http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/01/31/not-passing-get-out-of-left-lane-bill-says.html
Quote from: nds76 on January 31, 2012, 12:14:05 PM
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/01/31/not-passing-get-out-of-left-lane-bill-says.html
the article notes that it may be difficult to enforce. I don't see that as being a problem. Germany's been successfully enforcing that law for years now.
the real question is... once we get rid of the "lollygaggers", will we also get rid of "lollypassers" who think that a 1mph speed differential between lanes is somehow safe and sane?
Has anyone EVER enforced one of these?????????????????????????
Quote from: texaskdog on January 31, 2012, 01:34:54 PM
Has anyone EVER enforced one of these?????????????????????????
never seen it enforced in the US.
Illinois has the law only on Interstates. I have never seen it enforced. I confess I like the left lane but I always shift right when I see somebody approaching me
Quote from: 3467 on January 31, 2012, 09:30:42 PM
Illinois has the law only on Interstates. I have never seen it enforced. I confess I like the left lane but I always shift right when I see somebody approaching me
This is a fine policy, as long as you are always looking in your mirror. The truth is that none of us is constantly aware of every vehicle on the road, especially behind us. So I always default to the right lane.
It's a pretty simple concept, really, Keep right unless you are passing. Yet for so many people, why is it so hard to follow? It shouldn't take yet another law to force people to do it.
Kentucky has a "keep right except to pass" law and it's signed on interstates. Buckeyes universally ignore it when they travel through here. Why would anyone think they'd obey it in their home state? :-D
Good
QuoteHas anyone EVER enforced one of these?????????????????????????
The state of Washington has been really ramping up enforcement the last couple years. They mostly give out warnings though.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 31, 2012, 01:46:57 PM
Quote from: texaskdog on January 31, 2012, 01:34:54 PM
Has anyone EVER enforced one of these?????????????????????????
never seen it enforced in the US.
Apparently, Louisiana IS enforcing their LLB law.
Quote from: tchafe1978 on February 01, 2012, 07:40:53 AM
It's a pretty simple concept, really, Keep right unless you are passing. Yet for so many people, why is it so hard to follow? It shouldn't take yet another law to force people to do it.
Because then you can't just cruise along at a constant speed.
I rarely have a problem maintaining a constant speed keeping right and passing left when needed on rural interstates. Occasionally I might have to step down a bit harder on the gas when passing if faster traffic is catching me. Busier ones I'll agree that it's difficult at times, but not impossible.
Quote from: signalman on February 01, 2012, 02:59:59 PM
I rarely have a problem maintaining a constant speed keeping right and passing left when needed on rural interstates. Occasionally I might have to step down a bit harder on the gas when passing if faster traffic is catching me. Busier ones I'll agree that it's difficult at times, but not impossible.
maintaining a constant speed is nice, but not essential. if I'm over my cruise speed here and there to maintain traffic smoothness while I'm passing and faster traffic is coming up behind me, I don't see this as a problem. I get to my destination faster, and out of people's way.
remember, the ideal driving behavior is one where no one has to react to you: namely, if you were eliminated from the road, traffic patterns would remain entirely unchanged. this is tough to do in urban environments, but rurally quite easy.
Quote from: texaskdog on January 31, 2012, 01:34:54 PM
Has anyone EVER enforced one of these?????????????????????????
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 01, 2012, 03:10:54 PM
remember, the ideal driving behavior is one where no one has to react to you: namely, if you were eliminated from the road, traffic patterns would remain entirely unchanged. this is tough to do in urban environments, but rurally quite easy.
Rule 1: never drive on a one-lane road. Rule 2: never make a turn where there's no turn lane. Rule 3: never pass over a loop detector.
Cruise control should only be allowed to be used by drivers that
A) are willing to speed up to overtake a car so they're not passing .01 MPH faster than the car next to them or are willing to just slow down and not pass if they don't want to speed up. The worst I remember was on I-25 south of Buffalo WY where there are approximately no cars on the road I had some guy lurk in my blind spot for 22 miles. 22 miles! Why? What if a deer ran out? In that 22 miles I didn't have to pass anything so I had no reason to act on it.
and B) keep right to except to pass. Even if you're only in the right lane for 10 seconds, that's still plenty of time for a car to pass you.
The problem is that the issue is compounded by other selfish drivers- if I'm passing a car, and I'm going 72, and there are 6 or 7 cars behind me trying to go 75, and I get over to let them by, they're not going to let me back out to pass the truck in front of me, forcing me to slow down to 60. I think people who would otherwise keep right are afraid to because other dick drivers won't let them back out. If people would all keep right, I could pass the first car, get to the right, let 3 or 4 of the cars by, get back out, overtake the truck, get back right, and let the rest go by, but people aren't patient.
As a general rule if I end up in one of those left lane chains where several vehicles are passing multiple vehicles, I'll ALWAYS slow down to let the car out that got to the right to be nice and is now stuck chilling behind a truck, but almost nobody else does.
Quoteif I'm passing a car, and I'm going 72, and there are 6 or 7 cars behind me trying to go 75, and I get over to let them by
I'd probably speed up to 75. likely even 80, depending on the speed limit. probably not 90, though - that's just asking for a bit too much politeness.
Well right, that's what I do too and that's why speed limits are stupid, but I do have respect for the driver that is trying to keep right except to pass but doesn't want to speed too much
Quote from: corco on February 01, 2012, 04:35:22 PM
Well right, that's what I do too and that's why speed limits are stupid, but I do have respect for the driver that is trying to keep right except to pass but doesn't want to speed too much
I'll have respect for them until they jump out in front of me and cause me to need to slow down.
It depends- if I watch them get over to let cars go by and then they get stuck behind a truck, I think I should yield to them to let them back out, especially if there's a string of cars behind me.
I don't know- I yield to the car in front of me, regardless of what lane they're in. If they have room to bolt out in front of me, you could make a good argument that I should have been in the right lane to begin with.
But really, if people would stop being so defensive about their position in the left lane and just move right, that shouldn't happen in the first place.
Quote from: corco on February 01, 2012, 05:26:18 PM
I don't know- I yield to the car in front of me, regardless of what lane they're in. If they have room to bolt out in front of me, you could make a good argument that I should have been in the right lane to begin with.
even if I'm in the right lane, if we both move over to pass a truck - if I'm doing 75 and they're doing 67, they should speed up to 75 as a courtesy so that I don't have to slow down.
(assuming a speed limit of 65 or greater)
I agree that they should, but I understand why they don't. Moral of the story is that absolute speed limits are inane
I guess what bothers me is that most if not all motorists think the left lane has a faster speed limit than the right lane. The posted speed is the same for all lanes. If people were going the same speed there would be little to no need to pass.
I agree about drivers being afraid to stay right. I know I am, especially since NY's interstates are clogged with trucks. If I let a line of cars pass me, I will almost certainly get stuck behind a truck going 55 for two miles. Especially since I have an aversion to speeding resulting from NY being the king of speeding tickets (as an attempt to use tickets to fix budget shortfalls that have plagued the state for a decade now). Going faster than 68 in a 65mph zone WILL net you a ticket at some point.
QuoteI agree about drivers being afraid to stay right. I know I am, especially since NY's interstates are clogged with trucks. If I let a line of cars pass me, I will almost certainly get stuck behind a truck going 55 for two miles. Especially since I have an aversion to speeding resulting from NY being the king of speeding tickets (as an attempt to use tickets to fix budget shortfalls that have plagued the state for a decade now). Going faster than 68 in a 65mph zone WILL net you a ticket at some point.
I've been to New York once. I've driven a total of 200 miles in New York. In over 100,000 miles of driving, I have received one ticket. I received it in New York.
I hate New York.
oddly, I've never gotten pulled over in New York. I've always thought of Virginia as being the king of speeding tickets, with their "we will murder the entire family of anyone who thinks about radar detectors" laws.
I am surprised some entrepreneur has not come up with an undetectable radar detector that can be remote-mounted with a hidden detector unit and a separate, easily-hidden or detached display/warning unit.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2012, 02:19:44 PM
I am surprised some entrepreneur has not come up with an undetectable radar detector that can be remote-mounted with a hidden detector unit and a separate, easily-hidden or detached display/warning unit.
Back in the '90s, I saw an ad in Car and Driver for a radar detector that was built into the dash. The detector itself was mounted in the grille.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2012, 02:19:44 PM
I am surprised some entrepreneur has not come up with an undetectable radar detector that can be remote-mounted with a hidden detector unit and a separate, easily-hidden or detached display/warning unit.
I think you can remote-mount a lot of detectors, though with some of them you'd lose some functionality. The Valentine One doesn't show up when cops use the VG-2 "radar detector detector," but if you tried to remote-mount a V1 and then use their optional concealed display module you'd lose one of the V1's best features, the rear-facing antenna that tells you if the radar's coming from behind your car (and it does work–I had a cop trailing me down I-59 in Georgia hitting me with instant-on the whole way....you'd think when I locked my cruise control on 68 mph he would have realized I knew he was there). V1's concealed display is nice at night, though, moves all the lights to a location of your choosing; if you have a manual-shift car, the shift boot can hide even the concealed display's lights fairly well if you just put the thing on the end of the lighter plug.
Today, you don't necessarily need a special receiver. The detector could transmit via Bluetooth to a smart phone (iPhone, Android) or a laptop.
I have a OBD2 code reader that sends data to a phone this way!
Quote from: bugo on February 02, 2012, 05:20:07 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on February 02, 2012, 02:19:44 PM
I am surprised some entrepreneur has not come up with an undetectable radar detector that can be remote-mounted with a hidden detector unit and a separate, easily-hidden or detached display/warning unit.
Back in the '90s, I saw an ad in Car and Driver for a radar detector that was built into the dash. The detector itself was mounted in the grille.
I remember seeing plans and instructions on how to disassemble some of the most popular radar detectors of the day (myself, I had a Fuzzbuster back then) and put the receiver in the grille and the warning indicators up front. May have been in Popular Mechanics.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 02, 2012, 12:06:56 PM
oddly, I've never gotten pulled over in New York. I've always thought of Virginia as being the king of speeding tickets, with their "we will murder the entire family of anyone who thinks about radar detectors" laws.
Virginia... that's the state that just bumped the speed limit on some interstates to 70, but still has a reckless driving statute for anything over 80mph.
I typically set my cruise for 10 over, which usually sets me up with the flow of traffic and I almost never have a problem with getting pulled over. I got pulled over in Virginia by a cop who said he clocked me doing 81 and got a reckless driving ticket. I had to hire a lawyer to get it reduced in absentia because I don't live in Virginia.
Lesson learned, set cruise to 75 in Virginia. And oh yeah... I hate Virginia.
When I see police pull someone over on the interstate in Virginia, 9 times out of 10 it's someone from out of state. They see such drivers as less likely to fight anything. I will agree that they're unnecessarily rough in general, despite not having any firsthand experience with them. I once heard of someone who got pulled for going LEGAL SPEED in a then recently extended 65 zone. The officer's apparent excuse was that the 65 zone began after the next exit, that the sign had been placed in the wrong spot, and that it was going to be fixed soon. The ticket was overturned and the 65 zone still begins and ends in the same spot 3 years later.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 02, 2012, 12:06:56 PM
oddly, I've never gotten pulled over in New York. I've always thought of Virginia as being the king of speeding tickets, with their "we will murder the entire family of anyone who thinks about radar detectors" laws.
There are many factors. End of the month and peak travel days see a lot more tickets, as do roads with underposted limits (such as a section of NY 12 that's 30 for 500 FEET on either side of a traffic light in Alexandria Bay).
Quote from: MrDisco99 on February 03, 2012, 09:33:27 AM
I typically set my cruise for 10 over, which usually sets me up with the flow of traffic and I almost never have a problem with getting pulled over. I got pulled over in Virginia by a cop who said he clocked me doing 81 and got a reckless driving ticket. I had to hire a lawyer to get it reduced in absentia because I don't live in Virginia.
Lesson learned, set cruise to 75 in Virginia. And oh yeah... I hate Virginia.
I got nailed for 73 in a 65 literally 200 feet over the stateline on I-81. West Virginia (speed limit 70) was very helpful in putting up "speed limit 65 ahead" yellow diamonds, but I didn't realize their urgency, so I was slowly dropping from 76 in a 70, and at the very first overpass, it appears my speed was still 73.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 03, 2012, 10:48:25 AM
Quote from: MrDisco99 on February 03, 2012, 09:33:27 AM
I typically set my cruise for 10 over, which usually sets me up with the flow of traffic and I almost never have a problem with getting pulled over. I got pulled over in Virginia by a cop who said he clocked me doing 81 and got a reckless driving ticket. I had to hire a lawyer to get it reduced in absentia because I don't live in Virginia.
Lesson learned, set cruise to 75 in Virginia. And oh yeah... I hate Virginia.
I got nailed for 73 in a 65 literally 200 feet over the stateline on I-81. West Virginia (speed limit 70) was very helpful in putting up "speed limit 65 ahead" yellow diamonds, but I didn't realize their urgency, so I was slowly dropping from 76 in a 70, and at the very first overpass, it appears my speed was still 73.
Nice way to welcome tourists to Virginia. If that happened to me, I wouldn't spend a penny that I didn't have to in the state. If I ever visit that area of the country, I'll fill up in NC or WV or MD and not buy anything in VA.
The hypocritical part of it is that the cops have no qualms going 95 MPH to catch up and pull you.
Having said that, the local cops (Colonial Heights and Chesterfield County) are the ones that have usually been the most hostile to me and others I know.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 01, 2012, 04:24:32 PM
Quoteif I'm passing a car, and I'm going 72, and there are 6 or 7 cars behind me trying to go 75, and I get over to let them by
I'd probably speed up to 75. likely even 80, depending on the speed limit. probably not 90, though - that's just asking for a bit too much politeness.
But I wouldn't really be too worried about taking it up to 90 mph if you're doing so to accommodate faster traffic. Cops don't usually pull over the first car in a string but one from the back. And, if you do so and then slow down after getting into the right lane, any cop would reasonably go after the faster car; if both/all of you slow down after seeing him clocking you, and you end up being the one being pulled over, you have the perfect story to talk yourself out of a ticket: avoiding a high-speed rear-end collision.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 03, 2012, 10:48:25 AM
I got nailed for 73 in a 65 literally 200 feet over the stateline on I-81. West Virginia (speed limit 70) was very helpful in putting up "speed limit 65 ahead" yellow diamonds, but I didn't realize their urgency, so I was slowly dropping from 76 in a 70, and at the very first overpass, it appears my speed was still 73.
I'm actually headed that way in a few months. I'll remember to be extra careful.