the Bronx where people double, triple park or park in areas clearly marked "No Parking" without a cop stopping to hand out fines or make these people move. Penalties need to be harsher. Right now, the ticketing system is used to generate a nice cash flow for the municipalities. The fines aren't so harsh as to deter you from committing infractions or making you broke.

I'm sick of terrible drivers. /rant

 

Amen.

I'm with you, we really need to make obtaining a license a bit more difficult. And some sort of mandatory refresher course/testing every few years.

My other pet peeve is this - when turning onto a multi-lane road, you must turn into the closest lane. When turning left, you turn into the leftmost lane. When turning right, you stay in the rightmost lane. This allows cars traveling towards each other to make the turn at the same time.

Very few people seem to understand this. People making left turns usually wait for the oncoming traffic to turn right, and people turning right often swing wide into the leftmost lane.

 

Agreed, although, driving is the easy part. What we need is an education on driving courtesy and etiquette. Without this mandatory course you cannot get your license.

 

Depends on what you mean by "slowly". What you might consider "slow" may be what the law says you are supposed to be driving (i.e. at or near posted speed limits). One does not have a legal right (or even a priviledge) to drive as fast as they want, in any lane, and then call others out in front of them just because they happen to be in their way. The law doesn't see it that way.

 

My wife tells me she is tailgated and cut-off less in her Cayenne than she was in her IS and her driving habits are not really different in either car.

 

Varies by state, but the law does say to keep right except for passing. So, regardless of speed, you aren't supposed to sit in the left lane even if you are driving at the speed limit.

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