While I agree with almost everything included in the Killing Time rant on Passing on the Right, it misses the point about why it is so common.
People don’t keep to the right and hog the left lane. If people weren’t going too slow (i.e. slower than me) in the left lane, they wouldn’t get passed on the right. When people start to “keep right except to pass”, the problem will disappear. If you get passed on the right, you in the wrong lane.
(Incidentally, passing in the emergency/breakdown/shoulder lane is a topic for another rant.)
I really don’t like passing (or being passed) on the right. The obvious solution is to stay in the right lane (or at least the middle lane when you are not actively passing someone else). I try very hard to stay right (and I’m far from the slowest driver on the road), and I give folks plenty of opportunity to move over before resorting to passing on the right. I will generally prevent anyone from passing me on the right (if I’m in the left lane, I’m already passing someone else and I simply don’t give them room to get around me until I move back to the right lane).
The obvious exception is urban areas with both right and left exits and entrances, in that case I normally stay in the second travel lane and try to maintain the same speed as everyone else. That is not the best place to be going significantly faster or slower than the average.
In the Baltimore-Washington area exits are at most 5 miles apart; most are 1 to 2 miles apart. This means that the right lane is essentially for entry and exit traffic. Still, folks insist on passing on the right even if there is room on the left. I think they believe that they are flying under the radar and will avoid detection by the police. I often ride in the right lane anyway to avoid tailgaters. It doesn’t work. Those right lane speeders tailgate me anyway. BTW, it is legal to pass on the right in MD.
The beltway is a special case where normal laws (and common sense) do not apply. When I’m there, I take the metro.
It’s not just the Beltways. I-95 and I-70 are the same, as are every other limited access road within 50 to 100 miles. And it would be nice to take the Metro, but millions of us simply can’t do it. Our jobs or homes just aren’t on the line.
I agree, that area is just about my least favorite place to drive. Fortunately, I only have to be there once every couple of years, or so (then I try to find a hotel on the metro line because the office I usually have to visit is right across the street from one of the stations).
Most states don’t have a law about passing on the right anymore, other than prohibiting driving off the road to pass on the right. Only the wacko states of New York and other New England states still prohibit it. And only the drivers from the states that prohibit it complain about people passing on the right.
We have only two lane use laws in Indiana:
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Traffic moving slower than the speed limit must keep right.
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Trucks over 20 tons can’t use the leftmost lane on certain freeways.
Our passing on the right law was repealed in the early 1970s, because the law decreased highway capacity.
My experience driving across IN is that most people tend to stay right except to pass (at least on I-80). Personally, I don’t care about state laws; I don’t pass on the right (unless they really give me no choice by sitting in the left lane forever) and I never allow anyone to pass me on the right.
Only the wacko states of New York and other New England states still prohibit it. And only the drivers from the states that prohibit it complain about people passing on the right.
Kind of a broad generalization there I think. As far as I’m concerned people should not pass on the right. I try very hard to avoid it myself. I often find some bozo passing me on the right because I’m in a line of cars slowly overtaking a truck and said bozo then either has to fall back and get in line, or more typically try to force his way in. Do these people not watch what’s happening more than 50 feet ahead? Is there some reason they are more important and need to be 2 cars ahead of me when there is clearly no way to go any faster due to traffic?
The only way I’ll pass someone on the right is if they are just sitting in the left lane and I’ve waited for a mile or so and they still haven’t moved over to the clear right lane. I don’t understand those folks either. And, I promise you, I don’t hang out in the left lane if I’m not trying to pass someone.
This is a pet peeve of mine also.
When I first started driving, I would drive the speed limit and rarely look in my mirrors because I wanted to have my eyes peeled to the road. When I calmed down and used my mirrors, I found out many people were passing me on the right, on the left and every other direction.
I thought people were supposed to obey the speed rules, but now I know they rarely do. I drive a bit faster now but am no speed demon.
Truth is, if you pass someone on the right, who is driving the posted speed limit, you are breaking two laws. Speeding AND passing on the right. Maybe the laws need to be changed in some places.
Regardless of laws, which are usually ignored anyway, the solution is to stay to the right unless you are actively passing someone. That will effectively prevent people from passing you on the right and you will only have to pay attention to where you are driving. Many places have signs saying “keep right except to pass” and minimum speed limits for the left lane, regardless of the signs, it is good practice.
Craig is 100% correct, IMHO. When I drive on a multi-lane highway, I ride in the right lane until I come to a vehicle in the right lane that is going slower than I am. Then, I move to the left lane, pass that vehicle, and quickly move back to the right lane, being careful not to cut in front of the slower driver.
However, then we come to a different situation. I am riding in the right lane and I am driving either at the speed limit or slightly over that limit. Ahead, there is a vehicle that is riding the left lane, despite the fact that there are NO vehicles in the right lane for a very considerable distance. Those who say that one should not pass on the right would–in effect–cause me and that left-lane rider to form a “rolling road block”. And, since a “rolling road block” is not conducive to safety, I opt to pass the left lane rider on the right–since that is the only lane that is available for passing.
In every state with which I am familiar, the rules of the road include the permission to pass on the right on multi-lane highways. If one could not pass on the right, then traffic congestion would be even worse than it currently is, owing to those who seem to like to constantly ride the left lane even when they are not passing anyone. And, since the “ride right, pass left” law is fairly universal, these left lane riders are really the ones who are causing a problem.
As someone in this thread already said: If you don’t like people passing you on the right, then stay out of the left lane unless you are actually passing another vehicle.
“However, then we come to a different situation. I am riding in the right lane and I am driving either at the speed limit or slightly over that limit. Ahead, there is a vehicle that is riding the left lane, despite the fact that there are NO vehicles in the right lane for a very considerable distance. Those who say that one should not pass on the right would–in effect–cause me and that left-lane rider to form a “rolling road block”. And, since a “rolling road block” is not conducive to safety, I opt to pass the left lane rider on the right–since that is the only lane that is available for passing.”
Yup, I usually handle that on a “case by case” basis. My preference is to move to the left lane and approach the slower car (without tailgating), hoping they will get a clue and move to the right (teaching opportunity). If they don’t move over after 30 seconds, or so, I will resort to passing them on the right. If it appears that changing lanes will cause more trouble than it’s worth (or I’m just not in the mood to wait for gram-pa to wake up and move over), I will just (rapidly) pass on the right. That does make me nervous because I’m always concerned that he/she will come out of his/her coma and move to the right without looking while I’m passing.
I do it with some regularity. It’s typically when there are 3 or 4 lanes in one direction. It only concerns me if it is a large truck, and I move quickly to pass. I usually ride in the right lane, but this is often not practical when there are 3 or 4 lanes in each direction. I’d rather not get snarled in the entry/exit traffic at 65 MPH every mile or two, so I ride in the 2nd to rightmost lane.
I also stay in the second lane in areas with lots of exits/entrance ramps.
When I started learning to drive (at 14) back in my country, one of the lessons is to “keep right except to pass”. Another was to put your signal lights (blinkers) on early & not when you are already at the corner turning. These two & other rules were from a booklet published in US. When I came to US, I was amazed most drivers don’t follow them. Everyday you can see drivers on the fast lane but going very slow, or drivers don’t signal or signal only when they are already turning. No wonder there are so many instances of ROAD RAGE in this country. Oh, yes. Here’s another one. Many drivers put on their blinkers to pass/change lanes without even making sure it’s safe or enough distance to do so. They think because they signal, they have the right to just squeeze in front of you. That’s why there are so many accidents in this country & making insurance rates way way high. Even without the rules, where is the COMMON SENSE?
I agree, rules are no substitute for common sense and paying attention to what you are doing. I just try to drive with the assumption that everyone else is going to do something stupid.
Yup! That, IMHO, is the essence of defensive driving.
“Keep right except to pass” was the rule when almost all roads were two lane. But it causes a serious loss of highway capacity when applied to one-way roads and roads with multiple lanes in each direction. This is why most states repealed such laws.
The law usually gives a distance of 200 (or 300 at 50 mph or higher) feet for showing turn signals. But it doesn’t provide any way for the driver to tell how far away those distances are in a moving vehicle, and it really doesn’t address the problem of what happens if you can’t see the turn 200 or 300 feet away. A better rule would be 7 seconds before you make the turn.
Indiana has a rule that the driver in a lane must yield to the driver signaling a lane change into that lane. You must not pass a car on the left after it gives a left turn signal, or on the right after it gives a right turn signal. So they do have a right to squeeze in. The guy who insists on passing him is the lawbreaker.
Think about it. The guy squeezing in might be trying to take the next exit. If you insist on your position, he can’t make his turn at all. Your “need” to keep moving at speed is not as important as his need to be in the correct lane so he can make his turn. You usually don’t get a warning for an exit until only one mile ahead of the exit.
I have to chuckle at the “squeezing in” stuff. In the Boston area, that’s not an exception but the rule. People will blast past a long line of people waiting patiently for their exit to come up so they can FORCE their way into the front of the line. I travel on 4 lane expressways that are packed and can easily work my way over to the exit with a mile of warning. That’s almost an entire minute of time to signal your intentions and start working your way over. Yet, everyday I see people wait until the last possible second to start making a move to get off the expressway and expect every other driver to brake hard so they can make it through. Why should everyone pay for some moron who can’t plan ahead or is just so self centered that they don’t care. Your turn signal is an indicator of your intentions not a free pass to force your way in.
Around here, turn signals generally aren’t used anyway. They’re considered giving information to the enemy.