I thought this was cleaver!

news article
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_062607_left_lane_drivers.1989cd18.html

http://www.leftlanedrivers.org/

It is clever but it presumes you are always driving in the left lane. If you happen to be in the right lane then it just looks rude. If you happen to be behind a cop you might just be attracting unwanted attention. Might be better if it was one of those signs you can light up when you want it.

You know I didn't think of that while reading it but that is true!!!

I just drive the speed limit or 5 over... It never seems like I'm going fast enough but I don't want nor need a ticket. The only cars I pass are occupied by blue hairs' and semitrucks.

I try to keep 5 over myself but I end up at 65-70. Yes been stopped twice, verbal warnings. I get stopped after buying a new vehicle haha!!

When it comes to left lane drives, I have stayed behind them, letting them know I'm there, and I'm passing. Some (not all) will get over. I've seen people ride the bumpers of vehicles trying to get them to move. On the hwy I travel out here I know that a lot of people get into the left lane cause they have to turn off the highway to a street or a road to get home. I try to be cautious about that. My friends cousin was almost killed when a local officer plowed into her mustang, she was in left lane, getting ready to turn to her grandparents.

I just wonder what the percentage of people that travel in the left lane and stay there, see his sign and move over. I can't remember if the article stated that.

How many people actually read the driving manual? Obviously, not many. One of the stated purposes of the left lane is for "through" traffic. It is not illegal nor rude to stay in the left lane as long as you keep the minimum speed posted or a speed consistent with the flow of traffic. Read that flow under the minimum speed. If everyone else is doing 80, that does not give you carte' blanche to do the same.

This is not a courtesey issue, it is a safety issue, especially for large trucks with DOT. Changing lanes with a tractor and trailer is a dicey proposition no matter how you slice it. So if the need for that in high traffic areas can be reduced, it will save lives. Granted, in rural areas where there are few exits or cross traffic it probably isn't an issue. For example, I-80 in the middle of Nebraska, or I-90 through SD.

Here is another misconception that is related. At on ramps, it is the entrant's responsibility to merge. Traffic is NOT required to move over to let you in. I know this first hand since I was an OTR trucker for many years. Years ago on I-90 just outside of Lacrosse, WI a young woman came barrelling down an on ramp and smashed right into the right side of my trailer. I can still picture her and how angry she was screaming at me that it was my fault because I didn't move over. Eventually a trooper arrived, checked my license, manifest, DOT logbook and inspected the truck for defects that may have contributed to the collision and then with out even saying much wrote her a ticket for "failing to yield" with a fine of $235 and 4 points. That sent her into fits, but I left at that point. 3 months later I had to go to court with the company attorney and found out it wasn't the first time she had done this and the 4 points was more than she had left so she got a 1 year suspension. She also had to pay for the $3,600 of damage to the truck.

LOL @ your story!

Another pet peeve of mine is people that drive in the middle of the turn lane (roads with 2 lanes of traffic + 1 middle lane for left hand turns)

I try to help out OTR's when I as I appreciate what they do but in the city it's just crazy mad with people that only think about themselves.

I give our truck drives a lot of respect. Have a couple in the family. If I see one on a side road wanting to pull onto the highway. I get over into the other lane so he can can get onto the highway. I have see people pass trucks and cut them off. When I pass I will go further and give plenty of room between me and the driver. Yesterday, I was at one of the stop lights here in town. One of our local truck drivers light was Green, he pulled out, he had go three lanes wide. A kid who just graduated went out in front of him. I didn't have a nice word to say about the dumb move on the kids part.

Drive right, except to pass. On the expressway, especially at night, I will not stay in the left lane, unless I can see taillights ahead of me. Too many intoxicated drivers think they are in the correct lane--driving the wrong way in the left hand lane without any lights on.

How many people actually read the driving manual? Obviously, not many. One of the stated purposes of the left lane is for "through" traffic. It is not illegal nor rude to stay in the left lane as long as you keep the minimum speed posted or a speed consistent with the flow of traffic.
I'm curious as to what manual you are reading. Most manuals state that the left lane is for through traffic when marked as such near entrance and exit ramps. You can be ticketed in most, if not all, states for failing to keep right. It isn't called the passing lane for no reason.

I'm curious as to what manual you are reading. Most manuals state that the left lane is for through traffic when marked as such near entrance and exit ramps. You can be ticketed in most, if not all, states for failing to keep right. It isn't called the passing lane for no reason.

That's what I thought!! Left lane is for passing. When you go from a two lane to a four lane here where I live anyways, signs posted saying "slower traffic keep right" It is known for people to get tickets for "impeding traffic" in other words slowing the flow of traffic. I know a lady who got a ticket for this.

Crude and I was at the library today and was going to pickup a new Oregon driver's manual.

It is not illegal nor rude to stay in the left lane as long as you keep the minimum speed posted or a speed consistent with the flow of traffic. Read that flow under the minimum speed.

I read an acccount in a newspaper a few years ago about a driver who was charged with speeding on the 401 (a major Toronto artery) He was exceeding the posted speed limit by 4 km/h, and the flow of traffic was exceeding the limit by more than 20 km/h. He was a totally "by the book" driver who had to speed up in this instance to avoid being cut off by faster traffic as he merged to an exit lane. The ticket so offended his sense of fairness that he decided to make a point. He and a friend drove side by side at exactly the speed limit on a long stretch of four lane, preventing all traffic behind from speeding. A huge traffic snarl ensued, with blaring horns and a barrage of angry cell calls to the cops. Traffic was backed up past the on-ramps and onto the feeder streets. The police were waiting at the next exit and he and his friend were both charged with obstructing the flow of traffic. They fought it in court and were convicted. Moral of the story is, if you drive at the speed limit in the left lane and obstruct speeding traffic, deliberately creating a traffic jam, you can be convicted of an offence, at least in Ontario.

I keep seeing these signs.

Keep Right Except to Pass

Slower Traffic Keep Right

Personally I like the right Lane.

When I lived in Ontario I remember the OPP had a week or two set aside every so often to really enforce the left lane rules.

The problem I see in the greater Milwaukee area and to some extent Chicago is there are a lot of left exits off the interstates that demands you drive in the left lane well in advance of the exit or you'll never make your exit.

I think above all watch your mirror and if you see traffic gaining fast move over and let them get a ticket. The I94 between Milwaukee and Madison has at least 2 patrols in each direction every 10 miles or so and sometimes more. Great fun to watch BMW's ,VW's and such paying their extra taxes.

:blah:

I need one of those stickers! I hate dawdling drivers....I drive to get where Im going ...the speed limit is just a suggestion right...lol ...I usually go 5-15 over the limit....No tickets to date....Im a cautious yet defensive driver....My kids think Im crazy ...Im always yelling at someone for their lack of driving skills

from WI Drivers manual page 20

"On a road with two or more lanes traveling in the same direction, stay in the right lane except to pass.
On a road with three or more lanes traveling in the same direction, stay as far to the right as practical.
As a general rule, never drive on an unpaved shoulder of the road.
Passing. You should never pass on the shoulder. However, a paved shoulder may be used to pass a
stopped vehicle or one that is slowing to make a left turn. On multi-lane roads, the left-most lane is
intended to be used for passing slower vehicles. If you pass on the right, the other driver may have
difficulty seeing you and might suddenly change lanes in front of you."

I think I'll shut Up :blah::blah::blah:

I was on my way home the other day, using the left lane of 4. Traffic was cruisin until we came upon someone who belonged in the second from the left lane. I was being patient since there was someone to the right. A Beemer comes up on my butt, about three car-lengths behind and starts flashing his lights!!! That's what we do in CO when we want to get by. I was pissed, he didn't even slow down yet to see if there was someone else in front of me. So, I jumped two lanes right and passed them all while looking over at him and giving him the "there ya go buddy, have fun" wave of the hand. His wife was watching me, but probably didn't realize her husband is a dick. He got by at some point and later passed me doing 10-20 over a mile or so down the road. Maybe it was JohnShan93 driving?!?! Keep it real out there people, remember, you aren't the only one with wheels and a family.

it seems like everyone on the road seems to look at it from this perspective:

If they are going faster than me they are reckless.
If they are going slower than me they are a jerk.

:) Ha Isn't that a funny job description.

But... that is what I do. Drive an 18 wheeler all week.

I am not going to bash anyone for their driving because there are enough of us out there giving semi's a very bad name.

All I want you guys to do is READ the highway signs that are WHITE! I never read them before starting to drive truck. They tell us to do all sorts of lane useage that cars don't have to read. I bet 9 out of ten of you have never even noticed WHITE signs, I didnt.

We can not go in that far left lane, EVER, EVER, EVER!!!!!! In fact I got a ticket about a month ago, because I went in the left lane to avoid an accident coming down the mountain in Asheville.

So when we are behind you in the middle lane, MOVE! That is our FAST LANE.

Ok, thank you.

OH, one other thing, that white line painted on the road, ALWAYS stop before it, If a truck has to turn left and can't clear your bumper, It is so emabarrassing for both you and me. Thanks

from WI Drivers manual page 20

"On a road with two or more lanes traveling in the same direction, stay in the right lane except to pass.
On a road with three or more lanes traveling in the same direction, stay as far to the right as practical.
As a general rule, never drive on an unpaved shoulder of the road.
Passing. You should never pass on the shoulder. However, a paved shoulder may be used to pass a
stopped vehicle or one that is slowing to make a left turn. On multi-lane roads, the left-most lane is
intended to be used for passing slower vehicles. If you pass on the right, the other driver may have
difficulty seeing you and might suddenly change lanes in front of you."

I think I'll shut Up :blah::blah::blah:


I think this is true in most state driving manuals, but once you pass your drivers test do you even bother to look at the book anymore? Or do you just feel like you know it all?? Even if you passed with less than a perfect score???

Is it just me or does it seem that road rage is on the rise? Maybe its because of the price of gas but it seems almost everyone is in such a hurry to get to where their going that they have to get there as fast as they can and don't dare be the one in their way. Most cars get their best gas mileage in the 45 to 60 mph range. That would be the right hand lane in most cases.

Use common sense. Stay right pass left.

I don't see much road rage hear in WI but Toronto was something else. My fellow Canucks drive for the most part at about 10 ot 15 MPH(not KPH) over limit and I certainly forgot that last Jan when I was there. Scares the #$%! out of you for the first few miles.

If they are going faster than me they are reckless.
If they are going slower than me they are a jerk.
Thanks Bubba, I have finally found my driving mantra. :smiley_thumbs_up: Earl