Why is this passive aggressive “hurr durr found the left lane camper” comment on every literally post about left lane tailgaters?
Have you literally never driven in any Metropolitan area ever? I see it daily… lines 10+ cars deep of traffic maybe a single carlength apart, all doing 85 in the left lane, constantly passing middle lane traffic, as if that’s somehow going to make the 1/2 mile of traffic ahead of them go faster.
The number of aggressive tailgaters I see during my commute easily outweighs the left lane campers by 10:1
If you are in the left lane, and aren’t actively passing someone, you are in the wrong and in most highways, breaking the law. Left lane campers are the reason people have to pass on the right dangerously, and if they did get to the right like they should and drive predictably, then it wouldn’t cause a cluster in the right lane traffic, because it is the expectation.
Not defending tailgaters, just shitting on left lane campers.
I get that, but these comments strongly imply two things that are generally false:
-The main reason that tailgating happens is because someone is camping in the left lane, and
-Tailgating is an appropriate response to someone camping in the left lane.
Nobody, literally nobody, ever defends left lane campers, but for some reason the immediate reaction to calling out tailgaters for their dangerous driving is to strawman the caller-outer as a left lane camper.
That’s fair. I agree, tailgating is inexcusable. Both left lane campers and tailgaters suck, tailgating adds another level of danger, so they are worse for sure.
Unfortunately, I have family members that defend left lane driving. The dog shit argument is that if a deer were to jump in the road, there would be more time to react from the left. The false implication is that deer can’t come from the otherside, which I have a buddy who hit a deer that came from the median, so anecdotally, that’s bs. They both say that they get over when someone is coming, but that is also a shit statement, because I know that it’s not true 100% of the time, and the person coming up doesn’t know if they’re going to move, so they are put in a position of unpredictability.
-the main reason tailgating happens is people driving slow in the left lane. Not the only reason, but the main one.
-tailgating is NOT an appropriate response, but its not about who is in the right, when the one that can fix it for both parties is the one going slower and not passing. They have the power to get back over a lane (which they should be anyway if not passing), and immediately eliminate the issue, and everyone goes on their way. The tailgater can’t do that.
Also, I’m not sure what you experience is, but I see 50x the amount of people driving slow in the left lane than I see people tailgating.
It’s like none of these people have taken road trips before. Depending on traffic density, you can be passing cars continuously for hours on a 4-lane highway (2 each direction).
If there’s room to move to the right without slowing down, then yes, move over and cruise on the right lane. You don’t need to weave in and out of the passing lane every single car you pass. If you can’t stay in the right lane longer than 30 seconds before needing to pass again, it’s really not worth switching unless there’s someone behind you going even faster.
Yeah, I literally said, “10 mph faster than whatever the speed of traffic is in the left lane,” and still got a, “tHe PaSsInG LaNe iS FoR PAsSInG,” reply. Unless you validate the idea that the left lane allows you to drive as fast as you want under any circumstances, someone will accuse you of being a left-lane camper.
You also said people were trying to pass on the right. If there is enough room for them to pass on the right then there is enough room for you to move over and let them pass.
No, I said, “they will attempt to pass you on the right, creating dangerous traffic situations.” I’ve had to slam on my breaks because some idiot decided they were going to pass me on the right even though there were barely two car lengths worth of free space.
Also, I’m describing a hypothetical situation that happens frequently on U.S. highways; I’m not describing a specific situation that happened, and I’m saying what you should always do in every situation. Often times, pulling into the middle lane and letting the asshole pass you is best. If traffic in the middle lane is too dense, changing speeds/lanes to get dangerous close to two other cars or into the blind spot of a tractor trailer is worse than being tailgated for a while. In any case, how you handle the asshole doesn’t change the fact that they are using the left lane inappropriately.
I’m in one of the biggest Metropolitan areas in the US and I see entirely the opposite. 50x the amount of slow left lane drivers, going the same speed as the car to their right, blocking all cars going the appropriate speed, than tailgaters.
I agree the no space in the left lane is crazy though. More often than tailgaters, when I’m activley passing in the left lane, and a car from the right lane cuts me off and continues to go the same speed they were in the other lane, making me have to break on the freeway (which is another thing you should avoid whenever possible, and just let off on the gas. You’re a multi-ton chuck of metal going 60+ mph, you’ll slow down quick by just not accelerating).
there is always someone who thinks the ideal speed limit is 10 mph faster than whatever the speed of traffic is in the left lane.
No, I very specifically called out people who want to drive faster than what the speed traffic is in the passing lane. How you think that implies going slower than the middle lane is beyond me.
Because you mention that you need to make other drivers slow down when changing into the right lane. If you are actively passing, when you finish passing you merge back into the lane to your right when you get to the gap you were aiming for, thus not needing to make anyone slow down. If you’re passing, you should have a plan of when you’re done passing, even when sometimes that gap shifts when cars change, and then you’re looking for a new gap.
Yeah, you should always wait until there’s a safe amount of space to change lanes, but realistically, you’re very rarely going to find a gap that has enough space to merge in with safe follow distance behind and in front of you (assuming 55-60 mph speed limit, that would be 100 feet plus the length of your car). You’ll probably find a gap with a little extra room, maybe 60 or so feet, match speed and merge with about 30 feet in front of you, then drop speed for a little bit until you hit 50 feet. The car behind you will do the same, and so on.
That happens all the time on the highway and it’s not a big deal, but if some asshole is forcing cars to do that every 2 minutes because they’re tailgating the left lane, that’s gonna start slowing down the middle lane. It’s also gonna cause people to start doing stupid shit like following to closely or jumping into the left lane at the earliest opportunity, even if there isn’t enough room to do that safely.
I’m confused by the assumption finding an appropriate gap is rare. You should have one you’re aiming for already, and generally it will be in the front of a line, so you just speed up a bit and merge into that space.
What you are describing is how people use the left lane during light traffic; a temporary labe to overtake one or several vehicles. During heavier traffic, most drivers don’t do that. They use the left lane as a, “fast lane,” rather than entering and exiting the middle lane repeatedly (which, strictly speaking, isn’t how you’re supposed to use that lane, but it’s how the vast majority of drivers use it). That’s usually when some asshole decides the, “fast lane,” isn’t fast enough and starts tailgating, forcing people to merge into the already crowded middle lane and slowing traffic even further.
So you’re making an arbitrary value judgment about which legal violations are acceptable and which aren’t. That’s fine to do, for yourself. But you’re applying them onto others.
It would be one thing to debate someone about when it is and isn’t OK to break the law, but you’re not doing that. You’re just implying that someone else is wrong because they don’t share the exact same illegalist framework as you. And you’re resting your entire point upon that supposition.
I dunno bud, if you’re OK with people speeding to pass, maybe relax about people doing the speed limit in the left lane instead of insisting that it’s your way or the highway. Pun intended.
Lol the jumps in logic you make should be nominated for an award. My original comment was one sentence long and the follow up like three more, how do you know what “framework” I operate in lmao. The implications you make somehow about legality being a measure of contention and the crux of my argument is just wrong on its face.
If you’re going slow in the left lane and blocking others, you’re affecting others negatively direcly for no benefit to yourself. If you could get over a lane, continue going the speed you desired but not be blocking others wanting to go your speed and don’t, you’re just a dick. We can move in ways that allow others to move in theirs without the “I’m first, its my way” mentality. The law has nothing to do with it.
Not to mention I didn’t assume thats what was happening, and asked OP to confirm before I went on with my point. Something I suggest doing before assuming someone’s “framework”.
Just to confirm, does this imply you just drive in the left lane like normal without activley passing?
Why is this passive aggressive “hurr durr found the left lane camper” comment on every literally post about left lane tailgaters?
Have you literally never driven in any Metropolitan area ever? I see it daily… lines 10+ cars deep of traffic maybe a single carlength apart, all doing 85 in the left lane, constantly passing middle lane traffic, as if that’s somehow going to make the 1/2 mile of traffic ahead of them go faster.
The number of aggressive tailgaters I see during my commute easily outweighs the left lane campers by 10:1
If you are in the left lane, and aren’t actively passing someone, you are in the wrong and in most highways, breaking the law. Left lane campers are the reason people have to pass on the right dangerously, and if they did get to the right like they should and drive predictably, then it wouldn’t cause a cluster in the right lane traffic, because it is the expectation.
Not defending tailgaters, just shitting on left lane campers.
I get that, but these comments strongly imply two things that are generally false:
-The main reason that tailgating happens is because someone is camping in the left lane, and
-Tailgating is an appropriate response to someone camping in the left lane.
Nobody, literally nobody, ever defends left lane campers, but for some reason the immediate reaction to calling out tailgaters for their dangerous driving is to strawman the caller-outer as a left lane camper.
That’s fair. I agree, tailgating is inexcusable. Both left lane campers and tailgaters suck, tailgating adds another level of danger, so they are worse for sure.
Unfortunately, I have family members that defend left lane driving. The dog shit argument is that if a deer were to jump in the road, there would be more time to react from the left. The false implication is that deer can’t come from the otherside, which I have a buddy who hit a deer that came from the median, so anecdotally, that’s bs. They both say that they get over when someone is coming, but that is also a shit statement, because I know that it’s not true 100% of the time, and the person coming up doesn’t know if they’re going to move, so they are put in a position of unpredictability.
-the main reason tailgating happens is people driving slow in the left lane. Not the only reason, but the main one.
-tailgating is NOT an appropriate response, but its not about who is in the right, when the one that can fix it for both parties is the one going slower and not passing. They have the power to get back over a lane (which they should be anyway if not passing), and immediately eliminate the issue, and everyone goes on their way. The tailgater can’t do that.
Also, I’m not sure what you experience is, but I see 50x the amount of people driving slow in the left lane than I see people tailgating.
It’s like none of these people have taken road trips before. Depending on traffic density, you can be passing cars continuously for hours on a 4-lane highway (2 each direction). If there’s room to move to the right without slowing down, then yes, move over and cruise on the right lane. You don’t need to weave in and out of the passing lane every single car you pass. If you can’t stay in the right lane longer than 30 seconds before needing to pass again, it’s really not worth switching unless there’s someone behind you going even faster.
Yeah, I literally said, “10 mph faster than whatever the speed of traffic is in the left lane,” and still got a, “tHe PaSsInG LaNe iS FoR PAsSInG,” reply. Unless you validate the idea that the left lane allows you to drive as fast as you want under any circumstances, someone will accuse you of being a left-lane camper.
You also said people were trying to pass on the right. If there is enough room for them to pass on the right then there is enough room for you to move over and let them pass.
No, I said, “they will attempt to pass you on the right, creating dangerous traffic situations.” I’ve had to slam on my breaks because some idiot decided they were going to pass me on the right even though there were barely two car lengths worth of free space.
Also, I’m describing a hypothetical situation that happens frequently on U.S. highways; I’m not describing a specific situation that happened, and I’m saying what you should always do in every situation. Often times, pulling into the middle lane and letting the asshole pass you is best. If traffic in the middle lane is too dense, changing speeds/lanes to get dangerous close to two other cars or into the blind spot of a tractor trailer is worse than being tailgated for a while. In any case, how you handle the asshole doesn’t change the fact that they are using the left lane inappropriately.
found the left lane camper
I asked for that >.<
you set it up so well it seemed rude not to knock it down 😘
I’m in one of the biggest Metropolitan areas in the US and I see entirely the opposite. 50x the amount of slow left lane drivers, going the same speed as the car to their right, blocking all cars going the appropriate speed, than tailgaters.
I agree the no space in the left lane is crazy though. More often than tailgaters, when I’m activley passing in the left lane, and a car from the right lane cuts me off and continues to go the same speed they were in the other lane, making me have to break on the freeway (which is another thing you should avoid whenever possible, and just let off on the gas. You’re a multi-ton chuck of metal going 60+ mph, you’ll slow down quick by just not accelerating).
No, I very specifically called out people who want to drive faster than what the speed traffic is in the passing lane. How you think that implies going slower than the middle lane is beyond me.
Because you mention that you need to make other drivers slow down when changing into the right lane. If you are actively passing, when you finish passing you merge back into the lane to your right when you get to the gap you were aiming for, thus not needing to make anyone slow down. If you’re passing, you should have a plan of when you’re done passing, even when sometimes that gap shifts when cars change, and then you’re looking for a new gap.
Yeah, you should always wait until there’s a safe amount of space to change lanes, but realistically, you’re very rarely going to find a gap that has enough space to merge in with safe follow distance behind and in front of you (assuming 55-60 mph speed limit, that would be 100 feet plus the length of your car). You’ll probably find a gap with a little extra room, maybe 60 or so feet, match speed and merge with about 30 feet in front of you, then drop speed for a little bit until you hit 50 feet. The car behind you will do the same, and so on.
That happens all the time on the highway and it’s not a big deal, but if some asshole is forcing cars to do that every 2 minutes because they’re tailgating the left lane, that’s gonna start slowing down the middle lane. It’s also gonna cause people to start doing stupid shit like following to closely or jumping into the left lane at the earliest opportunity, even if there isn’t enough room to do that safely.
I’m confused by the assumption finding an appropriate gap is rare. You should have one you’re aiming for already, and generally it will be in the front of a line, so you just speed up a bit and merge into that space.
What you are describing is how people use the left lane during light traffic; a temporary labe to overtake one or several vehicles. During heavier traffic, most drivers don’t do that. They use the left lane as a, “fast lane,” rather than entering and exiting the middle lane repeatedly (which, strictly speaking, isn’t how you’re supposed to use that lane, but it’s how the vast majority of drivers use it). That’s usually when some asshole decides the, “fast lane,” isn’t fast enough and starts tailgating, forcing people to merge into the already crowded middle lane and slowing traffic even further.
Are you implying that you break the speed limit just to pass people?
Are you a cop?
I’m literally parodying the policing tone of the user I was replying to.
Absolutely. If you’re scared to do so when appropriate, you shouldn’t be on the road.
Why we need actual public transit so we don’t have to be concerned about this.
So you’re making an arbitrary value judgment about which legal violations are acceptable and which aren’t. That’s fine to do, for yourself. But you’re applying them onto others.
It would be one thing to debate someone about when it is and isn’t OK to break the law, but you’re not doing that. You’re just implying that someone else is wrong because they don’t share the exact same illegalist framework as you. And you’re resting your entire point upon that supposition.
I dunno bud, if you’re OK with people speeding to pass, maybe relax about people doing the speed limit in the left lane instead of insisting that it’s your way or the highway. Pun intended.
Lol the jumps in logic you make should be nominated for an award. My original comment was one sentence long and the follow up like three more, how do you know what “framework” I operate in lmao. The implications you make somehow about legality being a measure of contention and the crux of my argument is just wrong on its face.
If you’re going slow in the left lane and blocking others, you’re affecting others negatively direcly for no benefit to yourself. If you could get over a lane, continue going the speed you desired but not be blocking others wanting to go your speed and don’t, you’re just a dick. We can move in ways that allow others to move in theirs without the “I’m first, its my way” mentality. The law has nothing to do with it.
Not to mention I didn’t assume thats what was happening, and asked OP to confirm before I went on with my point. Something I suggest doing before assuming someone’s “framework”.
Bruh, chill.
Lol, ok kiddo.