Get the F*** Out of the Left Lane

[bluntus logicimus]

Originally Posted by 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."

Thor:
You hit the nail on the head. It's about trust. My feeling on this is I drive as if I can't trust any other driver on the road and anticipate all sorts of exciting things.

I think the majority of drivers are like me, attentive, but far too many are the distracted type. Whether going 20 over the limit, exiting a parkade directly in front of 60km/hr traffic or stopping in the middle of a freeflow lane, inattentiveness is our worst enemy. That oft-used provincial campaign against speeders had it all wrong, speed doesn't kill, stupid does.

Relating back to the original post, I have to disagree with the tone but agree somewhat with the intent: don't impede other drivers. Your best bet, whther they are speeding or not, is to distance yourself from them so just move over and let them pass. The news summary of their fatal accident will be glossed over just like so many others.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

4X4, when you're going 150 in the left lane, and the person behind you is going at about 170, what do you do then?

Do you speed up? Get out of the way? Stay there?

Getting a little out of hand. My initial point was not to keep pace in the left lane. And yes I admit to speeding. 10 or 20 over is not 150 or 170. Man, you people sure love a good flogging, eh?

[The Unabomber]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Getting a little out of hand. My initial point was not to keep pace in the left lane. And yes I admit to speeding. 10 or 20 over is not 150 or 170. Man, you people sure love a good flogging, eh?

What's the difference if your going 20 over or 50 over, you are still speeding which is against the law and puts other drivers at risk, you have no right to complain.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by fotze

He is, he has said that he does that previously.

The problem with that is that someone always let them in, they are the ones that get my anger.

I like to tease the guys who like to cut in at the head of the line with a space for their car. Then when they think they can cut in I take away the space and tell them they should have waited their turn because I don't let rude pricks cut in ahead of me.

[BlackEleven]

If people would just calm down and not take things so personally while driving, a lot of these problems would be solved.

People are going to speed. Some are in a hurry, some like driving fast, and some just aren't paying attention to their speed. Probably every driver here has sped at some time or another for some reason or another. And I don't have a problem with that.

What I do have a problem with is when someone gets all bent out of shape and does something stupid because someone else is driving too fast or too slow (in his view). If someone is driving too slow, it is not okay to tailgate. Likewise, if someone is driving too quickly it is not okay to slam on your brakes in an effort to slow them down. Both these things are dangerous and far more likely to cause an accident than either letting the faster driver pass or having the faster driving slow. And people don't really do these things to save time or to make the road more safe, even though that's what they may tell you, they do it because they get pissed off and want revenge on the driver that's caused their anger.

Stay calm and act rationally, and the road will be a safer place for everyone.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by The Unabomber

What's the difference if your going 20 over or 50 over, you are still speeding which is against the law and puts other drivers at risk, you have no right to complain.

Pffft! Have you ever driven before? People speed all the time. 10 kmph over is pretty standard for the majority of traffic. 20 kmph over is speeding, 50 kmph over is racing. I don't believe you when you say that there is no difference. The letter of the law may say otherwise, but in real life that is not the case.

Besides it's not like when you are going 100kmph or 110kmph you are safe, risk free and moral (laugh) and when you are going 120kmph or faster all of a sudden you cross this line and become a scofflaw menace to society bent on destroying morals and could care little about who you hurt or kill on your 120kmph path of destruction.

That wasn't necessarily directed at you bomber. But a lot of people are getting pretty worked about this, basically equating speeding to actively killing people with every click over the speed limit one goes.

[MolsonInBothHands]

The law does say there is a difference between driving 20 over versus 50 over the speed limit by increasing the severity of the penalties. I think 50 over will also get you an automatic court appearance, does it not?

[yyc]

meh, i got my class one and spend most of the day in my truck. let me tell you the marority of drivers are idiots, you just are not aware of what is going on around you. heres a simple quize you can take to see if your a good/decent driver. your next 30+ minute drive, when you reach your destination describe in detail your comute, the color of the cars, the turns ect ect. most people drive in a daze. speed is not the problem, common curt and being aware are.

also, this is not germany, if your doing 140, i dont have to get out of your way. your foot to the floor does not make you special.

finaly, wake up 10 minutes earlier, this is so simple but if you get in the habit of it will make your life so much better. even if you leave at the same time as normal, that extra few minutes will shake the cob webbs from your head, put you in a better mood, and relax you .

just so we are clear, by no means do i think im the best driver in the world, just probably much better then most drivers that dont do it for a living. practice makes perfect, and i got room to improve.

[The Unabomber]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Pffft! Have you ever driven before? People speed all the time. 10 kmph over is pretty standard for the majority of traffic. 20 kmph over is speeding, 50 kmph over is racing. I don't believe you when you say that there is no difference. The letter of the law may say otherwise, but in real life that is not the case.

Besides it's not like when you are going 100kmph or 110kmph you are safe, risk free and moral (laugh) and when you are going 120kmph or faster all of a sudden you cross this line and become a scofflaw menace to society bent on destroying morals and could care little about who you hurt or kill on your 120kmph path of destruction.

That wasn't necessarily directed at you bomber. But a lot of people are getting pretty worked about this, basically equating speeding to actively killing people with every click over the speed limit one goes.

But what's the problem with simply going the speed limit? That's where my problem lies, a sign post a speed limit of 100, why not go 100 rather than pushing the limit and going 110 because the cops don't normally ticket at that speed. Makes no sense, everyone is in such a hurry, they pass me and i pull up beside them at the next set of lights.

Why the rush?

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by The Unabomber

But what's the problem with simply going the speed limit? That's where my problem lies, a sign post a speed limit of 100, why not go 100 rather than pushing the limit and going 110 because the cops don't normally ticket at that speed. Makes no sense, everyone is in such a hurry, they pass me and i pull up beside them at the next set of lights.

Why the rush?

And to add to that, if you speed say 20 clicks over the limit on a 20 minute trip - how much time are you saving. 2 minutes? Less?

What's the point?

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by The Unabomber

But what's the problem with simply going the speed limit? That's where my problem lies, a sign post a speed limit of 100, why not go 100 rather than pushing the limit and going 110 because the cops don't normally ticket at that speed. Makes no sense, everyone is in such a hurry, they pass me and i pull up beside them at the next set of lights.

Why the rush?

I was merely commenting on what I perceive the roads to be like. I don't really know why people speed. There is probably lots of reason. But the most likely reason would be because they can.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

And to add to that, if you speed say 20 clicks over the limit on a 20 minute trip - how much time are you saving. 2 minutes? Less?

What's the point?

This may seem like a strange reason for speeding, but I am more comfortable driving at 120 than I am at 100. If I don't constantly monitor the speedometer, I naturally creep up to 120. To maintain a speed of 100, I have to keep one eye on the speedometer pretty much all the time, which is a safety hazard in itself because it distracts my attention from the road. I use cruise control on the highway when I want to keep my speed in check, but I find using cruise on Deerfoot or anywhere in the city impossible. You can't go farther than about 500 metres without hitting your brakes and cancelling the cruise.

[Dynamic]

I do about 97% of my driving on a single lane highway. Thats right NO LEFT LANE. There are times where you get stuck behind a convoy of trucks and there is nothing you can do but just go the speed limit or a little under...but........then you get some retarted nut from the city with his "lets see how many vehicles I can pass on a unfamiliar highway" state of thinking darting in and out of semi's with only a few meters to spare. A little bit of planning would save people a lot of stress.

[monkeyman]

as 4X4 pointed out with his lane ending remark, our tax dollars pay for the pavement why not use it? So I’ve paid for the right to drive in the left lane, at any speed, as long as i'm not breaking any laws.

[The Unabomber]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

This may seem like a strange reason for speeding, but I am more comfortable driving at 120 than I am at 100. If I don't constantly monitor the speedometer, I naturally creep up to 120. To maintain a speed of 100, I have to keep one eye on the speedometer pretty much all the time, which is a safety hazard in itself because it distracts my attention from the road. I use cruise control on the highway when I want to keep my speed in check, but I find using cruise on Deerfoot or anywhere in the city impossible. You can't go farther than about 500 metres without hitting your brakes and cancelling the cruise.

Constantly doing something creates a comfort zone, that's from my experience anyway. So if you watched that you drive 100 for a week or two then the next thing you know your going 100 without looking at the dashboard. It's probably hard on your brakes going 120 and always having to brake because someone is going 100, think of the wear and tear you will save on as well by simply going the speed limit.

I just don't think that there is an excuse to speed, and there is no reason to complain about people going the speed limit.

[The Unabomber]

Originally Posted by monkeyman

as 4X4 pointed out with his lane ending remark, our tax dollars pay for the pavement why not use it? So I’ve paid for the right to drive in the left lane, at any speed, as long as i'm not breaking any laws.

Yeah, and my tax dollars helped pay for the Saddledome, why can't i go for a skate anytime i want? Weak excuse.

[Burninator]

Well I am in the typical crowd of people who go 110-120kmph on Deerfoot and it seems like anytime I am late and want to go 140kmph there is traffic or I am stuck behind someone going slower than the limit. Why is that? Maybe traffic just seems slower when you are in a hurry.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Dynamic

I do about 97% of my driving on a single lane highway. Thats right NO LEFT LANE. There are times where you get stuck behind a convoy of trucks and there is nothing you can do but just go the speed limit or a little under...but........then you get some retarted nut from the city with his "lets see how many vehicles I can pass on a unfamiliar highway" state of thinking darting in and out of semi's with only a few meters to spare. A little bit of planning would save people a lot of stress.

FWIW, my personal best is four semis in one pass on such a highway. Though in my defence, I have driven rural highways a ton, and this was doing down hill in a huge, sloping valley north of Drayton Valley, so I could see the oncomping lanes for miles.

My personal favourite people to hate on rural highways are those that play leap frog. You pass them because they are doing 90 in a 100. They then speed up for no reason, pass you, then slow right back down to 90 again. Well thanks jackass. Now I gotta overtake you again.

[RougeUnderoos]

I am shocked and appalled that so many posters on this board stick to 100 on the Deerfoot. When are you folks out there? Do you mostly drive in the middle of the night?

[Flames09]

Originally Posted by flameswin

You can get an idea just from this thread why driving in Calgary is a mess... Everyone has their own idea of what safe/proper driving is. In a lot of city's I have been to, there seems to be a certain "way" to drive IE: In most cities in europe you WILL stay away from the fast lane if your not going to drive fast or you WILL hear about it. It tends to work well, people just follow the unwritten rules of the road and people who want to drive slow have their lane(s) to do so and the people who want to drive fast have their lane(s) to do so. In some cities in the US, the traffic actually flows quite slowly, but it flows, because everyone seems to drive the same way

Then you get to Calgary and everyone seems to have a big ego about driving habits. Everyone has their "way" of driving and they think everyone who doesn't drive their way is a ######bag. We have the speed demons (I'll admit to being one of them at times) who think they're entitled to drive 140 and everyone's an a**hole if they don't get out of their way. The you have the people who just barely go the speed limit in the left lane and think everyone on their bumper is an a**hole.

Let's face it, Calgary just doesn't have a :driving identity" like many major cities have, and that's the reason for a lot of the pissed off people on the road.

I guess the one thing that sticks out about Calgary for me, is the fact that in a lot of cities, the speeders are aloud to speed and the slower drivers just laugh when they get caught, where as in Calgary it seems that the slower drivers tend to try and be the police by blocking speeders and saying "yeah, well it's MY RIGHT to drive in the fast lane because I'm going the speed limit". Overall Calgary just seems to have a bad mix of really fast drivers and really slow drivers, yet no real system of keeping them apart (which many eurpeon cities have, and it works REALLY well), which makes for some really crappy traffic to drive in.

Calgary drivers are angels compared to the Pyschos in the state of California.....