Slow drivers move over- Hooray Indiana

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by Beer

We have the same law here in GA. It's pretty much useless and unenforceable. If your think a cop is going to pop up out of no where and ticket the dinkus holding up the left lane, good luck.

You are right...it's soooo much easier to sit just beyond a crest or a curve in the road runnin' a radar or laser unit. I repeatedly see people (ofter 2 or 3) try to squeak through a yellow
light---too late---running the red...with a marked patrol car sittin' right there. I've never once seen them stopped. In my book, that's a lot more dangerous than me doing 10-15 over
in the Box---at judiciously chosen times and places.

[Perfectlap]

In Germany the police travel in the fast lane and use this LED arrow type thing to tell the slow pokes to move out of the way.

That being said, way too many drivers travel TOO fast in the left lane around here. If someone makes a blinders switch into the passing lane and the oncoming SUV is doing 80+ mph (in a 55) that SUV is going to lay into the brakes, or weave into the middle lane. I think people forget the difference between a passing lane and a go as fast you want lane. There's no autobahn here and there's a speed limit for a reason -- the cops generally will only spot you 10 mph over it. 20+ mph over the limit and you are well on your way to creating a dangerous condition. Sure some drivers are experienced but my anecdotal experience is that the more experience a driver is in the area of crash avoidance skills, the less likely they are to be driving that fast in the first place. An experienced driver gives himself a buffer in all directions. Speeding in the passing lane means you only have one escape, moving to the right and that's if there's a gap when you need it.

Personally I think the guy doing 30+ mph over the limit in the fast lane is more dangerous than the slow poke creating all the weaving. At least the weaving is happening at expected speeds.

[Timco]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

In Germany the police travel in the fast lane and use this LED arrow type thing to tell the slow pokes to move out of the way.

That being said, way too many travel TOO fast in the left lane around here. If someone switches into the passing lane and the oncoming SUV is doing 80+ mph (in a 55) that SUV is going to lay into the brakes, or weave into the middle lane. I think people forget the difference between a passing lane and a go as fast you want lane. There's a speed limit for a reason and the cops generally will only spot you 10 mph over it. 20+ mph over the limit and you are creating a dangerous condition. Sure some drivers are experienced but my anecdotal experience is that the more experience a driver in the area of crash avoidance skills, the less likely they are to be driving that fast in the first place. An experienced driver gives himself a buffer in all directions. Speeding in the passing lane means you only have one escape, moving to the right and that's if there's a gap when you need it.

Don't worry about me or my tickets, just stay the hell over to the right if you aren't passing someone.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Timco

Don't worry about me or my tickets, just stay the hell over to the right if you aren't passing someone.

Believe me nobody cares if the speeder gets a ticket. And I agree if you aren't passing a car you shouldn't be in the left lane period. But that doesn't mean speeding in the left lane doesn't create its own dangerous condition. It's best if people learn to stay out of the left lane and to drive responsibly once in it for the safety of everyone. The highway is a giant chain reaction.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Personally I think the guy doing 30+ mph over the limit in the fast lane is more dangerous than the slow poke creating all the weaving. At least the weaving is happening at expected speeds.

Yeah, I can't argue with this. That escape route, or "buffer," is all-important, as is the exercise of common sense. The faster you drive, the more you have to assume people aren't going to realize how much faster you are going relative to other vehicles in the immediate area, at least for a second or two. And..sometimes..that's all it takes to create a very dangerous situation. And if you're doin' 20 or 30 above the limit and something bad happens, almost invariably you are the one to blame---logically and legally. It's almost an assumption of risk kind of thing.