LOCKED - OT: Driving on the highway

[paindonthurt_]

This. This. This.
It’s the worst. Or the ******* that comes flying up from behind and then sets in right behind you no matter how fast or slow you go.

 

[paindonthurt_]

Define never ending.

If you have a gap, you get over, and let the car pass. Then you move back to the left and pass again.

You missed the part about the never ending line of semis on the right side that I am continuously passing already. I'm already doing 8 mph over the limit. I don't need to be forced to move over into little pockets of space in between two semis thus also forcing me to slow down to the two semis pace just so the ******* behind me can drive 85 mph.

 

[BigBully]

Camping out in the left lane seems to be the norm on I-10 in AL, especially going over the Mobile bay bridge. It pisses me off to no end. Have some courtesy when driving and know the rules......left lane is for passing, not a smoother ride.

BB

 

[MadDawg.sixpack]

Just be a considerate driver, period. ******** come in all forms. They are the dickhead riding in the left lane blocking traffic. They are also the dickhead behind you trying to push your out of their way because they want to go 95 mph and you passing cars at 80 just isn't fast enough for them. The only thing is now, the dickhead wanting to go 95 believes the law is in his favor.

 

[paindonthurt_]

Yes. See that was easy.

 

[PapaDawg]

Lead, Follow, or get hell outta my way!

 

[AlCoDog]

This is me, but nothing pisses me off more than moving over for a car that comes up on my *** in the left lane, and looking over as they pass to find a 16 year old girl with her phone stuck up to her 17ing face.

 

[She Mate Me]

I’d also like to add as someone who drives semis, respect the big trucks. We can’t immediately stop after you decide to pass and then turn immediately. 80,000 pounds doesn’t exactly stop on a dime.

Amazing the lack of respect other drivers give these trucks.

We've all run into (hopefully not literally) ****** big rig drivers, but the vast majority are paying a whole hell of a lot more attention than we are and are significantly more skilled at operating a motor vehicle.

 

[She Mate Me]

I usually cruise around the same speed as you. If I’m coming up on slower traffic I check my mirror. If there’s faster traffic coming I wait on them before moving in the left lane. If it looks like I’ll be stuck in the right lane then I’ll merge with the left lane and match their speed until I can get back in the right lane to resume my speed. Mostly because I don’t want to be the ******* forces everyone else to adapt to me.

It’s also illegal in some states. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2018/pdf/history/HB/HB0080.xml

This ⬆⬆⬆ is the way to do it.

 

[kired]

I will say this about I75 (at least down in Florida) --- it's probably the most frustrating and dangerous interstates I've ever driven on. I'm someone who'll usually camp out in the left lane on that particular road unless I'm obviously blocking someone, but I'll drive as fast as the person in front of me up to about 90mph. But I'm not going to tailgate the person in front of me at that speed. What is inevitable once we get in a line of ~10 cars all stuck behind someone doing 70mph is a few a-holes think they're going to get somewhere faster by passing me on the right and squeezing back in front of me. Then when the slower car finally gets out of the way, the a-hole who just passed me won't get over 75mph. So now here I am - simply because I refuse to be a tailgating a-hole, stuck behind someone who was in a hurry to pass me but isn't willing to drive as fast as me. It's a never ending cycle. Every once in a while you'll get this clear road where you can really cruise for maybe 5 minutes and then it starts all over again.

I almost rather spend the money to fly to Orlando simply so I don't have to drive that stretch of interstate.

 

[She Mate Me]

I don’t encourage left lane driving contnuously at all, but there is an element of truth to this. Can’t even count how many times I’ve been passing someone in the left lane and tried to get over to the right as soon as possible so that Joe Dipshit on my rear bumper with testicles hanging on his trailer hitch can go 100 like he wants to, only to have to immediately have to swerve back into the left lane because Joe Dipshit shoots a 15 foot gap between my right tail light and the other vehicle’s left front signal light. This usually happens in spite of my signal indicating I’m about to get over. It’s infuriating.

And another thing, regardless of lane of travel or surrounding circumstances, ANYONE who trails closer than 20-30 feet or so away from the vehicle in front of them in an environment where everyone is going 70-80mph minimum is an absolute 100% unquestioned ******* of epic proportions that is endangering the lives of everyone in all directions of their vehicle. And they are 100% worse than anyone who hangs out in the left lane, no matter how annoying that might be for all of us.

I agree with every 17ing bit of this.

I just back away from those convoys of cars screaming along at 85 mph on each other's asses that seem to form out in the middle of nowhere on interstates. Herd mentality at death speeds.

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

Bruiser is an admitted left lane loser. He was proud of it.

I’m trying to find that thread. I think he set a SPS downvote record with his post.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

nah. if you are barely passing one in the right lane. you are the one that needs to move over. I commute about 50 miles one way every day for work and bugs the crap out of me when people like you are hanging out in the left lane backing traffic up barely passing the semi. If 50 people are up your ***, you are the problem. move over. slower traffic keep right. I've never been pulled over on the interstate for going under 80. Matter of fact, i've had state troopers tell me the rarely pull anyone over for doing that. I'm surprised that it's not been moved up as it has in some states. I always ride in the right until i have to pass unless i'm passing several cars in a row. If you constantly ride in the left at 70 or even 75, you are causing the issues.

 

[RutherfordBHayes]

Ok so move over to the right fifty times and then back over to the left another fifty times so the guy doing 85 mph at night doesn't have to pass on the right one time.

YEEESSS!!
That’s how it works!!
It’s not hard. Left is for passing. Right is for cruising. If I’m in the left and a car comes up behind me going faster than me, I move over to let him by. If I have to slow down because there are cars on the right, so be it. As soon as dude passes, I move back over and pass the slower cars. It’s called driving.
You don’t own the passing lane because you’re “speeding” at 78, Al Capone!!
What’s wrong with people?

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Amazing the lack of respect other drivers give these trucks.

We've all run into (hopefully not literally) ****** big rig drivers, but the vast majority are paying a whole hell of a lot more attention than we are and are significantly more skilled at operating a motor vehicle.

THIS. Truckers are better drivers than 90% of the rest of us on the road. They're also more courteous.

As for the OP, sound like you need to be more aware of the entire road and the flow of traffic than just your vehicle and what you deem acceptable. Traffic is an intangible, yet constantly changing "living" entity. If you pay enough attention you can often anticipate traffic jams, etc.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

If you and I are doing the same speed you and I aren't ever in this scenario with each other ever. It's actually safer for both drivers for me to correctly assume the aggressive 85 mph driver behind me will pass on the right instead of both of us then moving to the right at the same time as they are speeding up. I say it's correct because the aggressive driver passes on the right 100% of the time.

Well if you never get out of the left lane then they have to pass on the right.

The first step is admitting you have a problem of being a left lane hog. Here is some educational material on why being a left lane hog is dangerous. https://www.motorists.org/issues/lane-courtesy/

 

[GTAT]

Bottom line is, you must accept reality. You're on a public road, there are going to be bad drivers. Traffic is very, VERY predictable when viewed as a collective (but unpredictable as an individual). Do what you have to do to get where you are going, safely.

Another reality is that when you on the interstate at speeds of 60-90, and factoring in traffic, it's highly unlikely that you are going to save much time by getting in a hurry. You are 80% at the mercy of traffic. Accept that and slow down.

A good example of simply doing what you have to do, is when they drop traffic down to one lane, with the cones. People start lining up in the lane that is still open, and if anyone bypasses them by rolling on down the 'to be closed' lane, everyone calls them an *******. But are they ********, or are they just smart and accepting of reality? Maybe a mix of both, because people are going to continue to do that, and it's going to bottleneck traffic. So you may as well fill up both lanes and accept the bottleneck. Getting in that backed up open lane line is a futile effort and just dumb.

Now, the guy who drives in the left lane because it's a newer lane with less bumps? Well, THAT guy is an *******, unless you're traveling on MS 25, or I-59 in northeast Alabama, or I-65 between Birmingham and Hoover, then you get a pass.

 

[garndawg]

THIS. Truckers are better drivers than 90% of the rest of us on the road. They're also more courteous.

Not my experience at all. At all.

I drive a ton on I-30, I-40 between Ark and Ga. Wish I had a nickel for every time two truckers get side-by-side at 60-65 mph for miles and miles...

To the OP's experience, I think the most annoying driver on the highway is the idiot in the right lane behind the semi, sees me coming up in the mirror on the left with 10+ mph overtake, pulls out right in front of me so he doesn't have to take it off cruise control... Grr...

 

[dorndawg]

I drive a ton on I-30, I-40 between Ark and Ga. Wish I had a nickel for every time two truckers get side-by-side at 60-65 mph for miles and miles...

Many trucks today - esp those with the big trucking outfits - have governors that only allow the truck to go 68 or 74 or whatever. So while I get frustrated with it like you, also keep in mind the trucker is very well giving it all she has. While it would be nice if the truck in the right lane slowed down a mph or 2, time is money for them as well.

And I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis is the worst stretch of road in America, if you disagree you are wrong.

 

[Shamoan]

how many times do we have to say the left lane is the passing lane? slower traffic keep right.

its that simple

 

[Dawg_4_lifes]

And I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis is the worst stretch of road in America, if you disagree you are wrong.

TRUTH!!!!! I'd rather drive through the Gaza Strip at night then on that road all alone in the day time.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

^^^^This. They have governors on their top speed. The truck I drive was governed to 67 MPH until I had it reprogrammed.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I probably drive about as fast as you & I usually stay on the right lane.

I used to be all in a hurry doing the 78 in the 70 and encountering ******** and being the *******.

Then I found the solution, at least for me.

I drive 74 in the 70 and stay in the right lane, then wait to pass the semis when I can. I may get there a bit later but I actually enjoy the drive now and don't need a drink after a trip.

It's also fun to watch the ******** race each other in the left lane then get pulled over a couple of miles down the road for a fast driver award.

 

[ckDOG]

Simple rules when driving speed limit or greater

1) pass on left
2) when not passing, get back to right
3) if someone wants to pass faster than you, get back right when safe but no earlier (don't cut off the semis or be required to hit the breaks hard when merging right)

Very little can go wrong when everyone does this. My only problems are when there is heavy traffic.
If my 78 is consistently passing a congested right lane moving 65, I'm not going to make a risky move to the right. So I'm going resume 78 until congestion lightens and then move right. Until then, get off my bumper, we are passing together, otherwise, you are putting everyone at risk. I'll offer the same courtesy to someone else passing congestion not as fast as I prefer. We all want to get where we are going as quickly as we are comfortable, but death is not an acceptable risk to save 30 seconds of travel time.

 

[$altyDawg]

Totally agree! I hate it when they speed by me doing 85, then I pass them up the road doing 60, and that scenario repeats half a dozen times.

 

[campshelbydog842003]

Slow down ********. I spent 3 hours driving on I75 today doing 78mph in a 70 and had roughly 50 cars up my *** over the course of the trip with their lights shining all up in the mirrors pissed cause I wouldn't move over to the right for them. I'm already driving illegally over the speed limit and there's a never ending line of semis on the right side of the road. Being a dangerous dickhead because you'd like to speed more illegally than I am doesn't make people move over for you. It just makes you a dangerous driver and a dickhead. Sorry rant over but I know at least half this board is that same ******* on the highway driving 90mph at night.

you are the problem here. Learn how to drive. Damn.

 

[engie]

Perhaps the most d61 thread I've ever read... And that's saying something....

 

[HotMop]

If you and I are doing the same speed you and I aren't ever in this scenario with each other ever. It's actually safer for both drivers for me to correctly assume the aggressive 85 mph driver behind me will pass on the right instead of both of us then moving to the right at the same time as they are speeding up. I say it's correct because the aggressive driver passes on the right 100% of the time.

You do realize that if you put your right blinker on to get over they won't pass you on the right. Seeing as you drive in the right hand lane with a convoy behind you I'm just going to go ahead and guess you don't use your blinker either unless it's still blinking left from 60 miles back when you merged onto the interstate directly into the right hand lane.

 

[TBone.sixpack]

40 between Memphis and Nashville is trucker hell too. I travel a 6 State territory and I-40 is hands down THE WORST.

 

[dogmatic]

Ha! Anyone faster than me is a reckless *******, anyone slower than me is a dangerous slowpoke.

Seriously, you're not the arbiter of the limit of tasteful speeding. Move over when you're not actively passing someone else.

 

[thatsbaseball]

PSA: Trucks

Experienced truck drivers are usually very competent and courteous BUT due the SEVERE shortage of drivers the industry has had to hire a bunch of warm bodies and put them on the road at really young ages. These drivers aren't necessarily reckless but many are just inexperienced . My advice is to treat every truck with a lot more caution than you may have in the past....

 

[She Mate Me]

Many trucks today - esp those with the big trucking outfits - have governors that only allow the truck to go 68 or 74 or whatever. So while I get frustrated with it like you, also keep in mind the trucker is very well giving it all she has. While it would be nice if the truck in the right lane slowed down a mph or 2, time is money for them as well.

And I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis is the worst stretch of road in America, if you disagree you are wrong.

So you're an authority on every stretch of road in America? I realize this is the internet, but authoritatively stating something you can't possibly be sure of is still tiresome.

I agree with your first paragraph.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Ok so move over to the right fifty times and then back over to the left another fifty times so the guy doing 85 mph at night doesn't have to pass on the right one time.

This is correct. I'm blown away that this isn't common knowledge, but it explains a lot of what I see on the interstate...

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Yep, because they'll be in the left lane the whole time and do not understand the concept of cruise control...

 

[horshack.sixpack]

The "aggressive" driver likely assumes you'll move right like you are supposed to...until you don't! You are a menace on the roads if this is really how you drive.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

If you get behind a SWIFT transport truck, they are governed at 65, I believe.

The drivers of these giant tortoises refer to their employers acronym:
Stop Whining, I'm 17ing Trying

 

[gwadSIG]

Did they have a Texas license plate or a handi-cap sign hanging from the rear view mirror?

 

[triton28]

You need to learn to drive. I worry about my wife and kids being on the road with people like you.

 

[johnson86-1]

Many trucks today - esp those with the big trucking outfits - have governors that only allow the truck to go 68 or 74 or whatever. So while I get frustrated with it like you, also keep in mind the trucker is very well giving it all she has. While it would be nice if the truck in the right lane slowed down a mph or 2, time is money for them as well.

And I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis is the worst stretch of road in America, if you disagree you are wrong.

If you are governed at a speed that won't allow you to pass, then the easy answer is that you just stay in the right lane and don't block traffic in the left lane.

 

[615 Guy]

A Derek Dunn nomination is warranted for you being a complete moron. I can't recall seeing so many deserving down votes.