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.
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.