Get the F*** Out of the Left Lane

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by 4X4

This is my second formal request for a cross-eyed, drooling, right hand-repeatedly-striking-left shoulder emoticon.

I understand what you guys are saying, it sucks when people screw with the flow of traffic. I get pissed off as well. But what can you do about it? They aren't breaking the law, they are just being inconsiderate.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by 4X4

If it were 10 seconds I wouldn't be on this forum whining. It's more than that, and it's way too often. Almost seems daily that there's somebody meandering in the left lane, inadvertantly or purposely keeping pace with the middle lane. Drives.Me.Nuts.

how do you feel about those in the middle lane keeping pace with the left laner?

if the left laner is doing 120 and the middle laner is doing 120, what do you think the left laner should do? speed up unsafely to 140 and barge in front of a car speeding at 120 km just to get out of your way?

[V]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

I understand what you guys are saying, it sucks when people screw with the flow of traffic. I get pissed off as well. But what can you do about it? They aren't breaking the law, they are just being inconsiderate.

Yeah, that's my POV now too, but I can understand 4x4, because I used to be a young whipper-snipper too. Now I just let it slide.

Goose-frah-bah.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Really. This is like those damn pedestrians that screw left turners by running out into the street even though the hand is flashing.

So you don't think people should break the rules a little bit to save themselves some time?

[REDVAN]

Listen, I have a lot of frusteration when it comes to roads because most people think they own the road. INCLUDING the speed-limit and slower people who are scared to death of driving. Confidence = good driving. Lack of confidence = making everyone else mad when you block them, make dumb lane changes, don't use your rearview etc...

As a left-lane sort of guy, I hate that the slow people think they own the road. If you stay in your lane, I'll stay in mine and everyone will get where they want to safe and sound. I will get there 5 minutes quicker, and that is worth the speeding to me. Maybe you think it's dangerous but you're not doing it are you? So mind your own business and move.

Just so you know, I have never gotten a ticket. (Knock on wood). So obviously I am decently safe with my speeding, and don't weave in and out of traffic. I don't draw attention to myself or do anything dangerously, I just like to speed when the roads are clear enough to do so. Why be limited by a "speed limit" when I want to go 10 or 20 over? I don't think this is dangerous on Deerfoot, Crowchild, Glenmore, Barlow NORTH, 16th ave. NE, etc... I obviously don't do it on Elbow drive for example. And to the guy who said he pumps the breaks when someone is on his tail: you should move over. That is what the proper thing to do is or if you can't, signal at least, that way if there is a car beside you the faster driver knows you recognise he wants to pass and will get off you a bit. If I see someone signal, I back off because I know they are being considerate. I give them a wave/nod when I pass. Thanks for being a good driver and being considerate.

I am sick of you guys jumping on fast drivers. If you are a speed limit person you need to understand not everyone who speeds is doing so dangerously, and you need to move out of the way in order for them to continue their safe passage, as well as yours. By blocking them, they have to manouvre (wtf, sp??) around you and this causes more problems than if you would have just been a considerate driver. They might cause an accident that you think they caused, but in reality you are at fault because you made the road unsafe by your poor driving habits. TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT AND YOU ARE NOT THE POLICE SO STOP DICTATING WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE ROAD TO OTHER DRIVERS.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

So you don't think people should break the rules a little bit to save themselves some time?

You got me...


Let's stick to the inconsiderate part of the argument.

[The Yen Man]

I think people should leave the policing to the police. Yes, we all know speeding is illegal. But honestly, I think it's more dangerous to be inattentive than to be speeding. I would think being unaware of your surroundings causes more accidents than actual speeding. There's a difference between reckless driving and speeding.

My take on this whole situation? Well, I tend to use the left lane on Deerfoot because, depending on how much traffic, I go usually around 100 to 120 ish. So it's not excessive speeding, but usually fast enough that I'm passing cars on the right. Once I see a stretch in the middle that I can go for a bit without having to switch lanes and pass cars, I usually cut back to the right. Also, I'm always aware of cars coming up behind me and if I see someone coming up fast in my rear view, I cut back into the middle as soon as I can and let that guy pass by.

So yes, speeding is illegal, but hey, if the person speeding wants to risk it, who am I to try to make them stop? I mean, in the end, if I'm stubborn and won't let the guy pass, I'll probably be inadvertently creating a potentially dangerous situation, because now that impatient person is probably gonna do something wreckless (ie cut across 2 lanes and then cut back over again) to get in front of me, and I have just created a dangerous situation for everyone else on the road.

And yes, people think "oh, I'm driving speed limit so I don't have to cut over and let this punk pass", but your stubborness and pride may have made a potentially dangerous situation even more dangerous. So all I can say is, people should really learn to drive defensively and not let their pride cloud their judgement. In the end, it's never worth putting your life in danger for.

Oh one last thing, I do agree with most in that I hate drivers who already know that a lane is going to end, yet, won't cut in until the very last second possible. I'm not talking about 500 meters back or whatever, I'm talking last second, I have to budge my way in type. What pisses me off is people trying to use the shoulder to cut in front of people. In my mind, that's no different than purposely cutting in front of a line at a store or a bank. Those people, I usually park my car halfway into the shoulder to prevent them from getting in front of me.

[Rathji]

I drive professionally, and as a result I see the complete stupidity of people driving. People are impatient and will ultimatly find a justification for being mad at someone for wasting thier time.

If you want to speed, that is your choice. If you want to get pissed odd at someone else for going under the speed limit, that is your choice. However you have zero justification for being pissed off at someone who is driving at or only slightly above the speed limit because 'they are in the fast lane'.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Listen, I have a lot of frusteration when it comes to roads because most people think they own the road. INCLUDING the speed-limit and slower people who are scared to death of driving. Confidence = good driving. Lack of confidence = making everyone else mad when you block them, make dumb lane changes, don't use your rearview etc...

As a left-lane sort of guy, I hate that the slow people think they own the road. If you stay in your lane, I'll stay in mine and everyone will get where they want to safe and sound. I will get there 5 minutes quicker, and that is worth the speeding to me. Maybe you think it's dangerous but you're not doing it are you? So mind your own business and move.

You're complaining about people who think they own the road, all while dividing up who has the right to use which lane.
I guess you don't think you own the road, just the left lane.

[4X4]

I do believe The Yen Man summed it up perfectly. I don't think there's anything more to say here.

[OutOfTheCube]

It would be funny if the cops put permanent multinovas at several spots watching 'the fast lane'. Might change your opinion on things.

The only fact in this thread is that going over the speed limit is illegal. You're endangering yourself and everybody around you, as well as completely disregarding the laws and rules set out by our society. Period. There is no argument about that. If you choose to do that, so be it, it shows your lack of character and judgement. If you choose to belittle the people that have chosen to follow the rules designed to keep them safe, that shows even more what type of person you are.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

So yes, speeding is illegal, but hey, if the person speeding wants to risk it, who am I to try to make them stop?

You might be the guy who gets hit and killed by them.

[Philly06Cup]

Re Speeding in the left lane: It seems only NA has this problem, of slow drivers in the left lane. Hell, in Paris, they have "slow people please stay to the right" signs on fricking escalators. I think it's more a matter of laziness. The left lane guy is just too lazy to speed up or slow down and move over to the right lane. --You know what would be a godsend though: if carhorns weren't so damn obnoxious. Then you could honk the slow driver ahead of you. Sometimes I'll try two small honks at the guy ahead of me, though it rarely works.

Re Merging: YESSS. EVERYONE should stay in the 'construction' lane for as long as possible, and weave at the point of bottleneck. If you don't, and you get mad, that's your own problem, duh.

Having said all that, I'm on my GDL license, just got a letter saying I'm done my probation and can take my second road test to get my full license, which I'll be doing in two weeks. Time to change all those bad habits.. for one day.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Listen, I have a lot of frusteration when it comes to roads because most people think they own the road. INCLUDING the speed-limit and slower people who are scared to death of driving. Confidence = good driving. Lack of confidence = making everyone else mad when you block them, make dumb lane changes, don't use your rearview etc...

As a left-lane sort of guy, I hate that the slow people think they own the road. If you stay in your lane, I'll stay in mine and everyone will get where they want to safe and sound. I will get there 5 minutes quicker, and that is worth the speeding to me. Maybe you think it's dangerous but you're not doing it are you? So mind your own business and move.

Just so you know, I have never gotten a ticket. (Knock on wood). So obviously I am decently safe with my speeding, and don't weave in and out of traffic. I don't draw attention to myself or do anything dangerously, I just like to speed when the roads are clear enough to do so. Why be limited by a "speed limit" when I want to go 10 or 20 over? I don't think this is dangerous on Deerfoot, Crowchild, Glenmore, Barlow NORTH, 16th ave. NE, etc... I obviously don't do it on Elbow drive for example. And to the guy who said he pumps the breaks when someone is on his tail: you should move over. That is what the proper thing to do is or if you can't, signal at least, that way if there is a car beside you the faster driver knows you recognise he wants to pass and will get off you a bit. If I see someone signal, I back off because I know they are being considerate. I give them a wave/nod when I pass. Thanks for being a good driver and being considerate.

I am sick of you guys jumping on fast drivers. If you are a speed limit person you need to understand not everyone who speeds is doing so dangerously, and you need to move out of the way in order for them to continue their safe passage, as well as yours. By blocking them, they have to manouvre (wtf, sp??) around you and this causes more problems than if you would have just been a considerate driver. They might cause an accident that you think they caused, but in reality you are at fault because you made the road unsafe by your poor driving habits. TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT AND YOU ARE NOT THE POLICE SO STOP DICTATING WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE ROAD TO OTHER DRIVERS.

That last paragraph is such a load of crap. Just because you (or anyone else) rides up someone's arse on the freeway in the left lane does not justify or entitle you to 'maneuver' around causing more problems.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

It would be funny if the cops put permanent multinovas at several spots watching 'the fast lane'. Might change your opinion on things.

The only fact in this thread is that going over the speed limit is illegal. You're endangering yourself and everybody around you, as well as completely disregarding the laws and rules set out by our society. Period. There is no argument about that. If you choose to do that, so be it, it shows your lack of character and judgement. If you choose to belittle the people that have chosen to follow the rules designed to keep them safe, that shows even more what type of person you are.

Well said

[BlackArcher101]

I have attempted to stay away from this thread, but this keeps coming up. I see a common thought here, that the speeders are saying that the people in the left lane going slow think they own the road. It boggles my mind. I don't get the people complaining about others thinking they own the road, then they go ahead and mention that cars should get out of their way like they own the left lane.....

No one owns anything or owes anything to anyone. This isn't Europe/Asia where pedestrians and vehicles are one and somehow magically juggle their way through a maze of each other. I've seen Cairo traffic and I wish it was like that here, but unfortunately it will never happen as long as we have such strict laws and the mindset/skillset of the public.

I admit, I speed on deerfoot, usually over 110km/hr. I consider myself really considerate on the road and since I worked the highways doing inspection for a while, I've learned to continuously monitor my mirrors. If I'm in the left lane, travelling at a speed that won't get me past the person on the right in a decent matter of time, I will speed up and switch lanes. I do this a lot on the QE2. However, I do have my exceptions. If the person coming up behind me has surprised me, meaning they were travelling at a really high rate of speed, I will neither hasten my pass or slow it down. You can't say I'm actually harming the safety of others moreso than speeders when doing this. Now, if that person behind me starts to blare on the horn, flash their lights, or do some extreme tailgating, then the foot comes off the gas a little. I'm not easily intimated and have a LOT of patience.
I don't do this for long though, as I have seen what these guys can do when they get a little PO'd. Specifically ramming the side of their truck against your vehicle and running you off the road, only to try to get a fist fight started.

Bottom line... be curteuous especially if the other person is as well. Telling a speeder to slow down because they are only saving 30 seconds can go both ways. Moving back to the slower lane to let others pass won't cost you 30 seconds either.

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Is the left lane actually a passing lane by law? anyone have a link?

I thought it's more of an unwritten excuse for speeders to have open road.

In the city there is no law about driving over the limit in the left lane BUT it is just a common courtesy to stay in the right lane if you are planning on driving in a speed limit. I agree with some people's frustration here with the left lane. I hate driving at Deerfoot Trail because you will see either a slow driver driving on a left lane or you see people tailgating you on the right lane or the far right lane even though you are driving the speed limit or even a little over.

Common courtesy do not just work for Deerfoot though. It also works in Blackfoot, Anderson, Macleod and so on. The problem is some people don't give a crap or just plain ignorant when it comes to driving courtesy.

[octothorp]

The 80, 90, 100 lanes argument (or even 90, 100, 110) argument is completely flawed; the vast majority of drivers drive at or around the speed limit, driving at what the laws determine are a reasonable speed. During average traffic levels, the system that gets the most people to their destination at a reasonable time is for the left two lanes to be used by this majority of drivers. Expecting this majority of traffic to pile into the middle lane and stay there while an outer lane is reserved for the 110+ crowd is simply inefficient and results in delays for everyone. Distributing this larger volume through the left two lanes will result in less congestion for drivers attempting to merge on and off, and reduce traffic at the on/off ramps, where the greatest potential for congestion lies. During off hours, yeah, stay right; but otherwise there's no reason for a hundred people to delay themselves just so a dozen can drive at their ideal speed.

[Thor]

I can't recall what race car driver said this, but he was asked if he sped in his own cars when driving around.

He laughed and replied "I only speed when I know the conditions of the road, the quality/reliability of my vehicle, and when I'm surrounded by professionals that I can trust at such speeds.

When I'm driving the freeway, I am surrounded by people at various skill and attention levels when it comes to driving; and my life is not worth risking giving them enough trust to drive faster than is safe for city roads."

I will say I do use the left lane, I rarely go over 110 and I do move out of the way of the faster drivers.

I just don't think a few mins of saved time is worth risking life/limb of myself or others on the road. The simple fact is speed does increase the risk, but so is not following proper distances, unsafe lane changes, bad tires, bad eyesight, bad habbits, bad visibility, etc..

You have to just be a very attentive driver, constantly looking at your mirrors and being aware of your surroundings. Its sad that people behave so badly behind the wheel of a car, psychologists have great fun studying this behavior, as when we are surrounded by all that steel so many people turn into complete asshats.

When in truth, those yelling at people to driver faster, change lanes, etc.. Are often drivers who have terrible habbits and issues that they would never admit to.

They are always perfect drivers in their own minds, while everyone else is the bad driver. If nothing its facinating to see people behaving so badly when behind the wheels, at least from a psychological point of view.

Maybe people should listen to calming music as they drive

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Really. This is like those damn pedestrians that screw left turners by running out into the street even though the hand is flashing. (sorry firefly)

You're not sorry, you've been jabbing at me for months.

However, I do look to see if I'm blocking anybody turning before I walk across the street on a flashing hand. And in Inglewood, the light is green for a while after the hand goes solid, so I don't really care. And if there's traffic anyways, the left turners can't turn anyways, so again, I don't feel bad. Pedestrians should pay attention to traffic as well.