Regional Boards > International Highways
Question about passing on the right on the Autobahn
realjd:
--- Quote from: bugo on February 12, 2010, 07:48:10 PM ---Yesterday I was driving down a freeway with a 70 MPH speed limit. I came upon a truck camped out in the left lane going about 60. I got behind him, he wouldn't budge, so I passed him on the right, then got right in front of him and slowed down to about 55. He finally got mad and got in the right lane, so I quickly sped up to 75. It's sad that you have to do that to get other drivers to drive properly in this country. And there are anti-LLB laws in Oklahoma, they're just not enforced.
--- End quote ---
I feel your pain. I really do. Living in Florida, this problem is way too common. There have been times driving down the freeway where it felt more like the UK than the US: slow traffic on the left, people moved right to pass.
That being said, it's not your place to police the roads. What you did was extraordinarily dangerous, both for yourself, the other driver, and for others on the road. The other driver was a jerk, but cutting him off and slowing down only makes the situation worse for everyone. What if that driver had a bad temper? What if he had a gun? I've known people to get followed and screamed at for much less than that.
I've met one or two folks over the years who intentionally drive the speed limit in the left lane. Their argument is that they're going the speed limit, anyone who wants to pass is speeding, so therefore they're doing the public a favor by forcing traffic to slow down. All it leads to is angry drivers behind who have to perform risky maneuvers to get around. What you did is no different. It's no more your place to enforce left lane laws than it is for them to enforce speed limits.
Was there heavy traffic? If not, and passing on the right was easy enough, just go around and be done with it. If he's creating a serious traffic hazard by being there, causing risky driving behaviors in other drivers trying to get around him, call the cops. If Oklahoma is anything like Florida, the highway patrol will solve that problem very quickly.
realjd:
--- Quote from: J N Winkler on February 13, 2010, 07:03:27 AM ---The other side of the coin is that the EU mandates differential speed limits for trucks and the percentage of freight that goes by road in the EU is much larger than in the US. This means that the right-hand lane (or far left-hand lane in countries where traffic circulates on the left) is often a no-go area for cars. In the US some states have differential speed limits while others don't, and a FHWA study several years ago on the benefit to safety of differential speed limits was unable to produce a conclusive result. My personal impression is that in states which have differential limits and well-defined truck corridors (California and I-5 in the Central Valley come to mind), the differential leads to severe driver frustration (especially when trucks attempt to overtake on microscopic differences in speed) and possibly deleterious effects on safety as well.
--- End quote ---
I was just up in Indiana for business. Truck speed limit is 65 there while it's 70 for cars. It was terrible. There were enough trucks that it essentially forced all cars - even the slow ones - into the left lane, which meant 65-70 the entire time, and let to aggressive driving in the folks wanting to go faster.
MikeTheActuary:
--- Quote from: realjd on February 13, 2010, 10:09:17 AM ---I've met one or two folks over the years who intentionally drive the speed limit in the left lane. Their argument is that they're going the speed limit, anyone who wants to pass is speeding, so therefore they're doing the public a favor by forcing traffic to slow down. All it leads to is angry drivers behind who have to perform risky maneuvers to get around. What you did is no different. It's no more your place to enforce left lane laws than it is for them to enforce speed limits.
--- End quote ---
Well said!
Left-lane blockers and overly-aggressive drivers are annoying. However, life is too short to waste much energy or stress over such idiocy...and really, when driving most of your attention should be focused on driving as efficiently and as safely as you can, allowing for the imperfections and unpredictable nature of other drivers and road hazards, rather than stewing over the behavior of another driver, or attempts to teach him/her a lesson.
If others' disregard for traffic laws and traffic conventions really bothers you that much, perhaps you should consider joining the highway patrol.
I'm reminded of what the instructor in my drivers' ed class called the Golden Rule of Interstate Driving:
--- Quote ---When driving on the freeway, avoid doing anything that would require you to use the brake pedal, or which would require someone else to react by using their brakes. Almost every other law or custom is secondary to this rule.
--- End quote ---
The "almost" is in there to avoid having to argue much with teenagers out to find loopholes. Obviously a public high school teacher wouldn't want to be accused of saying that "speeding is OK" or that a driver shouldn't use the brakes to avoid an accident.
Those realities aside, you've got to admit that freeways would be far more pleasant and efficient to drive if everyone adhered to that golden rule.
aswnl:
--- Quote from: shoptb1 on February 13, 2010, 12:34:23 AM ---I know that I would be in support of tougher requirements to attain a driver's license in the US; but then again, until we have a much more widely-available public transit system here similar to Europe...driving in many areas is a requirement and not a luxury like it is in Europe.
--- End quote ---
Driving isn't a luxury in Europe either. Public transport only has about 10-15% of all motorised personkilometers, the rest is by car.
There's really no reason why US citizens can pick up their license just like buying anything else at the supermarket...
3467:
Illinois just dropped the differential on teh Interstates but not the 4 lane expressways It is still 55-65 which makes sense because there are at grades and trucks have a longer breaking distance
I suspect the 9 fatalities last year on the Illinois Tollway system is about the lowest rate in the world
Oh yes Illinois passed teh lane hog rule too but I suspect like OK it hasnt been too strictly enforced esp when all teh metri Interstates are 55 and the rural areas just ar not that busy
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