Correct Lane Choice on Multi-Lane Highways
Posted by condepswiss@reddit | driving | View on Reddit | 75 comments
Goal: Separate traffic from slowest to fastest (right to left). It is foolish to think that all vehicles, with their varying characteristics, can, will and should drive at the exact same speed. We want to allow variations in speed while minimizing conflicts.
Method: 1. Make sure your eyes never fixate on the vehicle in front of you. Scan ahead, and check the center rearview mirror (if equipped). Checking behind every 5-8 seconds gives an understanding of what others are doing behind you. Read the highway much like you read a chess board, understanding how the pieces (vehicles) move.
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The default lane is the RIGHT HAND LANE. When the road is empty, stay in the right-most non-exit only lane. Doing so gives you an escape route (the shoulder), reduces the risk of you being rear-ended by emergency vehicles from behind, and reduces workload as you are not having to watch for traffic zooming past on both sides.
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Change lanes to the left when you have a REASON to do so. Reasons include: passing (overtaking) a vehicle in front of you, allowing merging traffic space to enter the freeway, giving space to a disabled vehicle on the shoulder (move over law), to prepare for a left turn / left exit, or emergency situations (say an object on the road). DO NOT MERGE directly into any lane other than the right-hand most. Establish yourself in the right-most lane for at least 10 seconds before trying to move left.
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Change lanes to the right whenever you are ABLE TO and no longer have a reason to stay left. If the right hand lane is clear, take the lane as to free up space for other traffic to move past you on the left. Avoid the right-most lane ONLY when there is heavy merging traffic -- once this is past, move back to the right lane if not passing. If you see slower traffic in the right lane that you will be moving past, it is not necessary to move from a middle lane to the right only to change back left 10 seconds later. Remember that it is possible to be CONTINUOUSLY passing slower traffic -- in this case, continue using the lane you are in, then move right when done.
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If traffic is passing you on the right, CONSIDER that you may be in the WRONG lane. Examine your surroundings and, instead of being an impediment to traffic flow in the middle or left, move right.
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DO NOT TAILGATE. Just because somebody is causing traffic problems and safety issues does not give you the excuse to follow suit. Alternative ways to get people to move right include flashing of high beams and signaling left in the left-most lane.
Rural 3 and 4 lane freeways are becoming more common in response to heavier inter-city traffic, and poor lane discipline is becoming a serious issue that is causing aggressive driving and reducing the capacity of roadways built by taxpayer $$$s. The idea that the right lane is for "entering and exiting only," and that everyone should sit in the 2nd from left lane to access the "passing lane" needs to stop. Once we get good at lane discipline, then our freeway networks will catch up to our OECD peers in safety.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
The right lane is only the default if there's 2 lanes. Considering you are talking about multi lane highways, you may want to make the disclaimer that for 3 or more lanes it's the MIDDLE LANE that's the default. The far right is for traffic that is entering/exiting/usually slow.
whereverYouGoThereUR@reddit
You are the type of ignorant driver that the OP is complaining about. The type of driver that causes the congestion that all those traffic engineers try to avoid by putting up all those keep right except to pass or slower traffic keep right signs. I guess they’re wasting their time on those people who think they’re smarter than all those engineers. Show me one sign that states that the right lane is only for entering and exiting
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Am I an ignorant driver? Really?
Wow. That must be why this driver's education course agrees with me...
Let's quote it shall we?
"If you can choose among three lanes on your side of the road, pick the middle lane for the smoothest driving. Use the left lane to go faster, pass, or turn left. Use the right lane to drive slowly, enter, or turn off the road."
RightLaneHog@reddit
The misconception that one should not stay in the rightmost lane on a multi-lane highway is very common. The fact that you can find a resource which aligns with that misconception is not surprising. Besides, the webpage you linked isn't explicitly taking about highways and so its guidance actually makes sense in that context; the keep right except to pass rule loses some, if not all, effectiveness when the road is not a controlled access highway.
The fact of the matter is that it really is just a misconception. The fundamental principle of keeping right except to pass is commonly taught in many other countries with comparable infrastructure, and is a well known thing. Part of understanding why it's not only rarely followed, but also met with backlash (as you are doing) when pointed out to people, is understanding that driver's education is a joke here in the United States. We as Americans are also notorious for our poisonous levels of individualism, so the idea of someone telling us that there are rules and guidelines that dictate which lane to be in on a multi-lane highway is synonymous to someone telling us the proper way to walk.
I can try to make it make sense to you if you'd like, but I'd assume you're not interested judging by your discussions with others within this thread, and I can understand that. I just wanted to at least give my two cents.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
If it's such a misconception why is it that I'm the only one providing evidence to back up my claim?
Drivers education in America is a joke because even when you show people the lessons they refuse to acknowledge it. They know better than the school because a friend told them the school was wrong. It's just ridiculous.
RightLaneHog@reddit
What exactly are you look for as far as "evidence"? Do you consider a random website providing educational material for drivers to be evidence?
If you want evidence, look at other countries. Look at Germany and Rechtsfahrgebot. Look at the United Kingdoms' Highway Code's stance on overtaking on the left, or the country's stance on "middle-lane hogging." Look at random state's laws. I did this recently for Maryland.
I think it'd actually be helpful if you check out this thread from r/drivingUK about driving in the middle lane, or this thread from r/germany where some of the commenters were poking fun at this sub for being filled with uneducated drivers who use the middle lane as an excuse for incompetence and laziness.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Ah yes I see.
So the driving schools are wrong. But the truth can be found on some reddit posts 🤣 wow you really showed me!
RightLaneHog@reddit
It's sad that you're being so dense. Are you just going to ignore everything else I've said? Those commenters are proving my point and confirming their opinions of you.
What do you want? The UK police? Driving instructors?
This is the BBC where they ride along with an officer that pulls over people in the middle lane. https://youtu.be/wHdTZLMfPJA?si=jkUakL7M0Cl5QVUA
This is a video from a very popular channel run by a UK driving instructor where he covers middle lane hogging. https://youtu.be/QcZ2EUMiT74?si=0vXYcovnXq7L5PqC
Here is a video in the US which I've watched before and recommend that covers several misconceptions about lane usage on highways. https://youtu.be/wd8PyH7OtNo?si=gy7O1RxDcDXiSfza
This is not a revolutionary new concept. This is a basic and well understood principle of driving on highways that has been lost (maybe never there if the first place) in the US because of people like yourself.
Since you seem to be so fixated on driving schools, then you should look at how driving schools outside the US teach their students how to drive on multi-lane highways. Pointing to schools within the US and saying, "oh, look, they say it's okay," is quite literally the problem myself and OP are trying to address.
The fact that you're even trying to use US driving schools as some sort of legitimate source in the first place is laughable. Our schools and, more importantly, our driving instructors are jokes compared to the rest of the world. There are undoubtedly good schools out there that actually teach things properly, but it's clear this is not the norm. In the US, the primary way a new driver gains experience on the road is to get an instructional permit and then drive with their parents and have them teach them to drive. Actual time driving with an instructor is limited and serves primarily to prepare them for the DMV test, which doesn't even involve driving on interstate highways. So to sit here and act like a US driving school's stance on the issue is legitimate while in the face of literally every other country where this fundamental principle of highway driving is understood and enforced is the definition of ignorance.
You should actually look up Rechtsfahrgebot. Actually watch those three videos I've linked above. Even better, just start passively observing how traffic flows and behaves. I always keep to the rightmost lane except to pass and it has a clear benefit both for myself and for those faster than me. It just makes sense and is very intuitive thanks to the design of our highways which is fundamentally no different than these other countries where, again, they see the obvious benefit of this rule when it comes to safety and promoting better traffic flow.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Ah yes. The laws of Germany will tell me how to drive in america 🤣
Oh are you mad im discounting your "evidence" of a reddit post? Well, how about find better sources if you wanna be taken seriously. I cited TWO driving schools. Can you find a driving school that agrees with what you are saying? Or do you only have reddit threads and examples from everywhere in the world besides here?
RightLaneHog@reddit
Um...yeah, actually? They will? Other than more specific details like their road signage and lane painting, the design and layout is fundamentally the same. A controlled access highway is a rather basic cookie-cutter design principle. Such highways in the US look nearly identical to those in the rest of the world. That's why I keep bringing them up; they're the same roads and the same design with the same lanes, so how come it's so easy for them to understand but not for those in the US? The point is not to literally follow Germany's or any other country's rules about driving. The point is that the roads are the same. The point is not that it's law or not, it's that it's a well understood operating principle of multi-lane controlled access highways.
Not really. I've given plenty of examples that are not Reddit posts. My main reason for linking them was to show that even on Reddit, if you simply go to the UK's or Germany's sub, you will immediately find a broad consensus that what you are advocating for is wrong. And again, their controlled access highways are just like ours, so why do they seem so clear on this principle yet in the US we practically oppose it?
Are the UK police not a good source? Is a UK driving instructor with an impressive repertoire of educational content not a good source? Is the fact that every other country with comparable road infrastructure to our own has drivers who understand and follow this rule not a good source?
Again, I feel like you're dancing around the point here. The point is that this is not a thing that is even taught here in the US. In some instances, new drivers are expressly taught to immediately move to the middle lane and stay out of the right lane unless entering or exiting the highway. This is in stark contrast to the correct way to drive on such highways, and the rest of the world already understands, teaches, and enforces this. Nevermind the blatant idiocy of treating the entirety of the right lane like a dedicated lane for entering and exiting the roadway, aka a ramp which already exists. The fact that I can point to examples of this everywhere except the United States is the exact point I'm trying to make.
The funny thing about this topic is that you don't even need sources. It's quite literally just an intuitive process to keep right except to pass. You are only so adamant about defending it because it is how you drive and to have someone propose the idea that you're being inconsiderate and aren't properly educated about how to drive is taken as a personal insult which you must now defend against.
I mean, just think of it this way... What exactly is the benefit of staying in the middle lane versus keeping to the rightmost travel lane? You may say things like, "you stay out of the way of slower traffic," or, "you make room for traffic entering and exiting the highway," or, "you need to do less lane changes which improves safety." But all of these points are self-centered. They are lazy. They are misleading.
For example, by far the most popular excuse I see is that last one: "You need to do less lane changes which improves safety." First of all, this just flies in the face of driving on a highway. Changing lanes while you're on the highway is a core part of that task. You need to change lanes to overtake, you need to change lanes to follow guide signs for the correct route/exit, you need to change lanes to enter and exit the highway, you need to change lanes for stopped emergency vehicles, etc. The idea of it being "more dangerous" to be in the rightmost lane vs the middle lane because of "more lane changes" is just lazy. No matter what lane you're in, you're going to be changing lanes. Staying in the middle lane simplifies things for you. It doesn't simplify things for faster traffic behind you that now has one lane to the left for overtaking. It doesn't simplify things for traffic that now may be overtaking you on the right and then get stuck by traffic merging on because now they can't merge to the left to give room and instead have to slow down.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Excellent work! And I love your username btw hahahahaha
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SillyAmericanKniggit@reddit
>"If you can choose..."
That would be the key phrase there. In many jurisdictions around the world, you simply don't have a free choice in the matter; you either stay right or risk a fine and points on your license.
For example, here is the law in Massachusetts:
>"Upon all ways the driver of a vehicle shall drive in the lane nearest the right side of the way when such lane is available for travel, except when overtaking another vehicle or when preparing for a left turn. When the right lane has been constructed or designated for purposes other than ordinary travel, a driver shall drive his vehicle in the lane adjacent to the right lane except when overtaking another vehicle or when preparing for a left or right turn; provided, however, that a driver may drive his vehicle in such right lane if signs have been erected by the department of highways permitting the use of such lane."
And even if places don't have that as a general law, they can still still require it on specific roads by posting keep right except to pass regulatory signs. From the MUTCD:
>The KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS (R4-16) sign (see Figure 2B-10) may be used on multi-lane roadways to direct drivers to stay in the right-hand lane except when they are passing another vehicle.
All states require obedience to traffic control devices, whether they have a general keep right law like the one from Massachusetts or not.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
The law you just quoted contradicts the point you are trying to make 🤣🤦♀️
"When the right lane has been constructed or designated for purposes other than ordinary travel, a driver shall drive his vehicle in the lane adjacent to the right lane..."
That means the middle lane of a 3 lane, or the second to right in a 4+ lane.
When there's more than 2 lanes, it's because one of the lanes is not designed for regular travel. You only need ONE passing lane. So to drive in the far right and think that 2 lanes are reserved for passing is just silly sauce. When they create 3 lanes it's to help traffic flow by creating am "extra slow lane". This lane, typically the right is used for people entering and exiting the highway. Having an extra lane on the right helps make merges smoother. Especially when thru traffic isn't getting in the way. By driving in the middle you are allowing traffic to flow better.
Obviously if there's a sign posted to stay right, then stay right. Just like if you see a "no turn on red" sign you shouldn't turn on red. But when the signs not there YOU CAN!
Most of the time tho on a 3+ lane road it doesn't say just "keep right", that's more of a 2 lane highway sign. Normally on a 3 lane youd see something more like "trucks keep right 2 lanes".
SillyAmericanKniggit@reddit
That section is talking about the break-down lane or lanes that are specifically signposted as not being for thru traffic (exit only, right turn only, etc) You have to know Massachusetts to understand. In and around Boston, there are certain times of the day when they allow travel down the break down lane. Hence the part immediately afterwards that reads, "however, that a driver may drive his vehicle in such right lane if signs have been erected by the department of highways permitting the use of such lane."
These are the signs that is talking about:
>When there's more than 2 lanes, it's because one of the lanes is not designed for regular travel.
Absent a sign or marking creating that designation, no such designation exists. There is no law in Massachusetts that says that and there are no such regulatory signs that I have seen on 84, 91, 95, 290, 495 or the Mass Pike that say any such thing, so I'm going to have to say "citation needed" on that.
Massachusetts on-ramps are all posted with yield signs. Merging traffic has no priority when entering a highway. The extra lane is for thru traffic and is absolutely needed for the volume of traffic on the road. Massachusetts has a enough slower and faster traffic mingling on the same roads that multiple passing lanes are absolutely needed on those major highways.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Excellent take! Yes, it cannot be the far left lane that is the only lane designated for passing when traffic is such that cars need to occupy 3, 4 or even 5 lanes in the same direction. There is no excuse to sit in lane 2 or 3 when you have the lane(s) to the right open.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
That passage was deleted as of 2023 just saying. It comes from the California DMV, which has issues with contradictory information at the end ("do you keep right as much as possible?")
This is a myth that needs to stop
SillyAmericanKniggit@reddit
The key phrase there is "if you can choose." When there are regulatory signs posted that say "keep right except to pass," you're not allowed to choose.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
But wait there's more. Here's a defensive driving lesson that also says to use the middle lane.
So am I the ignorant one? Or are ya'll?
whereverYouGoThereUR@reddit
I was speaking on how to drive to minimize congestion, be considered of others and make traffic the safest for all cars on the road.
Just driving in the middle lane and not considering how it affects others is the self-centered view and only considers what is best for you. You've got that position nailed.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Driving in the middle lane HELPS others on the road genius. Utilizing all the lanes cuts down on traffic. That's literally the reason why they bothered to pave that extra lane. It's basic physics. But hey, I bet your the sort of person who merges immediately instead of doing the zipper properly 🙄
Tall-Poem-6808@reddit
While I agree with you on the zipper part, what I see in Canada and US is people driving at / below the speed limit in the middle lane (of 3) when the right lane is mostly clear. What happens is that you have slow traffic in the middle, slightly faster traffic on the left, and a near-empty right lane with the odd truck or camper.
If all the middle-lane campers moved over to the right, this would effectively open up 1 more lane, instead of forcing people to pass on the right.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
If there's 3 lanes then they should be able to pass on the left....
Tall-Poem-6808@reddit
In theory, yes. Except Car #1 is driving on the middle lane at 63mph, Car #2 is "passing" on the left at 67mph, and I and a lot of people want to drive 70mph. Hence the problem.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
What's the speed limit in this scenario?
Tall-Poem-6808@reddit
70...
I knew you would ask, it doesn't matter what the speed limit is. I'm not talking about the 1 reckless driver zig-zagging and endangering everyone, I'm talking about 2-3 drivers blocking off an entire highway and forcing the rest of traffic to drive slower, get annoyed, and start doing stupid shit.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
It definitely matters what the speed limit is. Because if someone is driving 63 in a 70 zone They shouldn't be in the thru lane. They should be in the slow lane. If the speed limit is 70 then the person passing at 67 is also being an ass. If the person in the middle lane was going the speed they are supposed to be going, there is no hinderence of traffic. So is your problem that people are driving in the thru lane? Or is your problem that the people in the thru lane aren't maintaining the speed limit? Cuz those are different things...
Tall-Poem-6808@reddit
it's always the same debate, between the speed limit (arbitrary number) and the flow of traffic. Sure you might be doing "the speed limit", but if the comfortable speed for 80% of drivers is 5 or 10 over, you become an obstacle in the left or middle lane.
My problem is people driving "too far left" when it's obvious that the lane(s) to the right of them are open and would be more suitable for their speed, regardless of what that speed is.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
I love how this devolved in a speed limit debate.
I'm not arguing against ya tho. I totally agree. If someone can't keep up with the flow of traffic then they should be in the right most lane.
whereverYouGoThereUR@reddit
I get it. You're smarter than all those engineers who put up those keep right except to pass and slower traffic keep right signs. Only you knows that it doesn't apply to the middle lanes. Keep driving in the middle lane when the right lane is available since that is best for you
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Lmfao so I'm smarter than them cuz I agree with them?
I'm not saying to drive left when there's a sign expressly saying to drive right 🤦♀️ I'm saying to drive in the designated lane (which is the middle) unless otherwise instructed to by signage.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Where does signage say the middle is the designated lane
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Do you have a reading comprehension issue?
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Classic deflection from the problem. Do you not have anything further to argue?
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
I'm not arguing your strawman. 🤣
I never said there was single saying to drive in the middle of the road. Why don't you reread the previous comments and get back to me when you are on the same page and ready to converse about things I actually said.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
You cited a driver's Ed website that contradicts signage put up by highway engineers. Now what?
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Lmfao it doesn't contradict.
As previously explained, it's like if you see a "no turn on red" sign. The fact that you see the sign means that when you don't see the sign you are allowed to turn on red.
On a multi lane highway the sign is saying "stay right" because otherwise that wouldn't be necessary. The middle lane is designed to be the thru lane. The right lane is only the thru lane when there's only 2 lanes.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Ok again claim without evidence. I'm bored.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Here's the third link that supports what I'm saying. This one's from another driving school. But let me guess all three articles are wrong but your opinion is what's right 🤦♀️
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
And that one grabbed the same snippet from the CA driver's handbook that has since been removed.
Sure my take is an opinion if the white regulatory signs on the highway are opinions 🤗 maybe it's time to treat them as regulations rather than opinions
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Riiiight. Everything comes from a "removed" snippet.
I love how you asked for proof but then when you received it you discounted it without even offering any counter evidence. You're right. Me and the TWO driving schools I just quoted are definitely wrong. Good thing you know everything and are here to set us straight 🙄
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
I happen to have some knowledge in the field from those around me. Also, those same pieces of knowledge draw from the same CA handbook (pre 2023). You can find that on the internet yourself. You're capable.
It's ok if you ran out of evidence, but it just gets old when you keep recycling the same lines over and over.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Recycling the same line over and over? You mean how you keep referencing something with no proof? Oh wait your friend told you. Yeah that's definitely trustworthy. Screw a driving school, there's an internet stranger who has a friend!
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
:/ look at the law
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Specific examples:
White sign saying "keep right except to pass," NOT "Keep middle except to pass" Universal Vehicle Code (template of traffic laws for US states) § 11-301 #4. Some US states go further to specifically define what this means. E.g. Washington State RCW 46.61.100 Kentucky Revised Statues 180.340(7) Massachusetts General Laws 89-4B Illinois 625 ILCS 5/11-701(b), (d) Montana code 61-8-321(2) New Jersey Revised Statues 39:4-88 Maine Revised Statues 29A-2052(6) Louisiana Revised Statues RS 32:71
Additionally, Ministry of transport Ontario (Canada) "Drive in the right hand lane when possible" Québéc: Roulette en ligne droite UK Highway Code Rule 264: Keep in the left lane unless overtaking. South Australia Road Rules #130 (similar across all of Australia) Germany, Switzerland, Austria: Rechtsfahrgebot
China, Japan, Singapore, to name a few more.
That is a lot more damning of evidence versus two or three internet driving schools...
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Also law > any driving school
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
here's a NY DMv practice test
Funny how it says the middle lane it okay.
MikeP001@reddit
It's you AND that site that's ignorant. It says "pick the middle lane for the smoothest driving". Smooth is not defensive, it's lazy.
The middle lane is the passing lane for heavy trucks that are not allowed in the left lane in forward thinking jurisdictions. Most of these jurisdictions also require keeping right except to pass.
Defensive is keeping an escape route - the outside lanes are safer when there's an empty shoulder as an escape. In the middle, the right and left lanes may be occupied in traffic. You need to deal with traffic merging at you from both sides. You're blocking trucks trying to pass.
It's better to be safe and alert than smooth.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Riiiight. The drivers education site is ignorant 🤣
MikeP001@reddit
That one is. There's many more that say keep right or left in the UK. More importantly, traffic guides and laws in most jurisdictions outside of the backwoods say the same thing.
If you search hard enough you can find someone to say and teach any silly you want - the earth is flat and the middle lane is for smmmmooooooth cruzin... Odd they said "smooth" instead of safe, doncha think? Clearly an opinion, and not about safety. On a "defensive driving" site. Hmmm.
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
Go look at Germany and see how they have less than half of US fatality rate despite having no speed limit on 70% of their freeway: because everyone go back to the right most possible lane when they are finished overtaking.
The defensive driving lesson is outdated. Learn how others do it properly.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
The middle lane IS the "right lane" tho. That's what you aren't getting. The middle lane is the thru lane you are supposed to drive in. You pass in the left lane and then return to the thru lane. The far right is so that you can slow for exiting without forcing others to break/change lanes behind you.
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
You guys hog the middle lane even in rural area where there is not a single truck or exit/entry for miles. All these excuses for cruising on the middle lane is just trying to hide the fact that you guys are lazy drivers who do not want to change lanes for the entire drive. I cruise in the right lane, see a slow car ahead, move one lane left to pass him, then if I am not passing anyone within 10-15 seconds, I move back to the right lane. It's really simple!
I have seen a big 50-100 car cluster in the rural part of Washington's 3-lane I-90, I almost thought it was rush hour traffic but it does not makes sense cause it is 3 pm in the middle of no where! I spent 10-15 min to get ahead of it just to find out it is lead by a middle lane camper, and some left lane drivers who take \~30 s to overtake the middle lane car at a speed difference lower than 0.5 mph. And you know what? After I passed them, I drove for 10 miles with very little traffic. And in EU, I barely see cluster this big, and when there's a cluster, it is usually cause by trucks trying to overtake, but it diffuse very quickly cause people stay far right!
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
You didn't read my post, did you? 🙄
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
On a three lane freeway, if you stick to right lane, two cars can overtake you simultaneously safely. if you stick to middle, only one car can overtake you safely and occasionally there may be enough space for another car to undertake you (but at risk). Driving on the right most possible lane maximize traffic flow capacity.
do_you_like_waffles@reddit
Driving in the far right increases tbe risk of accident because of people merging. The middle lane is designed for smoothest flow. If TWO people need to pass you at the same time tho then you are most likely NOT driving with the flow of traffic and in that case yes you should drive in the far right due to being an unusually slow vehicle.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Exactly so you just admitted that you would need to be in the far right lane so you can let 2+ vehicles pass.
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
If there is a entry ahead and I see cars coming from the on ramp, I just move left to let them merge, and then go back to the right lane, how hard is that?
And to be honest, I drive fast, so I am always at least a bit faster than the flow of traffic. Yet, I still keep right whenever possible, because I know there are always someone who may be faster than me.
In Germany, where 70% of their Autobahn (freeway) does not have a speed limit, drivers are always required to drive as right as possible (and they do the same even if there is a speed limit), and it is same for many other EU countries. And you know what is the result? A much lower fatality rate on the freeway despite significantly higher traffic speed.
Sufficient_Prompt888@reddit
All these words when all that's needed is "keep right unless passing"
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
I mean it's already on the side of the freeway but no one follows them
Caskthief@reddit
So is the speed limit, but no one follows that either.
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
Ask the govt to follow the 85-th percentile rule instead of lowering it arbitrarily first.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Federal guidance (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices --MUTCD) actually says to follow the 85th percentiles for freeways to the nearest 5 mph. So, states not doing this are technically in violation of The Code of Federal Regulations Title 23, which requires states to "substantially follow" MUTCD practices.
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
But they are still not doing it for most of the freeway anyways.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Insurance companies through the IIHS lobby to keep it that way to move non risky drivers into higher risk categories to maximize profit. That's the only explanation I can find as to why they push this agenda so hard.
Anyone with basic econometrics and statistics knowledge can find out that their claim of 33,000 deaths due to repealing 55 mph is a joke and comes from a singular regression with no controls and no proof of causation whatsoever.
Sufficient_Prompt888@reddit
Indeed.
cjgeist@reddit
Why do you think unnecessarily staying in middle lanes is so widespread in the US?
ScheduleUpstairs1204@reddit
laziness
db1037@reddit
People merging going 40-45mph when the speed limit and flow of traffic is 60mph and above.
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
That for sure doesn't help. Some drivers think that when they enter, they are the ones to be yielded to!
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
There is this idea that once you're on the freeway, keep it between the lines and you can mentally tune out.
I see this all too much, especially when the same people who have no regard for their surroundings cut across 5 lanes for their exit...
Bad drivers never miss their turn; am I right?
Sufficient_Prompt888@reddit
People don't follow traffic laws, ignorance of them plays a huge role.
Empty_Cut2320@reddit
" but what if I'm scared of other drivers " " But what if I wanna be on my phone " " What if I'm elderly and think the rules don't apply to me "
Blah blah blah
It's getting out of hand with these drivers
perfectly_ballanced@reddit
If any of those apply, get off the damn highway
condepswiss@reddit (OP)
Even then sometimes that phrase doesn't mean anything to unaware drivers