Take it easy there sparky. I don't "putz" in the left lane. If you read what I wrote earlier I usually do 10 over and I'm PASSING people.

 

If you read what I wrote, I never said YOU were putzing....

 

Passing on the right is dangerous regardless of the number of lanes. Visibility is limited and speed differential is increased (as most people drive properly - keep right except to pass). Lane changes also significantly contribute to congestion - which also contributes to wrecks.

 

There's no danger in overtaking a sub-speed limit vehicle by using a lane to the right when driving on a 6 lane (each direction) freeway. Tens of thousands of drivers safely do this on the Phoenix freeways every day of the week.

 

There very much so is danger in passing on the right on a 6 lane freeway. Tens of thousands of drivers do all kinds of stupid stuff on a daily basis without crashing (e.g. texting while driving) - doesn't make it safe.

You can't see around other cars as well to the right, you can't see behind you as well to the right, traffic to the right is generally slower, more merging tends to happen to the right, and lane changes are a significant cause of congestion on freeways such as those you're mentioning (with congestion being a significant cause of accidents). It all adds up to more danger. To put it to the most extreme situation, try getting stuck behind a wrecked/broke down car in the far left lane and merge into traffic to the right. Get stuck behind a wreck/broke down car in the far right lane and try to merge to the left. One is most definitely easier than the other.

Your specific risk tolerance will determine how you handle the situation. I accept the risk and pass anyway. But, again for emphasis, I accept and acknowledge the risk.

 

Perhaps, but the guy has a point. Too many people get in the left land and drag. My wife did the same thing yesterday. I was riding with her and she got in the left lane going 60 in a 70 zone and had traffic backing up behind us trying to get around here. Already accused of back seat driving I had to keep my mouth shut.

 

Absolutely my biggest pet peeve! My 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan has the most awesome aerodynamics concerning the flow of wind shield solvent around my van then funneling into a jet like stream into the windshield of the bumper humpers behind me - this is especially effective to freshly detailed bmws - if they don’t back off I dump the whole gallon on them - I’m buying stock in windshield solvent! And no I’m not a left lane creeper - if a semi is doing 60 in the right lane and another semi is doing 62 to pass it and I’m a safe distance behind said passing semi waiting for him to get over so I can pass and your bmw comes 80mph right up on my 62 mph *** - expect washer solvent streaks in your detailed pos

 

You poor man, you're a lot stronger than me.

 

I like driving my Ford truck on the highway because I keep it at a max of 65 mph. It doesn't do much more than that. I always stay in the right lane except for brief passing of some idiot that is slower than I am.

 

 

Very true. There's a lot of BMW ash holes in NYC.

 

 

I chuckle

 

One of the biggest issues we have with drivers in Texas is the onslaught of foreign drivers. Whether legal, or not. Most people drive their entire lives, the way they learned in their native countries. Asians, folks from India, third world countries etc seem to drive bat**** crazy.

Then we add to mix the people escaping from California and New York that never saw a turn signal that they liked. Not to mention cut-offs and the drivers that think they can cross three lanes of east bound traffic left turn to the west in less time than it takes me to "T" Bone them at 50 MPH. My shop is two and half red lights from my home and it is amazing how many near hits I see or am involved in, daily. I can't tell you how many times someone will pull smooth out in front of me...and there is no one behind me for a quarter mile.

 

just yesterday New Years 2020 drive I was rolling down the road 45 mph in the right lane minding my own business and a BMW driver "M" class tried to race me. I just let him go by. 1 mile farther down the road a Mercedes Benz AMG pulled up and dogged me to race. What the hell is with the old men trying to drag a 1968 Olds 442 with a 455 bored .60 over?

 

In my retired career, I used to fill in as a crossing guard. The local police warned me about "DWA" drivers - Driving while Asian.

 

Around here we don't have that as much as the regular "DWI" drivers - Driving While Idiots.

 

I like that!

 

 

..they TOO wish to relive the glory of their yoot...and sadly only have these to offer a race to you.
But hey, what do I know?

 

I did my first undergrad at Rose, back when St. Mary's was still off limits....

 

St. Mary's is still kind of that way. I was at Rose 04-06 and I was doing some community theater tech work. Needed to get something being loaned by the St. Mary's theater, so, being a nice day, I went over to grandma's and grabbed my Monte Carlo, and drove over. From the moment I got onto campus, me and my ride were tailed by at least one security guard until I did my business and left. Something about the longest hood Chevrolet ever made must've inspired them to think I was there to impress the student body with something else that was long.

 

Most third world country’s don’t have the rules of the road we have in the USA. They go from riding Camels or Donkeys to driving cars!

 

Ha, ha! I think it is the ''donkeys'' that are driving.

 

Best revenge I ever had on a Beemer owner was at a gas station in Phoenix. I was waiting in line for a pump and this guy was taking his time after filling up to detail his 320i, cleaning the windows, wiping the door handles, emptying the trash, wiping his tires... All the while looking at me out the side of his eyes and judging my Pontiac Grand Am as unworthy. I just sat there waiting, no need to have a confrontation. Well, as it happened when he finally pulled away, he had not put the pump nozzle away properly and the pump had not shut off so he bought my tank of fuel for his troubles. Nice guy.

As far as road etiquette goes, they don't teach it anymore. When I asked my boy CJ what the first rule of the road was, he didn't know! I had to teach him about Courtesy being the first rule of the road. Even if you do a google search it does not come up. When he was going through driver's training I was continuously giving him scenarios of driving and how to "don't be THAT GUY!" Check your mirrors every 8 seconds and get out of the way of anyone coming up behind you if there is room. Drive like the cops are watching you, and DON'T BE THAT GUY! You have to trust others to be able to drive well enough not to cause accidents, they expect the same of you.

 

From an early age, my father (NYS Trooper) instilled in me to stay the heck out of the left lane unless I was actively passing someone. As soon as I could see their bumper in my mirror, get back over.

As a D.B. BMW owner, I will utilize all 3 lanes to continue on my merry way if I must. My commute is 200 miles each way and I have to waste enough time in the car, I don't want to spend any more than I need. Drives me up a wall (ha!) to see 3 lanes backed because 3 cars are pacing each other, even if the speed limit is exceeded. It's far more dangerous to change lines in such traffic than between nicely spaced vehicles. The flow of traffic supercedes the individual's comfort at speed. One of the worst is the person clipping along nicely, then gets set to pass an 18 wheeler, then slows down and won't (especially in the rain!). They're afraid to pass the truck, but then slow down and get stuck in the WORST possible spot, right where the truck is kicking up mist. Move past and you'll have plenty of visibility! Some states will ticket the left lane drivers who are in the left lane if there is no one to their right, regardless of speed, and I read a few years ago the some locations have even made it illegal to do any speed less than the limit while in the left lane.

Throw in the "idiots" who think they're helping people by "being nice" and not being "that guy" who stays in their line until the last possible moment before merging over (as in a lane closure on a multilane highway), when in actuality, traffic flow studies repeatedly show that the "zipper" merge at the point of the bottleneck offers the least reduction in traffic flow. Traffic is getting worse all the time, anything we can do to increase the flow is beneficial. I look at it like everyone has their own comfort level, but no one should ever get be in the way of someone else, whether they be going to work, jail, or the morgue.

Happy motoring!

 

One of my Top 5 driving pet peeves. Slow down to pass a semi. Pretty dangerous...at any speed. The Trucker needs you to get past him just as bad as you feel like you need to. Amateurs' are easily spotted and are a menace to the driving society.

Like you, I use to drive 50,000 miles / year just to get to work. Though my work was in 13+ states. I know this is difficult for the young'uns to wrap their brains around but, that was back in the day when road warriors would typically stop at truck stops just to use the telephone. Even today, I drive more than the average big city commuter...and my shop is only 2.5 red lights from the house. Getting my 1st cell phone in 1986 was a technical marvel, even tough it had its regional limitations and was quite expensive.

IMPO (5) things make driving more hazardous today compared with 50 years ago: 1.) More people on the road. Vehicles per highway mile being just one consideration. 2.) More distractions (Ironically cell phones being the biggest culprit), 3.) Immigration. Legal, or otherwise. People fall back to the driving conditions where they "learned" to drive. Almost without fail. That is not a good thing. 4.) Lack of comprehensive driver's training. Especially with regard to leaving it up to the parents / guardians who more than likely could use a measure of remedial training of their own. 5.) Road infrastructure throughout the US is horrible. Even newer roads don't hold up as well as the older roads. Newer roads die an untimely death because of newer and supposedly greater paving technology. Which more times than not, has to do with material placement as opposed to quality of the material.

Being an old guy, I get the "Zipper" theory. But, my own brain muscle-memory finds it hard to except while I say unkindly things about those that exercise that theory.

And what ever happen to turn signals? Are they options and people just aren't buying them? My classics have them. My 2018 GMC has them and The Queen's Lexus has them. What is so damned hard about telling other people what you are about to do. Epecially if you share the same purpose that The Queen has. And I quote..."I am telling them what I am about to do. I ain't asking for permission"

Well, and there is still the perverse # of BMW drivers on the road....LOL!!!!

 

My anecdotal experience has Southern drivers (especially Florida) being the most frequent offenders. One of the few pieces of modern tech that I actually enjoy is the automatic "3 signal flash" that many new cars have. It annoys me on some vehicles when there isn't sufficient resistance on the lever so that when signaling, the lever goes past the detent and stays there. Bring on the driver whose signal has been on for 3 miles, known as the "Eventual left."

Are we airing all grievances? People with their high beams always on (especially in the day)! People who think their low-power DRLs are sufficient or are so blinded by their digital gauges that they never notice they don't have lights on and don't turn on their headlights at dawn or dusk, when their gray/dark colored vehicle is almost invisible! Cell phones in the car! Semis who try to pass and fail and roadblock for miles, or semis/trucks/buses/trailers in the left lane anywhere!

 

I see more and more people driving without headlights on during dusk and dawn not to mention total darkness and rain. I pulled up to a stop light next to a person that didn’t have his lights on and reminded him that it was time to put some headlights on, his response in broken English was that he could see alright! I just shook my head.

 

I have noticed the lack of headlights, too. I think it's because newer cars have the digital dash that "lights up" when the key is turned on, whether or not the headlights are on. Our old cars with analog instrumentation have a dark dash until we turn the headlights on, so it's blatantly obvious when we don't have the headlights on at night.

 

Harder to understand with even the cheapest cars having automatic headlights. And have for quite some time. But, I see newish cars without their headlights on all the time. This one of the reasons I have a dash cam in my truck. POI - Proof of Idiocy.

 

This is absolutely true. I also dislike auto-high lights that are more prevalent now.

 

Yes I saw that too. On a job in Karachi, I was ferried about by the General Manager of the local plant. He told me Americans had insufficient driving skill to drive on Karachi roads with their mix of donkey carts, camels, buses with people hanging on the outside, decorated lorries, pedal taxis, and motor scooters. The traffic on Drigh Road would surge from six lanes to one lane while the traffic on the other side did the opposite. Right-of-way was determined by size.

If I really wanted to drive, he said my first lesson would be to expect anything. Expect a man to fall out of the sky in front of my car.

But he was an educated fellow and grew up with cars. Many there had no concept of safe driving.