The American Plague of Overtaking on the Right

"cuts_off_prius" (cutsoffprius) 04/07/2015 at 18:54 • Filed to: None

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Good read and eloquently stated:

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Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:01

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I find the biggest issue is that people dont care. I was going down to Ohio with my swim team back in October. The girl driving was chilling in the right lane, not passing and going exactly the speed limit. I casually mentioned that she might want to get out of the right lane, it looked like people wanted to get by. She responded with yeah, and then stayed in the right lane. Eventually around 6 cars flied by us in the right lanes, even when seeing this, she did absolutely nothing.

DoYouEvenShift > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:05

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I do it because jackasses drive in the left lane doing 10 under the limit.

jariten1781 > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:14

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It's not passing on the right that's the issue most of the time, it's people driving such that others have to pass them on the right. Big difference in how that'd be tackled.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > DoYouEvenShift 04/07/2015 at 19:17

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Pretty much this, the problem is most people don't understand the concept of keep the fuck out of the left lane if you're not passing.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:20

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I'm not sure I pass people on the left very often anymore. More often than not, the left lane is full of slow drivers while the other two or more lanes are practically empty. I just stay as far right as I can and move over when I need to.

Funktheduck > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:21

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Considering I pass on the right a minimum of 10-15 times a day because people think it's ok to go 15 under in the left lane, I agree with this article. The police I see are only concerned with speeders. I've only seen one person stopped for a non speeding violation (no tags) in my one hour commute over the past 3 years. I know all the speed traps. Surprise, they're all after a crest of a hill or a blind curve.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:32

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Yeah the problem is Definitely the people chilling in the left lane for no good reason. This is of course when traffic is light enough that it is not just a giant clusterfuck. I see this all the time on two lane sections of the parkway in NJ. People just sit in the left lane going 60 in 65 mph sections while people pull up behind, tail gate for a while, and then pass on the right. Sometimes there are a few high beam flicks and still people do not move. The people that think they are entitled to use whatever lane they want, speed be damned are the wrong ones. It's most certainly a law in NJ but it would never be enforced. I've seen state troopers even pass people on the right haha.

Alfalfa Romeo > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:32

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PEOPLE!

Read the article before commenting. It's about people driving slow in the left lane causing right lane passing and other issues.

DasWauto > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 19:32

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Britts overtake one the right all the the, I don't see what the problem is.

gas head > jariten1781 04/07/2015 at 19:56

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Not always. I drive a 2 lane highway that has a lot of truck traffic. Left (fast) lane traffic is controlled by the a__holes that drive hard up the right lane then snap an unsafe lane change in front of some poor unsuspecting guy trying to tailgate the car in front of him so this doesn't happen. All it does is force everyone behind to stab the brakes. 70mph quickly becomes 40.

bwp240 > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 20:01

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One of the problems I see is that people are just too impatient. They come up behind a slower car in the left lane and if that car doesn't get over within 2 seconds they blast around on the right. It is especially common when passing slower cars or semi trucks.

Say you are coming up on two semis on the interstate which are doing 65, you come upon them at 70, move to the left lane to pass, meanwhile Soccer Mom Andretti and here Tahoe are driving 85mph and as you are alongside the semi, she is trying to mate with your car. As you get between the two trucks, if there is more than a 7 foot gap between them, she guns it around an cuts you off and speeds on here merry way putting everyone in unnecessary danger. Another example is passing a grandpa on a leisurely interstate drive and Speed Racer comes up behind you, if you don't get into the right lane within 1.46953 seconds and 2 feet in front of grandpa, Speed Racer activates NOS and passes on the right. You could even be signaling to get over and they don't care.

/rant

In all reality it is a mentality of "If you want to go faster, figure out a way to go around me."

Klaus Schmoll > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 20:35

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" "Lane courtesy" as we know it in the United States is "lane discipline" in Europe. It is strictly forbidden to cruise in the left lane of any multilane motorway. Also prohibited is passing on the right. When watching videos of European highways, the practice is clear: The right lane contains normal traffic while the left lane is occupied only by overtakers, who move right when they are done overtaking."

Mostly correct. As all vehicles over 7.5 tons are restricted (on often speed governed) to 80 kph, you just enter a conga-line of cars in the left lane passing these trucks at around 130 kph. The law says that you have 30 seconds to pass the next slow vehicle or move over. Some drivers do that, others don't.

And as much as I hate them, I can at the very least understand their thinking. "My travel speed is around 130, my car doesn't do that much more/the fuel economy goes to shit if I do, so I want to do that. If I pull into the right lane, and let them pass, how can I be sure to get back into the left lane on time? They are surely not leaving enough space to do so safely. And what happens if I have to brake down to 80 and then want back in, and some Audi comes raining down on me at 200+?"

So yeah, I'm a member of the conga line club. Wait up until you have a bit of empty road ahead, and then floor it, if there is somebody behind you with a faster car, let them pass a soon as possible.

Milky > bwp240 04/07/2015 at 20:39

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If someone has room to pass you on the right, you had room to get over.

Scary__goongala! > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 21:01

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I have to do a good deal of passing with the right lane unfortunately. I'm not going to slow myself down under the speed limit as well just because someone else isn't paying attention. I don't like doing it but many times that is the only way to maintain speed. What happens a lot in my eyes is a train of cars forms that don't want to tailgate or pass in the right lane. So all of a sudden several cars are in the left lane traveling under the speed limit due to one driver. Additionally making a pass with the right lane often informs the left lane camper that they are doing something wrong.

BigBlock440 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 04/07/2015 at 21:08

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Wait, it sounds like she did exactly what she should have and stayed in the right lane? Unless you're British, I guess.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > BigBlock440 04/07/2015 at 21:09

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Yeah, that was a typo. She was in the left lane and wouldnt move. People are probably hella confused at this post...

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 22:11

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Having spent time driving, both in the US and most of Europe, I agree with the article 100%. US drivers have no regard for traffic safety/discipline. Even when the lawmakers enact more stringent rules and penalties, most people assume (correctly in most cases) that enforcement is rare if at all. Most enforcement I've seen are for speeding and seatbelts. Anecdotally, most US driver who have to take a European driver's test, fail it... often more than once.

My biggest gripe is , lately the young US drivers have decided it's safer to talk on their cellphones in the left lane. So not only are they slow, but distracted.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > cuts_off_prius 04/07/2015 at 23:09

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Cops don't go after poor lane discipline the same reason they don't go after a lot of stuff. Speeding gives an objective number from a calibrated piece of equipment. Left lane hogs and other end up being a giant PITA fighting tickets

Matsayz > cuts_off_prius 04/08/2015 at 01:19

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Interesting read and I believe it to be correct. But how does the country re-educate all of us morons? In Europe you flash your lights to inform the person ahead that you're coming up on them. Here in the U.S. You'll get brake checked and the they will sit in front of you until their exit comes along and flick you off.

I feel like the 'Murica factor comes into play and you're screwed. "Ain't no car gonna pass me on the highway!". Ugh get out of the way Bro-Truck...

pip bip - choose Corrour > cuts_off_prius 04/08/2015 at 04:07

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i pass on the right all the time , oh wait i live in a country where we all drive on the left.

cuts_off_prius > bwp240 04/08/2015 at 08:31

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Yeah, I know what you mean. What I do is put my signal on early before getting over to the right. They get the hint sometimes. People are just so used to undertaking becuase of left lane hogs.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > bwp240 04/08/2015 at 12:37

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Some people are born like that...

And some have been stuck behind assholes holding up the passing lane and refusing to get over so many times that they've run out of shits to give.

Neither condemning or condoning, just sayin'.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > gas head 04/08/2015 at 12:39

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If it has a lot of truck traffic, how the hell do they charge up the right hand lane? Sounds like the truckers need to move to the right.

Correct me if I'm confused. I feel like I'm missing something.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 04/08/2015 at 12:42

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Most enforcement I've seen are for speeding and seatbelts.

This is a large part of the problem. Low limits and lots of low-hanging fruit mean no-one else gets touched.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Matsayz 04/08/2015 at 12:45

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Or (usually) get out of the way prius or corolla. Bro trucks around here tend to be the ones threatning to turn a lanehogging prius into a thin veneer on the road.

gas head > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 04/10/2015 at 11:30

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Most trucks in right lane, but some passing others at 1mph faster than "slow" truck. Just having 2 lanes and trucks will slow traffic. Truckers are famous here for the "snap" lane change. They know you will slow to prevent an "accident", so they change lanes at will. Still, cars using the right lane to pass then make an unsafe lane change to left lane is epidemic here. That and trucks using 2 of 3 lanes where ever possible. While I am ranting, whatever happened to the 55mph limit while towing?

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > gas head 04/10/2015 at 12:35

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Gotcha.

Gotcha.

Gotcha, and they do that here too.

They probably found out it was useless. I would say 65mph limit FOR SEMI'S ONLY (italics broken, so shouting) with an electronic limiter that can tell when there is a trailer. Also, all trucks should have enough power to sustain that speed up a hill. That way, you would only have trucks in the right lane, there being no need (or possibility) of passing, and the trucks speed would be less of a disruption for other traffic since it would be 10mph closer.

I have the solutions to everything, just ask me :)

Cé hé sin > cuts_off_prius 04/15/2015 at 05:16

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Without Googling it, I'm guessing that the picture is in Scandinavia. There are clues!

cuts_off_prius > Cé hé sin 04/15/2015 at 08:18

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I found it when searching for German Autobahn pics. I think it's the Autobahn.